Apple finally launches AirPods Max 2, with all the features from AirPods Pro they've been missing — plus 'better Active Noise Cancellation, elevated sound quality'

• AirPods Max 2 are available to order March 25th for $549
• New H2 chip brings tons of smart features and '1.5x' better noise cancellation
• There's a new amplifier for improved audio quality

Apple has just announced AirPods Max 2 at long last, just over five years after the December 2020 launch of the original AirPods Max.

The new model will be available to order on March 25th for $549, with Apple promising a release "early next month", meaning April 2026.

The AirPods Max 2 include Apple's H2 headphones chip, the same as in the AirPods Pro 3, plus a new "high dynamic range amplifier" for improved audio.

The H2 chip means a ton of new features are coming to this model, including Adaptive Audio, so Transparency mode can adjust itself to block some unnecessary sounds; Conversation Awareness so the headphones can let sound in if you start talking to someone; and Loud Sound Reduction and Personalized Volume to help protect your hearing and to keep the sound profile to your liking.

There's now Live Translation as an option, where the AirPods will pipe a translated version of what someone says to you into your ears if it's in a supported language; Voice Isolation to improve your call quality when it's loud around you; and "Studio-quality audio recording" right from the headphones' mics.

You can now respond to certain things Siri says to you with a nod or shake of the head, and you can now control your iPhone camera using the Digital Crown — something Nothing's just added with its mid-range Nothing Headphone (a) offering.

Apple also says that the active noise cancellation is now "up to 1.5x more effective than the previous generation" — and when I recently re-tested the original AirPods Max against the rest of the best noise-cancelling headphones, I found them to still hold up very well, so they could go straight to the top of the pack here.

Apple hasn't said whether there's any change to the audio drivers in the AirPods Max 2, but says that there's a "new high dynamic range amplifier" with the aim of delivering the same kind of sound signature as the previous AirPods Max, but "cleaner."

The original AirPods Max's sound signature was always one of the more neutral-sounding options among the mainstream headphones brands, though Sony has moved move in that direction recently with the Sony WH-1000MX6, so it'll be interesting to see how well Apple has maintained this.

The AirPods Max always did a great job with offering a natural and expansive sound, so if Apple really as added an upgrade to the 'cleanness', these could be very revealing indeed, depending on how they handle different sources.

Speaking of course, there is — disappointingly but unsurprisingly — still no word on any kind of higher-res wireless audio support here, but there is 24-bit/48kHz Hi-Res Audio support available over USB-C, which TechRadar's audio editor tried in the older-gen model's update and really loved. As before, there's no pure 3.5mm headphone jack — you'll need a USB-C adapter.

Apple says they'll have lower wireless latency when playing in Game Mode on compatible Apple devices.

They promise 20 hours of listening time, with spatial audio and active noise cancellation enabled, which is pretty disappointing. We really expect 30 hours as a minimum these days (though I'd expect more than that figure if you have spatial audio turned off).

The design looks like it hasn't changed at all, though Apple has history of quietly reengineering things that appear to be the same as the previous generation, so it have subtle changes that aren't obvious until we try them.

Notably, and again disappointingly, they haven't shed any weight. In fact, at 386.2g, they're 1.4g heavier than the original.

And yes, they still come with the little Smart Case (which some of the team call the 'AirPods bra') for travel.

They're available in Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple and Orange colors, and I'm at least glad they kept a nice range of hues available for the new version — though my favorite was always the green, which seems to have disappeared.

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