Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4.
For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which result in some data loss. Then, there are lossless compression standards like Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which preserve all of the original data. The entire Apple Music catalog of more than 100 million songs is encoded in both AAC and ALAC.
In a post on X today, Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak said lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio are the "ultimate" audio upgrades for the AirPods Max, promising "mind-blowing sound quality." However, this marketing claim appears to be at odds with what Apple states in a support document on its website.
In the document, Apple says AAC already delivers audio that is "virtually indistinguishable" from an original studio recording. Accordingly, the company also says "the difference between AAC and lossless audio is virtually indistinguishable."
If lossless audio offers no major improvement over AAC, according to Apple, then calling it an "ultimate" upgrade is unjustified marketing hype.
As for lower latency, that does not directly impact sound quality.
All in all, lossless audio is far less significant of an upgrade than Joswiak is making it out to be, as Apple admits on its very own website.
Update — March 25: While the increased sound quality of lossless audio is not perceptible to everyone, it is worth keeping in mind that the upgrade will unlock another benefit when paired with ultra-low latency. According to Apple's announcement, these two upgrades combined will make the AirPods Max with a USB-C port the only headphones that enable musicians to both create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking.