I think people are mainly confused because the AirPod Pros are quite competitively priced compared to other higher end offerings. The Max are so far off the market that it doesn't seem to make any sense and it seems unlikely that apple couldn't make up for lost margins with higher volume. Maybe they just literally can't/don't want to produce many of the Max and price them accordingly.
I'm delighted to see somebody else who refuses to use the pompous syntax Apple promote for these things. Entire thread full of people uncritically accepting that they should be referred to in actual conversation as AirPods Max as if it's a term that deserves more grammatical respect than most of them would give to attorneys general.
I say this as someone who uses many Apple products, but still can't justify buying this. (I do have AirPods but have wanted headphones so I don't have to stick something into my ears)
If you try to understand this stuff outside the context of fashion, you'll go around in circles (as I did).
If you see this through the lens of "people will pay anything to signal various things to others" and "you can charge whatever the market will bear" then it all adds up.
I believe that one day they will return to an ergonomic phone that is comfortable for one hand use and fits in pants pockets. Until then you need some other way to carry giant phones.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-po...
That’s all you have to understand.