Apple once again released an AirPods Max firmware update that adds support for 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio and ultra-low-latency audio to the USB-C headphones.
Apple originally said it would release the free update on Monday, but it didn’t actually become available until late Wednesday.
Temporarily delayed AirPods Max upgrade brings lossless audio
Second-gen AirPods Max did not support a direct wired connection upon their release last fall. Instead, they depended entirely on Bluetooth, a lossy audio transmission method. That means little details get stripped out when a song is compressed for wireless transmission. But with lossless audio, listeners hear every track exactly as the artist created it.
The new software update for AirPods Max unlocks 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio … when a USB-C cable is connected. Lossless audio quality is not available with a wireless connection, even with the update.
“With the included USB-C cable, users can enjoy the highest-quality audio across music, movies, and games, while music creators can experience significant enhancements to songwriting, beat making, production, and mixing,” Apple said in a March 24 press release.
The song itself must be available in a lossless format. Luckily, Apple Music offers more than 100 million songs in lossless audio.
“By delivering lossless, high-resolution digital audio with low latency, artists can seamlessly record and mix with AirPods Max without compromising fidelity,” said Apple.
The USB-C/Audio adapter cable you need
Unfortunately, the new AirPods Max lossless audio feature is only for the upgraded headphones Apple launched in September 2024 with a USB-C port. It apparently won’t come to the original version with a Lightning connector, likely due to USB-C’s higher data-transfer speeds.
On the plus side, the USB-C AirPods Max did not previously support a basic wired mode via a cable, like the prior Lightning model. This new update lets you use the high-end cans with many more devices like turntables and amplifiers that only work with a headphone jack.
Along with its announcement in March, Apple also introduced a 1.2-meter USB-C to 3.5 mm Audio Cable for devices that can’t output audio over a USB-C connection. The new cable costs $39. It can connect USB-C AirPods Max and Beats Studio Pro to a sound source with a headphone jack.
You also can use it to connect USB-C iPhones and iPads to an external speaker.
AirPods Max update brings ultra-low latency audio, too
The newly released AirPods Max software update also brings a bonus feature for gamers and live streamers: ultra-low latency audio. This significantly lowers the lag time between the device sending the audio and the sound playing on the headphones. Apple says the speed of audio going to AirPods Max via USB-C “is on par with the native built-in speakers on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.”
When listening to music or a podcast, latency is essentially meaningless. But for gamers, poor latency can be irritating. When they see something happen on the screen, there’s a noticeable delay before they hear it happen.
“With no response delay, gameplay and livestreaming become reliably smooth and even more immersive for users,” Apple said.
Now available
Lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio for AirPods Max with USB-C supposedly became available Monday as a free firmware update alongside iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS Sequoia 15.4 and visionOS 2.4. However, Apple later changed the release notes to describe the update as “coming soon.” That changed again on Wednesday — the update is now available.
The latest even got a new version number: 7E101 in place of version 7E99 that was supposed to go out earlier in the week.
Need help with the upgrade? Read the Cult of Mac guide to installing AirPods firmware updates.
We originally published this article on March 24, 2025. We updated it several times with fresh information about Apple’s AirPods Max lossless audio software update.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
