AirPods Max 2: Everything Apple Upgraded (And How Much They Cost)

Unlike its iPhones and MacBooks, Apple's lineup of audio products doesn't always follow a strict annual release cycle. This is why the newly announced AirPods Max 2 come as a surprise, given that we saw an upgraded version of the headphones around a year and a half ago. The AirPods Max 2 start at the same price of $549 and come in clean pastel shades of midnight, blue, purple, starlight, and orange. Physically, they look identical to the previous two generations, featuring the same iconic set of huge earcups and premium construction consisting of aluminum and stainless steel.

Unlike the model launched in 2024 that was only refreshed with USB-C, the AirPods Max 2 come with new internals. The H2 chip, that debuted in the AirPods Pro 2 that we reviewed, enables up to 1.5x better active noise cancellation, improved transparency mode, and a slew of other features. The headphones use a new high dynamic range amplifier that provides for cleaner audio. You get reduced wireless latency when you pair the headphones with an iPhone, Mac, or iPad with Game Mode enabled. They also support 24-bit 48 kHz lossless audio over a wired USB-C connection. You can buy the AirPods Max 2 starting March 25 and pair them with an AppleCare plan.

The refreshed 2024 AirPods Max weren't met with a lot of praise, given how Apple simply swapped out its connector type and introduced a few new colorways. Despite having launched after the AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Max lacked many of its headlining features. Now, the AirPods Max 2 with the new H2 chip comes with features like Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Live Translation, and Siri head gestures.

Adaptive Audio dynamically adjusts the noise cancellation strength depending on how loud your environment is. If you wear your headphones quite a lot, then Conversation Awareness automatically lowers the volume of media and temporarily enables transparency mode when you start talking to someone. We've previously seen Live Translation with AirPods Pro — this now makes its way to Apple's headphones as well. You can now nod or shake your head to respond to Siri when you have incoming notifications or calls.

The H2 chip also enables Voice Isolation, which improves audio quality during calls in noisy environments. If you use Apple Music, you can enjoy spatial audio with head tracking with the AirPods Max 2 as well. Apple hasn't mentioned if any of the health-related features have made their way to the headphones. For example, you can use the AirPods Pro as hearing aids, and the newest models come with a heart rate sensor too.