Source: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore When Apple launched the AirPods Max at the end of 2020, one of the biggest points that drew criticism all over was the design of the Smart Case — I even pointed out how ridiculous it looks in my AirPods Max review. And even though I've loved everything else about the AirPods Max for the past few weeks, I've been yearning for an alternative to the silly-looking Smart Case. Thankfully, Waterfield Designs has come up with a high-quality solution: the AirPods Max Shield Case. I've been a big fan of other products from Waterfield Designs for the past few years, like the Hitch Crossbody Laptop Brief, VERO Sleeve, and the Ranger Holster Case for the best iPhone, so I was eager to get my hands on one of the first third-party AirPods Max cases from them.