An attempted class action lawsuit alleging that sweat condensation is killing AirPods Max prematurely has seen most of its claims thrown out by a judge.
The AirPods Max have been the subject of complaints about condensation buildup, even if that hasn't really translated into significant repairs. That hasn't stopped one lawsuit from taking Apple on, though a judge has seemingly taken the bite out of the legal challenge.
Stemming from a 2025 lawsuit, the filing posted by Law360 from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has Judge Orelia E. Merchant throw out most of the claims. All over whether AirPods Max has a condensation problem.
The 24-page filing recounts the lawsuit, which claims plaintiff Arthur Apicella noticed condensation in his AirPods Max after watching a movie. Indeed, he claims the AirPods Max "generated condensation" after about 15 minutes of use.
Similarly, Dustin Amundson bought AirPods Max and saw the condensation every time he used them.
The pair said that the condensation couldn't allow them to enjoy "exhilarating high-fidelity audio," with alleged switches in connection between devices, pauses, and reduced battery life.
Most claims denied
In the filing, Judge Merchant dismissed all of the claims brought by the New York-based Apicella with prejudice. Under New York's implied warranty of merchantability, there needs to be a "minimal level of quality," not perfection.
That means the defendant's admission of being able to watch a movie with them worked against the lawsuit. Apple's dismissal request for Apicella's claims was granted with prejudice.
Though Apicella was dropped, the Washington state-based Amundson still had two claims available, including Washington law and the federal-level Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Ultimately, Apple's motion to dismiss the Amundson set of claims was denied in part. Some Washington common law fraud claims were dismissed with prejudice.
With the lawsuit set to continue, Apple has to file its opposition to any amended complaints by September 4, 2026.
A very small water problem
While the lawsuits allege that there's a condensation problem, it's not a device-specific problem. Indeed, back in 2023 when the complaints were prevalent, the issue was inherent to over-year headphones in general.
But there's a difference between the reports and complaints existing and it being prevalent. Even in our own long-term review, we acknowledged it was a possibility, but after two years, didn't experience it ourselves.
As for the 2023 expert analysis, there was no evidence of a widespread defect or problem that was seen by repair stores. Apple has no repair programs in effect, and a spot-check of Genius Bars on Tuesday morning don't suggest that there is a high service rate on the devices.
