My one-week-old AirPods Max has become soft. I believe the ANC is no longer as effective as it was when it was first released. If you are one of the people who have experienced this frustrating issue, I can empathise with your situation.
My wife and I both work from home, and for a few days, my AirPods Max rendered her business calls inaudible to me, as well as shutting out the high-rise construction site outside my house. The ANC lets me hear my surroundings clearly, but reduces the volume for everything else. I'm convinced that everything I don't want to hear is because of that update.
The ANC sounds like a library's transparency mode.
I didn't make a hasty decision. The strength of the ANC was reduced after a week. The point at which the AirPods automatically ran the update is likely. I remembered the best ANC peace and quiet during work that I had when I re-set the AirPods Max, but it didn't happen because I didn't hold the buttons.
Some owners of the AirPods Max don't think there has been a change, with some saying it's because of the placebo effect. ANC is a feature that can be hard to understand and may be perceived differently by different people.
Bose owners complained about degraded noise cancellation performance after a software update. Bose was able to see the issue because of the feedback. The company said there was no regression. A perceivable change could be seen by some users who purchased the AirPods Max.
I think this isn't placebo. I wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the world. You might think that my AirPods Max most likely shipped with the latest version of the software, since it came out in May. When I tried to purchase Apple Care, I discovered my brand-new AirPods Max were older stock and had first shipped to the retailer in April.
Apple software changelogs are useful. A remedy for the iPhone 14 Pro camera shake is included in the list of fixes in the newest version of the operating system. Apple isn't as thorough when it comes to updating the AirPods models. The last update contained bug fixes and other improvements. I reached out to the company to find out if ANC was affected by the changes in the latest version of the software. I would like to see Apple add different ANC levels so people can find the best one for them.
This isn't the first time people have noticed a performance decline after an update. Many users complained that the AirPods Pro ANC was less effective after the update in November of 2019. The 2020 update was pulled by Apple.
I'm in a tough spot because I really like my headphones. It fits me perfectly and my head doesn't get hot. I don't know if I want to keep them since it doesn't sound like it did in the box. I rely on the ANC to help me concentrate because I don't listen to music while I'm working. Combining the rain and thunder sounds on Apple Music with the current ANC makes sense for me.
While I'm in my return period, I'm weighing my options, including the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the older model for better portableness, and either way, I'd save money. The improved ANC in the new AirPods Pro is something I'm keeping an eye on. I worry that the same thing can happen again because of Apple's silent and automatic way of updating the software.
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