Practice with the AirPods Max Shield case from WaterField Designs

Earlier this week, we highlighted some third-party accessories that seek to address some of the shortcomings of Apple’s AirPods Max Smart case, including a new zippered case from WaterField Designs that does a much better job of protecting headphones when not in use. .

Our cameraman Dan had a chance to try WaterField’s new $ 99 leather Shield case, and he was impressed by its quality and usefulness. He feels, however, that this is the kind of thing that should have been shipped with the PAirPods Max‌ in the first place, rather than requiring the purchase of a third-party accessory in addition to the $ 549 price tag for the PAirPods Max‌ themselves.

The Case Shield is certainly bulky, but there’s not much that WaterField could have done about it considering the ‌AirPods Max‌ design which only allows the earmuffs to be turned inwards and does not allow for a more compact folded arrangement seen on many other headsets heard.

If you can live with the volume, the protective cover offers several interesting features, including a zippered design that completely protects the ‌AirPods Max, unlike Apple’s smart cover that leaves the headband and even parts of the headphones exposed.

In addition to the main compartment for the PAirPods Max‌, the protective cover includes three smaller pockets for cables and other accessories: a padded bottom with zipper closure on the front of the cover, a net on the back and a small one with velcro closure inside the box. .

One of the main benefits of Apple’s Smart Case is that it can put your ‌AirPods Max‌ immediately into a low power mode to save battery, making use of magnets built into the case to trigger the mode. The protective cover from WaterField does the same thing, thanks to what it calls the Magnetic Leather Butterfly, a leather flap with built-in magnets that not only triggers low-power mode, but also helps prevent both ‌AirPods ear protectors Max‌ touch each other while inside the cover.

If you want to bring your smart case along with your irAirPods Max‌, the protective case covers you too, as the ‌AirPods Max‌ / smart case fits perfectly and the leather butterfly unfolds out of the way.

In short, the Shield cover from WaterField Designs is a quality product that does its job well. It’s a little expensive at $ 99, but when you’re ready to spend $ 549 on ‌AirPods Max‌, it can be a useful addition to help protect your purchase.

The protective cover is available in four styles: chocolate leather and waxed canvas, black leather with ballistic nylon, blue leather with ballistic nylon and crimson leather with ballistic nylon. Similar to the ‌AirPods Max‌ themselves, the sandbox is missing, with new orders scheduled to ship on February 19.