The design story behind AirPods Max: "We effectively made three products"

Former Apple hardware designer Eugene Whang said AirPods Max was built around head and ear diversity, with fit as a core design priority.

He said the team focused on a user-experience-first approach and kept branding minimal, avoiding logo-heavy styling.

Whang described the project as feeling like designing three products at once because of the need to accommodate different body shapes.

The interview gives a rare look at Apple’s hardware design process and how AirPods Max was shaped by ergonomic decisions.