Apple has released its new AirPods Max – an over-the-air headphone set with what the company claims is exceptional audio quality. That’s great. I’m glad to see it.

Except for one thing: If Apple is so suddenly all-in on audio quality, why does it still refuse to offer CD-quality or lossless streaming of its music offerings?

What’s even worse is that since some recent iOS upgrades, music playback on iPhones had gotten glitchy, with transitions between continuous tracks no longer seamless. (For prog-rock fans like me, with many of our favorite music pieces featuring songs that track into each other, this is a significant annoyance.)

Playing music from iPhone through CarPlay has gotten even worse, with “skips” and other glitches in the middle of songs.

Apple, if you’re serious about audio quality, then please do something about your streaming quality and the music playback issues through CarPlay.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention the price tag on Apple’s new headphones. That’s a whole other issue — Apple seriously overpriced itself this time.