Apple (AAPL) is ending 2020 with a bang, rolling out its long-anticipated over-the-ear headphones dubbed the AirPods Max. And my goodness, has Apple gone for the big leagues with this one. Available for pre-order now and priced at a whopping $549, the AirPods Max carry a premium price with a capital “P.” We’re talking nearly twice as much as the competition.

The headphones are already backordered until March — well into 2021! Really?! Well, that means you’ve got plenty of time to decide if Apple’s latest accessory is worth your cash. And that’s where I come in. See, the AirPods Max are priced well above competing over-the-ear headphones, but offer unique features including always-on Siri functionality and Apple’s easy pairing technology.

So should you get them? Here’s how to decide.

First, let’s look at what the AirPods Max have to offer. Apple says they can provide up to 20 hours of listening with active noise-cancelling or Transparency mode on, similar to competitors’ offerings. Active noise-cancelling uses the Max’ internal and external microphones to determine the frequency of outside noise and then uses opposite frequencies to cancel them out. Think a baby crying on an airplane or your upstairs neighbor blasting Kelly Clarkson.

Transparency amplifies outside noise, so you can better hear what’s going on around you, while wearing the headphones. This way you don’t have to take them off to hear someone talking to you. You can switch between the two modes using the button on the side of the Max’s right headphone cup.

There’s also always-on Siri, which lets you call up the voice assistant hands-free and ask it to do things like make phone calls or send a text. And a digital crown, similar to the one found on the Apple Watch, lets you change songs and raise and lower the volume.

Apple also touts the mesh material used on the headphones’ band and cups; automatic head detection, which pauses music when you lift up an ear cup; and spatial audio, which tracks your head movements to simulate listening in a theater. So if you turn your head to the left away from your iPhone, the audio will be more prominent in your right ear.

You’ll also be able to replace the Max’s ear cups if they wear out for $69 a piece.

The competition

So what else is out there? Well, Bose has a slick pair of headphones called the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 that are widely reviewed as among the best around. They also offer, as their name indicates, noise-cancelling technology, transparency mode, touch controls, voice controls, and 20 hours of battery life.