Today we have the new Apple AirPods Max 2 headphones. This is the latest generation of Apple’s flagship audio product, and promises some notable improvements in performance over its predecessors, while still remaining largely familiar.
This is correct, predecessors. AirPods Max 2 is the third product of this series, as there is also a non-limited model released by Apple in 2024, which has replaced the Lightning port on the original model with USB-C, and brought some new colors, which have been carried over to the AirPods Max 2. Let’s call it AirPods Max 1.5.
The packaging of the AirPods Max 2 is quite simple; You get the headphones bundled with a smart case and a USB-C cable. You wouldn’t be able to tell it from the Midnight color variant we have here, but the Smart Case is color-matched, which means if you pick one of them up instead of just being black it will match the color of the other variants. On the other hand, the USB-C cable is not color-matched, which is disappointing because we’ve seen Apple make color-matched cables for its other products. You’re spending $549 for these headphones, so it’s not too much to expect some niceties like this, especially considering how restrained the rest of the packaging is.
The design of the AirPods Max 2 has remained unchanged at this point from the original model launched five years ago, and since the colors are also the same as the AirPods Max 1.5, the AirPods Max 2 don’t really look that different or fresh from something you could buy nearly two years ago. Likewise, the much-maligned Smart Case is also unchanged, and Apple still doesn’t offer a full-sized case with these headphones.
As far as changes are concerned, Apple has promised two major improvements over the previous variant. Active noise cancellation performance has been improved, and Apple claims 1.5 times greater effectiveness than before. This comes with the inclusion of the new Apple H2 chip, which is also found in the AirPods Pro 2 and some Beats products. Apple also claims to have improved audio quality thanks to a new High Dynamic Range amplifier.
Of course, the inclusion of the H2 chip means there will be improvements in other areas too, like audio latency, microphone performance, and support for features like Live Translation. Unfortunately, there has been no improvement in battery life, which remains at 20 hours.
We’ll have more on performance, comfort, and actual battery life in our full review, so stay tuned!