AirPods Max 2 wireless headphones or touch control

On February 7, according to Patently Apple, Apple has just obtained a patent application from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the treatment of gestures on touch-sensitive surfaces. This isn't the first time Apple has been patented for touch controls for AirPods Max wireless headphones, as it also has at least three other documents on the technology.

Apple's abstract states that an electronic device includes: at least one first touch sensitive surface; one or more processors; and memory storing one or more programs that are configured to be executed by one or more processors, one or more programs comprising instructions to detect the first gesture on at least one first touch sensitive surface, including detecting the orientation of the first gesture relative to the touch sensitive surface And in response to detecting the first gesture: according to the determination of the electronic device in the direction of the first device and the direction of the first gesture corresponds to the first predetermined direction, the first action is performed.

Touch controls on airPods Max 2 can make it easier to jump songs, invoke Siri, turn volume up or down, and more.

As of now, having a digital crown is still a fairly clever and unique feature for Apple's high-end headphones. By the end of 2020, when Apple launched the first generation of AirPods Max, the design team behind the product was interviewed by the Japanese design website Casa BRUTUS. In that interview, Apple admitted to trying touch controls for the AirPods Max, but ultimately opted for the design of the digital crown. Maybe with the introduction of the AirPods Max 2, that will change.

It's unclear if Apple will introduce new high-end headphones. In 2021, market news said that the company planned to launch a new AirPods Max headset color that year, but that didn't happen.