Skip to content
Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.Apple

AirPods Max

Apple's over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation and spatial audio

AirPods Max are Apple's full-size headphones, with active noise cancellation, a transparency mode that lets the room back in, and spatial audio. Aluminum and steel make them heavier than most rivals. They hand off between devices signed into the same Apple account without pairing again. The price is several times what mainstream noise-canceling headphones cost. Plenty of owners buy them as much for shutting a room out as for how they sound.

Who backs it

Sorted by strength of stance

  • Apple productivity writer · MacSparky

    Owns a pair of AirPods Max, which he calls overpriced while rating the sound and the noise cancellation. Since his studio sits in the middle of the house, putting them on tells the rest of the family he is working. They hang under the desk on an ElevationLab Anchor.

    Source: MacSparky: Studio

Other entries filed under focus or productivity.

  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    Kindle e-reader

    Amazon

    E-ink reader that makes a daily reading habit easy to keep

    Backed by 6 of 62 stacks: 6 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    Standing desk

    A desk that raises, so part of the working day happens on your feet

    Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    iPad

    Apple

    Apple's tablet, used here as the device the reading app runs on

    Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Paper notebook

    A bound notebook for thinking on paper away from a screen

    Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.

    Phone lockbox

    A lockable box with a timer that puts the phone out of reach for a set period

    Backed by 2 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
  • Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.

    AirPods Pro

    Apple

    Apple's noise-cancelling earbuds, worn for calls, editing and quiet

    Backed by 1 of 62 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it

Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.