Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

Episode: Did Anything Change with AirPods Max 2?
Date: March 20, 2026
Hosts: Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), Andrew Manganelli, David Imel
Special Guests/Co-hosts: Ellis Roven, Adam

Brief Overview

In this episode, the Waveform crew dives into the latest updates on Apple’s AirPods Max 2, breaks down their thoughts on notable tech launches and discontinuations (Samsung’s Trifold), recaps their South by Southwest trip, and explores new gadgetry like the customizable Pwnage Sim 3 mouse. They discuss everything from AI-driven upscaling in gaming graphics to marketing lingo in the tech world, all with their usual blend of deep expertise and lighthearted banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. YouTube’s Shorts History Frustration (02:09–06:50)

• Andrew rants about how watching YouTube Shorts on mobile clogs the watch history on the TV app, making it impossible to find long-form videos later.
  • “So the thing is, they know how to already because on your desktop app it's separated… But on tv, the place where you are most likely to not watch shorts and only watch long form… now, when I get into bed later and try and find the video I watched… It’s not there because there's 20 freaking shorts.” (03:15)
• The team discusses how Shorts overwhelm recommendation systems due to enormous daily views vs. traditional videos.
  • Marques: “5 billion views per day of long form videos, but 200 billion views per day of shorts… shorts are not going anywhere.” (05:47)

2. Playback Speeds & Content Consumption (07:09–10:32)

• David laments the inability to change YouTube playback speed on his projector, while also noting he watches videos at up to 3x for research purposes.
  • “There is the option...But when you go to click it, it's grayed out and it says not available on this device.” (07:56)
• Marques debates whether videos are meant to be watched at 1x and the appropriateness of speeding up content for info vs experience.
  • “I would argue almost all content is meant to be watched.” (09:29)

3. South by Southwest Recap (11:14–24:00)

• The hosts recount a whirlwind trip to Austin, mentioning their live show, meeting fans, and tales of networking.
  • “Thank you to everyone who came. That was amazing. That was so much fun.” (11:43)
• Unexpected recognition for Marques: “One out of every hundred will be like, oh, you're the Frisbee guy. And I'm like, whoa.” (13:03)
• They visited a Tesla “activation” featuring a CyberCab in a glass trailer and discussed the confusing branding around Tesla robotaxis.
  • “There's the robo taxi sitting right there… It's a two door, gold painted, steering wheel thing.” (14:51, 16:32)

4. Austin Car Sightings: Tesla CyberCab & Rivian R2 (14:13–23:51)

• The gang shares impressions of the Tesla CyberCab’s prototype (lots of vinyl and visual tricks for show), ongoing confusion about model names, and skepticism over release plans.
  • “Now they had essentially glued a hubcap that is larger than the wheel itself and extends onto the tire…” (17:48)
• David & Ellis get a ride in Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV and praise the ride and opportunity to speak with engineers directly.
  • “The people driving these cars were engineers and developers for the cars… much more interesting.” (21:13–21:53)
• Frustration with Rivian not selling fun “plaid” wrap colors for real cars.
  • “Rivian, please sell us the wrapped R2. It looks so cool.” (23:23)

5. Brain Audio Party Pro Speaker Demo (24:51–31:38)

• The guys visit Brain Audio in Austin, previewing their new Party Pro speaker—known for its striking bass output and innovative design.
  • Ellis: “One of the cool things is… you can stack them… and form the speaker arrangement called a line array.” (29:07)
• They discuss how Brain embodies “garage innovator” energy, but note the speaker’s niche price and pro-oriented features will limit mass appeal.
  • “The Bluetooth speaker market is like one of those crabs where eventually you just end up at party speaker…most people by volume are like, how loud?” (30:49)

6. Samsung Trifold Discontinued (39:55–43:03)

• Samsung’s trifold phone is discontinued after poor sales (under 6,000 units sold in Korea).
  • David: “The decision reportedly comes as a result of high production costs, which made the Trifold nearly impossible to make a profit on.” (40:11)
  • Marques: “The tri fold to me was just Samsung going, hey, what if this works? Let's try it. We're Samsung... sometimes it doesn't work.” (41:42)

7. New: Nothing Phone 4A and 4A Pro (44:12–51:21)

• Marques gives his verdict: the 4A is a great mid-range value, but the 4A Pro’s only real upgrades are aluminum build and fancier glyph lighting.
  • “You're spending theoretically 150 more dollars for this Pro phone. All you're getting, honestly, is the aluminum build and the glyph matrix… The screens are almost the same. The cameras are almost the same.” (49:49)
• The 4A (non-Pro) offers triple cameras and OLED for $349—a stand-out deal in today’s market.

8. AirPods Max 2 Released — but Did Anything Change? (52:16–59:47)

Announcement Summary (52:16–53:10)

• Announced quietly via press release, AirPods Max 2 gets:
  • H2 chip (same as recent AirPods Pro)
  • New amplifiers
  • One and a half times stronger ANC
  • “Studio quality” mics
  • Camera remote via the crown
  • No major design or physical changes—same case, same controversial “canopy” headband

Notable Quotes & Reactions:

• Marques: “Apple is in pure marketing land with these terms. But yes, the top of the AirPods Max is officially called the canopy.” (53:10)
• Ellis: “I wish they would have a studio mode. Because… all this computing, it's not ideal [for pro audio work].” (57:42)
• David: “It is quite, like, crazy and kind of ironic that such a simple design has become so, like, iconic. Like, I see them all over Brooklyn. People run with these things, which is insane to me because they're so heavy.” (59:47)

New Features Discussed (54:08–57:18)

• Personalized volume, camera remote (use the Digital Crown to take a selfie), voice isolation, but no major hardware improvements.
• Hosts roast “studio quality microphone” claims and muse on marketing exaggeration:
  • “No studio has ever used these microphones.” (53:53, Marques)

9. Tech Marketing Jargon & Product Positioning (47:50–49:46)

• How manufacturers obfuscate technical changes behind shiny marketing (“bigger and brighter glyph” = lower resolution).
  • Andrew: “Their way of saying this is, oh, this is physically bigger but also way worse resolution. But we're not gonna say it has less pixels in it.” (48:48)

10. Nvidia GTC: DLSS 5 & Generative Graphics Drama (72:06–77:14)

• Nvidia launches DLSS 5, which uses AI to generate new textures in games; gets flak for over-sharpened images and questionable demo comparisons.
  • David: “It's almost this uncanny valley thing... It’s like that close off that it feels awkward. And the sharpenings and the contrast are just way up.” (73:45)
• Debates the morality of letting AI create textures that used to be the domain of artists.
  • “If you are letting the graphics card use deep learning to create textures for you, how much of that gets taken away from the original artists?” (75:14)

11. Gadget Spotlight: Pixel Paw and Pwnage Sim 3 Gaming Mice (78:17–86:00)

• They spotlight the Pixel Paw mouse/joy-con hybrid (with much doubt about the scroll wheel omission and build quality), and Andrew introduces the highly customizable Pwnage Sim 3 mouse.
• Marques reminisces about his Cyborg RAT mouse and bemoans how he was mocked for “modular” mice years ago:
  • “I got made fun of for that relentlessly. It's the same thing. It's the same thing... I got hate for it and then I retired it. And now this idea suddenly, oh, you can customize your mouse.” (83:11)

12. Apple Acquires MotionVFX (63:10–68:21)

• The crew reacts to Apple’s purchase of MotionVFX (a top plugin maker for Final Cut Pro), speculating Apple will eventually lock these plugins to Final Cut only.
  • “This is how I think it will go based on how past things have gone... now they pull support for DaVinci Resolve and Premiere and it's just available for Final Cut... and then eventually in some year and a half... Final Cut will start to see stuff from Motion VFX built in.” (65:06, Marques)

13. Quick Hits & Trivia Fun (87:08–91:59)

• The trivia section interlaces facts about YouTube, Apple event history, and more—full of clever in-jokes and audience engagement.
  • Ellis hosts a classic: “What is the title of the Tom Scott video that auto-updates with its current view count?” (33:31)
• Banter about St. Patrick’s Day, color theory, and tech roll call closes out the casual yet always informative show.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Did they even test this?” — recurring joke for ill-thought-out UX/UI.
• “Apple is in pure marketing land with these terms. The top of the AirPods Max is officially called the canopy.” (53:10, Marques)
• “I want my headphones to learn me. I don't want my headphones to learn me so that I can interpret everything coming out of the headphones.” (57:02, Ellis)
• “The Bluetooth speaker market is like one of those crabs where eventually you just end up at party speaker.” (30:49, Marques)
• “[The Cyborg Rat Mouse] was the cybertruck of gaming mice.” (83:43, Andrew)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:09 – YouTube Shorts clogging history
• 07:09 – Playback speed gripes & information consumption
• 11:14 – SXSW recap & listener meetups
• 14:13 – Tesla CyberCab, Robo Taxi observations
• 20:43 – Rivian R2 ride-along & color gripes
• 24:51 – Brain Audio Party Pro demo
• 39:55 – Samsung Trifold abruptly discontinued
• 44:12 – First impressions: Nothing Phone 4A & 4A Pro
• 52:16 – AirPods Max 2: what’s new, what’s not
• 72:06 – Nvidia GTC/DLSS 5 discussion
• 78:17 – Pixel Paw and Pwnage Sim 3 mice review
• 63:10 – Apple acquires MotionVFX (plugin drama)
• 87:08 – Trivia (Tom Scott auto-updating video, Apple events)

Tone and Style

The episode flows with the Waveform team's classic blend of expertise, dry wit, running jokes, and genuine tech enthusiasm best captured in free-wheeling group discussions and playful rants.

Conclusion

Whether waxing poetic about modular mice or roasting Apple’s marketing vocabulary, the gang spends this episode balancing news, hands-on impressions, and sharp commentary on tech’s quirks and progress. AirPods Max 2's subtle iteration, the “death” of Samsung’s trifold, and new mid-range phone value are dissected with context and humor, making this a rich and entertaining must-catch for tech fans and industry insiders alike.