--- title: "Apple AirPods Max vs Audio-Technica: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Apple AirPods Max or Audio-Technica more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-audio-technica" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Apple AirPods Max vs Audio-Technica: Which is searched more? Is Apple AirPods Max or Audio-Technica more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Over-ear headphone brands set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Apple AirPods Max and Audio-Technica - **Competitive set**: Over-ear headphone brands - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Apple AirPods Max Share of Search**: 29.3% - **Audio-Technica Share of Search**: 7.3% ## Is Apple AirPods Max or Audio-Technica more popular in search? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max had more branded searches than Audio-Technica among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Apple AirPods Max had about 1 million branded searches, while Audio-Technica had 249,000. Apple AirPods Max made up 29.3% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Audio-Technica accounted for 7.3%. - Apple AirPods Max was ahead of Audio-Technica in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Apple AirPods Max’s share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 31.5% to 29.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.2M to 1M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Audio-Technica’s share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide moved from 7.8% to 7.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 303K to 249K. ## Top over-ear headphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Apple AirPods Max was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Audio-Technica did not appear in any of the five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sony | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods Max | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Bowers & Wilkins | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Audio-Technica | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Beyerdynamic | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about over-ear headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "Which over ear headphone brand should I buy?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best over ear headphone brands?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Bowers & Wilkins, 5. Apple AirPods Max - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best over ear headphone brand for everyday listening?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods Max - Searched Google, AI Overview "best over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser - Searched Google, AI Overview "wireless over ear headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose Not named in any answer: Audio-Technica and Beyerdynamic. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for over-ear headphone brands worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max gained share of searches among over-ear headphone brands worldwide, from 28.7% to 29.3%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Audio-Technica worldwide fell 18% over 12 measured months, from 303K to 249K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Apple AirPods Max estimated searches | Apple AirPods Max Share of Search | Apple AirPods Max rank | Audio-Technica estimated searches | Audio-Technica Share of Search | Audio-Technica rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.2M | 31.5% | 1 | 303K | 7.8% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | 1.8M | 33.2% | 1 | 371K | 6.7% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 1.8M | 34.7% | 1 | 371K | 7% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 1.5M | 35.8% | 1 | 371K | 8.8% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 1M | 31% | 2 | 248K | 7.7% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 1.2M | 34.1% | 1 | 248K | 6.9% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 1M | 32.1% | 1 | 248K | 8% | 4 | | May 2026 | 1M | 29.2% | 2 | 248K | 7.2% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 823K | 26.4% | 2 | 248K | 8% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 823K | 26.6% | 2 | 248K | 8% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 1M | 28.7% | 2 | 248K | 7.1% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 1M | 29.3% | 2 | 249K | 7.3% | 4 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Apple AirPods Max’s and Audio-Technica’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Apple AirPods Max**: Measured on the search term “airpods max”. - **Audio-Technica**: Measured on the search terms “audio technica”, “audio-technica”, “audio-technica headphone” and “headphone audio-technica”, summed into one figure. - [Apple AirPods Max profile](/demand/global-en/brands/apple-airpods-max) - [Audio-Technica profile](/demand/global-en/brands/audio-technica) - [All over-ear headphone brands worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/over-ear-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Apple AirPods Max or Audio-Technica more popular in search? In September 2026, Apple AirPods Max had more branded searches than Audio-Technica among over-ear headphone brands worldwide. Apple AirPods Max had about 1 million branded searches, while Audio-Technica had 249,000. Apple AirPods Max made up 29.3% of all over-ear headphone brand searches we track, and Audio-Technica accounted for 7.3%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Apple AirPods Max vs Audio-Technica: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-audio-technica This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/apple-airpods-max-vs-audio-technica. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.