Any capable headphone headband has to tilt, spin, and connect the ear cups together, but no other headphone does it quite like this.

Apple's electromechanical hinge hardware is both intricate and overbuilt, and might make the AirPods Max's price tag a little easier to swallow.

This hinge needs to provide a sturdy but comfortable connection for the headband, while also reliably passing a power connection through from the battery.

Apple uses a wraparound flex cable in the rotating portion of the joint, with some clever routing and built-in strain relief—then switches over to spring contacts for the connection to the headband. What a flex.

Hopefully, all that adds up to fewer failures from cable wear. Durability is hard to predict at times, but it's clear that a lot of thought went into this setup.

With a bunch of Torx screws out of the way, the joint is ready for its closeup.