Beats Studio Pro vs. Apple AirPods Max

Beats and Apple are known for their iconic designs, and it’s easy to see why. Both the Studio Pro and the AirPods Max feature sleek lines, cleverly integrated headbands, and unique looks. Each also offers a choice of colors: Sandstone, Deep Brown, Navy, and Matte Black for the Beats, and Space Gray, Pink, Green, Sky Blue, and Silver for the AirPods Max.

The AirPods Max have been roundly criticized for their included case, which is little more than a cover for the earcups. The Studio Pro, meanwhile, fold up and can be stored in a full-zip soft pouch that also has room for accessories.

Still, it’s impossible not to award the AirPods Max major points for its use of aluminum, its incredible spring-loaded earcup pivot system, and its wholly unique mesh headband.

Beats, as always, puts a heavy emphasis on the Beats brand — albeit less so on the Studio Pro than on previous Beats models — while Apple has gone full stealth mode on the AirPods Max, with zero visible Apple branding. Apple clearly likes to let its design speak for itself.

These two headphones are so different from one another that we’re going to punt and call this one a tie.

Unlike some wireless headphones that are festooned with advanced options, both the Studio Pro and AirPods Max keep things simple. You get play/pause, track skip forward/back, volume up/down, ANC/transparency, and call answer/end.

The difference is in how these commands are executed. The Studio Pro use a series of button presses. The big “b” on the left earcup takes care of play/pause, track skipping, and calling options, while hidden buttons above and below that Beats logo handle volume changes. The weird one is ANC/transparency, which requires a double-press of the tiny power button located on the bottom of the right earcup. While quite precise and easy to use, each of these buttons produces a fairly loud clicking sound inside the headphones.

The AirPods Max, on the other hand, use just two controls on the top of the right earcup for everything. The rectangular button on the front switches ANC/transparency modes, and the digital crown, which was borrowed from the Apple Watch, does everything else. But it’s the volume control that really stands out. Instead of repeatedly (and loudly) pressing buttons as on the Studio Pro, you simply spin the digital crown clockwise or counter-clockwise, which gently increases or decreases the volume.

Throw in the AirPods Max’s wear sensors, which can auto-pause your music when you remove the headphones (something the Studio Pro lack) and the AirPods come out as our favorite in this category.

You might think that the AirPods Max, with their eight microphones (versus the six on the Studio Pro) would be better at blocking background sounds while on calls, but this hasn’t proven to be the case.

In testing both headphones, the Studio Pro actually offer better overall performance on calls, at least as far as your callers will be concerned. They block more background sounds while keeping your voice clearer than the AirPods Max.

However, on the flip side, the AirPods Max’s transparency mode makes your voice sound more natural to you while you’re on a call, which is better in the long run for preventing fatigue.

Who’s the winner? Well it really depends on how you see yourself using these headphones. If a relatively quiet indoor environment is going to be the rule, the AirPods Max will be better because of their excellent transparency. But if you take most of your calls from loud coffee shops, the gym, or while commuting, your callers will appreciate the Studio Pro.

Active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency are both very good on these two headphones, so no matter which one you pick, you’ll be able to block the sounds that bother you and let in the ones you care about.

That said, the AirPods Max do a slightly better job at ANC and a considerably better job at transparency. In fact, transparency on the AirPods Max is about as good as it gets for a set of wireless headphones. You’ll also find it more convenient to use thanks to the better controls we mentioned above.

Once again, there’s more that unites these two headphones than separates them. From a sound signature point of view, they’re nearly indistinguishable, with a very balanced approach that works well with a big variety of genres. Clarity and detail is top-notch.

But there is a difference in overall quality. The AirPods Max offer a better sense of immersion, with a wider, more detailed soundstage. They also produce a fuller, more resonant bass response — which seems counterintuitive given Beats’ reputation for bass-forward headphones.

A fully charged pair of AirPods Max cans will deliver about 20 hours of playtime with ANC turned on, depending on how loud you listen. Apple makes no claims about how much longer they’ll last if you disable ANC. A five-minute charge gives you an extra 90 minutes of playtime.

With the Beats Studio Pro, not only do you get longer playtime with ANC on (up to 24 hours), but Beats says that turning it off almost doubles your time to 40 hours. The quick-charge feature isn’t as impressive as the AirPods, however, as it takes 10 minutes to buy yourself 60 minutes of extra playtime.

Nonetheless, for anyone concerned about maximizing their time between charging sessions, the Studio Pro are the clear winners.

Apple AirPods Max

There’s no getting around the fact that the AirPods Max cost $200 more than the Beats Studio Pro. For a lot of folks, that’s a deal-breaker that overcomes any benefits that Apple’s wireless cans may offer.

However, there’s also no getting around the fact that the AirPods Max justify that extra expense for those who can afford it, with better overall performance in almost all of the criteria we’ve looked at. Objectively and subjectively, we think they’re the better headphones.

But if you’re a traveling Apple fan who wants an easy-to-stow set of cans with great battery life, and you don’t need the very best that money can buy, don’t even hesitate — the Beats Studio Pro are still a really great set of wireless noise-canceling headphones.