The AirPods Max, Apple's premium-priced over-ear headphones, won't be easy to come by for a few more months as the company works to resolve supply constraints.

Despite the steep asking price of $549, these new headphones have been tough to find, especially in the past few weeks or so. The Apple-designed audio accessory was released on December 15, 2020. Now Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed to Reuters that short supplies of the AirPods Max "could continue" into the current calendar quarter.

In other words, new shipments won’t arrive until late March or early April, 2021. Sellers like Amazon may have them available for delivery over the next few days or so, but you better be fast.

Sold alongside the base $159 AirPods model and the mid-range, noise-canceling AirPods Pro earbuds, priced at $199, the AirPods Max occupy the higher-end of the premium segment of the market for consumer headphones.

Replacement Ear Cushions Are Here

Apple has now begun selling the AirPods Max replacement ear cushions on its online store. You can purchase them in colors different than your AirPods Max headband, allowing for some interesting custom color combinations that are not offered by Apple itself.

A screenshot of the Apple online store showing the listing for the AirPods Max replacement ear cushions, priced at $69 per pair
Image Credit: Apple

The ear cushions are available in these five colors: Silver, Green, Black, Sky Blue, and Red. For comparison's sake, the AirPods Max themselves are available in the following color finishes: Silver, Green, Space Gray, Sky Blue, and Pink. These ear cushions attach magnetically to the ear cups of your AirPods Max, simplifying swapping them out drastically.

But priced at $69 per pair, these things certainly don't come cheap.

Thriving Through a Pandemic

Cook acknowledged on an earnings call with analysts and investors that Apple has thrived through a pandemic as all product categories reported double-digit sales increases. The company's wearables and accessories segment, which includes the Apple Watch and the AirPods, took home an impressive $12.97 billion in Christmas quarter revenue.

A table listing Apple's sales and revenue in the holiday 2020 quarter by product segments
Image Credit: Apple

In reporting holiday quarter sales and profits, Apple beat Wall Street expectations. Specifically, the company set a new revenue record as quarterly sales passed $100 billion for the first time. Do the math in your head quickly---that's a whopping 21 percent annual increase. Not bad for a company selling premium, high-priced products in the middle of a pandemic that has left millions without income and ravaged economies around the world.

Two AirPods Max models?

Ahead of the AirPods Max introduction, rumors were floating around that the company would actually be releasing two distinct AirPods Max models. Aside from the current model, the other one was supposed to be made from less expensive materials.

Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg six months before the AirPods Max became official, said:

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is working on at least two variations, including a premium version with leather-like fabrics and a fitness-focused model that uses lighter, breathable materials with small perforations.

And this may have been Apple's strategy from the beginning---first, set the expectations high by releasing an overpriced product, then follow-up with a more affordable variant after most of early adopters have picked up their pricey AirPods Max.