Apple‘s AirPods Max, which hit the market back in December 2020, have been left untouched regarding updates, while the AirPods Pro have seen several hardware and software improvements.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that Apple was gearing up to refresh the AirPods Max, adding USB-C compatibility and new color options, which was anticipated to align them with the advanced features of the AirPods Pro. However, the latest word on the street suggests otherwise.

In his recent Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman revealed that Apple isn’t planning any significant upgrades for the AirPods Max. In fact, the changes will be so minor that they won’t even warrant a bump in the generation number. Gurman did mention that Apple’s plans could change, but for now, it’s looking like a modest update is in the cards.

The primary motivation behind this refresh appears to be compliance with European Commission regulations mandating USB-C for charging accessories such as headphones. Currently, AirPods Max uses Apple’s proprietary Lightning port, which will soon be phased out.

The similarities between this update and the previous USB-C revision in September are striking. Both use the same internal chipset, the H1, rather than the newer H2 chip. This means that the AirPods Max won’t benefit from the advanced software features introduced for the AirPods Pro with iOS 17, including Adaptive Audio, Conversational Awareness, Personalized Volume settings, and ‘Siri’ wake word support.

Regrettably, those who were hoping for further enhancements to Apple’s $550 headphones will likely be disappointed. The design of the charging case remains unchanged, and features like the U1 chip for Precision Finding will still be missing. So, while there’s an update on the horizon, it seems that AirPods Max users won’t get the same feature-rich experience as their AirPods Pro counterparts anytime soon.