AirPods Max are some of the best headphones you can buy, but they’re also some of the most expensive. So it’s no wonder that you’d want to make your investment worthwhile by wearing them wherever you go. But there’s a time you should consider leaving your AirPods Max at home — during exercise.
Though it’s not strongly advertised, Apple AirPods Max are not rated for sweat and water resistance. I’ve seen dozens of users wearing their AirPods Max at the gym or out on runs, and wonder if they know that their current cans aren’t the most ideal workout headphones.
While it’s great to get a sweat on to a stellar soundtrack, the sweat isn’t good for AirPods Max. A couple of training sessions shouldn’t destroy your headphones, but continued exposure to moisture could cause damage. And is the case for other Apple devices, damage caused by water is not covered under warranty.
So, even if you know how to clean AirPods to clear away dirt or other stains related to exercise, you still could end up at risk of broken headphones when you wear AirPods Max for workouts.
That said, if you’re not prone to sweating, you might not need to be as concerned about wearing your AirPods max for mild workouts. Similarly, walking — either indoor on a treadmill or outdoors for a Hot Girl Walk — could be fine as long as you’re not sweating very much.
But if you want to take the best care of your AirPods Max (beyond keeping them safe in an AirPods Max case), consider these AirPods Max alternatives for exercise below instead.
AirPods Max alternatives for exercise
Of course, AirPods Max are still great headphones for travel, work and hanging around. You could even pair them to your Apple TV 4K for listening to shows with Spatial Audio.
But if you want to take the best care of them possible, keep them sweat-free.