Where is the best place to buy AirPods Max?
Best answer: If you're not looking for the quickest way to get a pair of AirPods Max, Best Buy is likely your best bet.Get the AirPods Max sooner: AirPods Max at Best Buy (opens in new tab) ($549 at Best Buy)If you don't mind waiting: AirPods Max at Apple (opens in new tab) ($549 at Apple)
Best Buy seems to have stock
As of publishing, Best Buy seems to have stock of the AirPods Max, but only in the space gray and silver color options. All other colors — sky blue, green, and pink — appear to be sold out.
On top of having them in stock, Best Buy says that delivery for a pair of AirPods Max should only take about six days, which is way better than the three or four-month waiting period that Apple is currently estimating.
Ordering through Apple means big wait times
If you want to order your AirPods Max through Apple, you're likely going to be waiting a long time.
The average wait time for a pair of AirPods at Apple seems to be about three months, meaning you won't see your AirPods Max until about March.
There are some reasons why waiting that long may be worth it to you. If you want the sky blue, green, or pink color options, Best Buy doesn't have those for sale right now (you can't even order them for when they have stock), and if you want anything personalized engraving, you'll only be able to get that through Apple.
As my colleague Bryan pointed out, Apple won't charge you for the AirPods Max until they fulfill the order, which means you can save your place in line while you budget the money over time, so the sticker shock doesn't seem so bad.
Only in space gray and silver
If you don't need the fancy colors, you can get the space gray or silver AirPods Max from Best Buy, and they should get to you in about a week.
Any color with a wait
If you want sky blue, green, or pink AirPods Max, Apple is really your only option. You'll likely be waiting for about three months for your pair to arrive, but you can get that engraving if you want to personalize it.
