Oliver Haslam·

Apple Says It Prototyped Hundreds Of Designs For AirPods Max, Defends Controversial Smart Case

Apple says that it went through hundreds of prototypes when it was coming up with the design for AirPods Max.

In an interview with Japanese site Casa BRUTUS, VP of Industrial Design, Evans Hankey, VP of Product Marketing, Bob Borchers, and Industrial Designer, Eugene Whang spoke about the work that went into making the AirPods Max what they are today.

There are a few interesting points throughout the Japanese interview, despite Google Translate mangling it slightly. According to the trio of Apple employees, the company considered tough controls for the headphones but ultimately decided that the Digital Crown offered a more precise control.

The company also went into details about the AirPods Max Smart Case, an accessory that has come in for quite some attention in recent days. Not least because it looks like a bra. The design has also come in for criticism for the amount of space the AirPods Max take up when stowed away, but Apple says the whole thing was about storage efficiency.

“Today, most headphones come with large, cumbersome cases, but we travel a lot, so we know how important it is to fit in a bag. So it’s extremely storage efficient. I wanted to make a good case. Our case has a structure in which one sheet is cut out and fastened in several places so that it becomes three-dimensional. When the ear cup is rotated and inserted here, the headband is exposed. Although it is still in the state, it is judged that it is not necessary to cover it because it is made strong in the first place. Also, thanks to the exposed band, it is possible to have a function that you can easily grasp it with your hand and take it out of the bag. can we have”

The full report is well worth a read if you can geet beyond the language barrier. Regardless of the Smart Case troubles, the AirPods Max demand has been strong enough to push new delivery windows into March of 2021. Even at that seemingly high $549 asking price.

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