In conjunction with the release of AirPods Max this week, a trio of Apple executives sat down for an interview with the Japanese design website Casa BRUTUS. In the interview, Evans Hankey, Apple’s VP of industrial design, Eugene Whang, industrial designer, and Bob Borchers, VP of product marketing, talked in depth about the new AirPods Max and the controversial Smart Case.
Note that Apple’s quotes have been translated from Japanese into English, so they may sound a bit clunky.
A previous Apple designer had already indicated that Apple has been working on AirPods Max for more than four years. In this interview, Hanky explained that Apple only has “one chance to enter a product category, so we wanted to make the most of it.”
Hankey explained that Apple went through hundreds of different design iterations before settling for the final version of AirPods Max. Wang added that Apple chose materials for the AirPods Max it was already familiar with, such as aluminum:
“We are quite familiar with aluminum and the oxidation process, and we also have a good understanding of the light and shadows that float on it. The ear cups got that shape because they were made of aluminum. The other materials probably had different shapes. There is an inseparable relationship between the material and the form. “
Using software content with AirPods Max also helps them differentiate them from competing products, Wang explains:
“The inside of the ear cup has a soft cushion that can be attached and detached with a magnet. In the choice of material we have chosen the material that we are used to wearing on the skin and the material that we prefer to wear. We choose really soft fabrics that are made to wear rather than fake materials such as vinyl, vinyl or faux leather. “
One of the more controversial features of AirPods Max is its accompanying Smart Case. Wang explained that Apple chose this design because it is more space-efficient than hard cases used by other over-ear headphones. The Apple designer added that while the Smart Case leaves the headband exposed, users shouldn’t worry because the mesh material is strong in the first place:
“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 is extremely storage efficient. I wanted to make a good thing. 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 pinna is rotated and inserted here, the headband is visible. While it is still in the state it is not considered necessary to cover it as it was made strong in the first place. Thanks to the exposed strap, it is also possible to have a function that you can easily grab with your hand and take it out of the bag. “
Finally, the interview also seems to acknowledge that Apple tried out touch controls for AirPods Max, but ultimately decided on the Digital Crown design instead.
The full interview is well worth reading and can be found at Casa BRUTUS website. What do you think of the AirPods Max Smart Case’s justification? Let us know in the comments!
Via Macotakara
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