1. Best for an all-Apple trip
Apple AirPods Max (USB-C)
Superb on an iPhone and genuinely hostile to a carry-on: 386.2 g, no fold, a soft case that leaves the headband exposed, and no audio cable in the box.
Our editorial score: 7.4 / 10
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This review is more critical than most, and it is worth saying why up front: the AirPods Max is a genuinely excellent headphone that has been designed for a desk, a sofa and a commute rather than for a pressurized cabin and a 40-liter bag. Everything below follows from that.
If your devices are all Apple, if you mostly fly short-haul, and if you carry a bag with room to spare, none of this will bother you and you will love them. If you fly long-haul in economy with a tight personal item, every one of the four numbers below works against you.
What works on a plane
- Lossless audio over USB-C, and the tightest handoff between an iPhone, iPad and Mac of anything here
- The metal-and-mesh build is the most durable in this group
- Spatial Audio with head tracking makes a movie on your own iPad genuinely better
What does not
- 386.2 g, the heaviest here by roughly 90 g, and you feel every gram past hour three
- Does not fold, and the Smart Case leaves the headband exposed while adding 134.5 g
- 20 rated hours is the shortest battery in this group and will not clear a long-haul plus a layover
- No 3.5 mm cable in the box, so a seatback screen needs an adapter you buy separately
How it scores against the five travel axes
Published specifications
| Spec | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 13.6 oz (386.2 g) | Apple tech specs |
| Smart Case weight | 4.74 oz (134.5 g) | Apple tech specs |
| Dimensions | 168.6 mm W x 83.4 mm D x 187.3 mm H | Apple tech specs |
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 20 hours listening | Apple tech specs |
| Quick charge | 5 minutes gives around 1.5 hours | Apple tech specs |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | Apple tech specs |
| In the box | Headphones, Smart Case, USB-C cable, documentation | Apple tech specs |
| Folds | No | Apple tech specs |
The Apple AirPods Max is the weakest travel case of any flagship noise-canceling headphone. Apple publishes 386.2 g — roughly 130 g more than the Sony WH-1000XM6 — it does not fold, its Smart Case weighs a further 134.5 g while leaving the headband exposed, it is rated at 20 hours with Active Noise Cancellation, and no 3.5 mm cable is in the box. The canceling and the sound are excellent; the packing and the endurance are not.
The short version
Who this is for, and who it is not
Buy it if your phone, tablet and laptop are all Apple and you value the handoff between them more than you value carry-on volume. The device switching genuinely is better than anything else here, Spatial Audio with head tracking makes a film on your own iPad noticeably more immersive, and the metal-and-mesh build will outlast every plastic competitor on this site.
Do not buy it as a long-haul headphone. Twenty rated hours does not comfortably clear a 14-hour leg plus a four-hour connection plus the gate, and if you land with a flat headphone on a two-leg itinerary you have bought the wrong thing. The Sony WH-1000XM6 is 132 g lighter, folds, and is rated at 30 hours. The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 is rated at 60.
Criterion one
Cabin noise: genuinely very good
Credit where it is due. The AirPods Max canceling is excellent and sits comfortably in the same tier as the Sony, if a step behind the Bose in the deepest part of the low band. The large cavity and the sealed pads give it strong passive isolation to build on, and Apple’s implementation is steady rather than restless when cabin conditions change.
On engine drone specifically it does what you want: the continuous pressure disappears, and what remains is the row behind you. If quiet were the only criterion this would be a straightforward recommendation.
Criterion two
Battery: the number that decides it
Apple publishes up to 20 hours of listening with Active Noise Cancellation enabled, and up to 20 hours of movie playback with ANC and Spatial Audio on. Five minutes of charge gives around 1.5 hours.
Twenty hours is the shortest figure of any over-ear on this site. Here is why that matters in practice rather than on a spec sheet:
| Itinerary | Hours in use | AirPods Max (20 h) | Sony XM6 (30 h) | Sennheiser M4 (60 h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One 13-hour leg plus gate | approx. 15 | Fine | Fine | Fine |
| 13-hour leg, 4-hour layover, 3-hour leg | approx. 22 | Runs out | Fine | Fine |
| Out and back in 48 hours, no charger | approx. 34 | Runs out | Runs out | Fine |
The quick charge softens this if you have an outlet in the lounge, and USB-C charging means a battery pack works while you wear them. But the plain reading is that this is a headphone that expects to be charged every night, and long-haul travel is exactly the situation where that assumption breaks.
Criterion three
Pack size: the real disqualifier
Apple publishes the dimensions: 168.6 mm wide, 83.4 mm deep, 187.3 mm high. It does not fold. The Smart Case is soft, weighs 134.5 g, and leaves the headband exposed — it protects the cups and the mesh, not the band.
Headphones plus case is 520.7 g of published weight that will not compress and will not fold. The Sony, in its case, folds into roughly half the volume.
In a personal item that also holds a laptop, a charger, a water bottle and something to read, this is the difference between packing headphones and wearing them through three terminals because they will not go in the bag. It is not a small complaint and it is the single reason this sits at the bottom of our over-ear roundup rather than the top.
Criterion four
Comfort past hour three
The mesh canopy headband distributes weight better than a conventional padded band, and that is a genuine piece of engineering: the AirPods Max feels lighter on the head than 386.2 g suggests it should. Apple clearly knew the weight was a problem and solved as much of it as a headband can.
It does not solve all of it. Past hour three the mass is still there in your neck rather than on your crown, particularly if you are sleeping upright or reading with your head tilted. And the mesh cups, while breathable, do not seal as gently as the Sennheiser’s. For an overnight flight where you intend to sleep, this is the wrong form factor entirely — see best headphones for sleeping on a plane.
Criterion five
The seatback screen: nothing in the box
Apple’s own in-the-box list is AirPods Max, Smart Case, USB-C Charge Cable and documentation. There is no 3.5 mm cable and no adapter. To use these with a seatback entertainment system you must buy something extra, and you must remember to pack it.
Two options. A USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter plus an aux cable, which is fiddly and adds two things to lose. Or a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the airline jack and sends the audio wirelessly, which is cleaner, works with every headphone you will ever own, and is what we would actually carry. Bluetooth headphones and in-flight entertainment goes through all three routes.
The alternatives
What else you should look at
- Apple AirPods Pro 3 — if the reason you want AirPods Max is the Apple ecosystem, the Pro 3 gives you the same integration at a fraction of the weight, with 8 rated hours and 24 with the case. For flying this is almost always the better Apple answer.
- Sony WH-1000XM6 — 254 g, folds, 30 rated hours, 3.5 mm socket. The straightforward recommendation.
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) — quieter, lighter, and the seatback cable is in the box.
Where it sits in our roundups
The AirPods Max appears in best noise-canceling headphones for flights and best over-ear headphones for flights, in both cases as the Apple-ecosystem pick rather than the overall one. The head-to-heads are against the Sony WH-1000XM6 and against the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
In short
Key takeaways
- 386.2 g, and 520.7 g once you include the 134.5 g Smart Case. Nothing else here is close.
- It does not fold, and the Smart Case leaves the headband exposed.
- 20 rated hours with ANC is the shortest of any over-ear on this site and will not clear a two-leg long-haul.
- No 3.5 mm cable or adapter in the box, so the seatback screen needs a separate purchase.
- The canceling, build and Apple integration are genuinely excellent — if you fly short-haul with a roomy bag, none of the above matters.
How we decide
How these picks were chosen
We do not run a test lab and we do not claim to have flown with these units. Every verdict on this page is one of three things: a measurement published by somebody who does own a test rig and is credited by name, a manufacturer specification we quote and then interpret against what a long flight actually demands, or a plainly-labeled editorial judgment. The five axes we score on — cabin-noise reduction, battery on a long-haul, pack size, comfort past hour three, and wired fallback — are the ones that decide a travel purchase, and the weighting is published in full.
Questions
Common questions
Are AirPods Max good for long flights?
Not especially. Apple rates them at 20 hours with Active Noise Cancellation, which is the shortest figure of any over-ear here and does not comfortably cover a long leg plus a layover plus the gate. They also weigh 386.2 g and do not fold. The canceling is excellent; the endurance and the packing are not.
Do AirPods Max fold?
No. Apple’s tech specs list fixed dimensions of 168.6 mm by 83.4 mm by 187.3 mm, and the Smart Case is a soft cover that leaves the headband exposed rather than a folding case. This is the single biggest practical difference from the Sony WH-1000XM6.
Can you use AirPods Max with in-flight entertainment?
Not out of the box. Apple lists only the headphones, Smart Case, USB-C cable and documentation, so there is no 3.5 mm cable. You need either a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter plus an aux cable, or a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the airline jack.
How heavy are AirPods Max compared with other flagships?
386.2 g against approximately 254 g for the Sony WH-1000XM6, 264 g for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen and 278 g for the JBL Tour One M3. The Smart Case adds a further 134.5 g.
Should I buy AirPods Max or AirPods Pro 3 for travel?
For flying, AirPods Pro 3 almost every time. You get the same Apple integration, 8 rated hours per charge and 24 with the case, and something that vanishes into a pocket — against 386.2 g that does not fold.
Sources
Where these figures come from
Read next
Related reading
- AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000XM6
386.2 g and no fold against 254 g and a case.
- AirPods Max vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Ecosystem against quiet.
- Apple AirPods Pro 3 review
The Apple answer that actually suits a carry-on.
- Best over-ear headphones for flights
Where the AirPods Max ranks against the field, and why.