AirPods Max 2: all the rumors, possible release dates and what we want to see

Apple's AirPods Max 2 have been tipped to land, strongly rumored and all of the other phrases we use to say "we've heard a bit more about them, they must be here soon" for a long time now. And that is because 2020, when the original Apple AirPods Max launched, is decades ago in wireless headphone years.

And guess what? Apple's 'Awe inspiring' event on September 9, 2025, came and went with no sign of them, again. Harrumph – although we did see the new AirPods Pro 3 and Apple claims you'll get an "over-ear type experience" from those (we'll reserve judgement on that, but it's quite the claim) so it's not all bad news.

The biggest change that's been made to the current AirPods Max is arguably the September 2024 Lightning port switch to USB-C, to bring Apple's over-ears line with the rest of its products and most importantly to comply with EU regulations.

Personally, I'd say that upgrade is trounced by the March 2025 AirPods Max software update that added support for Apple's Lossless audio tier via USB-C because honestly, it sounds good enough to justify their still-sky-high price tag. But I'll tell you what isn't the best upgrade: some vibrant new colorways, including Midnight, Orange, Starlight, Blue and Purple.

So what of a real, actual, H2-chip-toting set of AirPods Max 2 headphones? Full disclosure: it seems like we'll have to wait – maybe until 2027.

Understandably, the AirPods Max 2 still have plenty of buzz around them, especially during Apple's big Apple event – at which we did see the AirPods Pro 3 (so it's not all bad news).

The current AirPods Max are, without a doubt, the best AirPods to date – not only are they the only Apple-branded over-ears on the market, but they offer truly fantastic audio quality, deeply immersive spatial audio and excellent noise-canceling tech. That said, AirPods Max are still long overdue a more substantial upgrade. After all, the AirPods Pro got an significant upgrade with the AirPods Pro 2, offering multiple new features that the Max lack, including more powerful U1 and H2 chips, hearing-health features, Adaptive Transparency, and weatherproofing. Meanwhile, the entry-level AirPods 4 have both active noise-cancelling and Spatial Audio, making the AirPods Max seem like less of a premium product in comparison.

We've heard some whispers of changes that might be coming to the AirPods Max 2, and you'll find all these rumors below.

Plus, as much as we loved the original AirPods Max, there's always room for improvement, so we've also come up with a list of six things we think would make the Apple AirPods Max 2 a must-buy and ensure they enter right at the top of our best headphones guide, not just our best Apple headphones guide, and you'll find this list below too.

AirPods Max 2: Release date and price rumors

We've had high hopes on an AirPods Max 2 appearance for quite a while now, in all honesty. Apple was reportedly set to announce them at the "It's Glowtime" event in September 2024 – but that turned out to be merely a USB-C port and a few new colorways; hardly a whole new iteration.

Then, very little, until a report from noted tipster Ming Chi Kuo that a real AirPods Max upgrade is finally on the way. In a post shared on X, Kuo states that a significant redesign of the AirPods Max is on the way, and will most likely land in 2027. Kuo also shared that a "lighter version" of the AirPods Max was planned for release. Currently, the AirPods Max weighs 386g / 13.6oz, which compared to the newly released Sony WH-1000XM6 model at 250g / 8.96oz, is quite hefty.

And more recently, a report from Bloomberg agrees, stating that we'll have to wait until at least 2027 to see new Apple-branded over-ears. Why? The problem is simple, according to respected analyst Mark Gurman: AirPods Max are "too popular for Apple to stop selling them, and not popular enough for the company to invest a ton of time and money into creating a new version".

What kind of price to expect from future AirPods Max models? It'll depend on how Apple feels sales of the current model have gone, which the brand doesn't like to share… but don't expect us to announce them alongside words such as "affordable" or "entry level".

It's worth noting that the price of the current AirPods Max are often discounted by about $100-$150 today. It seems likely that the market has deemed that to be a better price than the AirPods Max's $549 / £549 / AU$899 launch price. There aren't many rumors about the AirPods Max 2 price, but based on the prices of the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones ($449 / £399 / AU$699), it's more likely the price of the AirPods Max 2 will match this.

AirPods Max 2: What we want to see

1. A proper carrying case

If you asked me to describe the current AirPods Max case in a single phrase, it would be “a stupid stupid headphone bra”. That’s not exactly poetic, but it is accurate. In my opinion, the AirPods Max carrying case is hopeless, horrible and whenever I take it out in public I feel I have to apologize: I didn’t choose it! It came with the headphones, honest.

My colleague Becca Caddy has written a feature on 4 perks AirPods Max need to steal from Sennheiser, Bose and Sony and her first point echoes mine: please Apple, a proper case! My main beef with it isn’t its form, but its function. There’s no protection for the headband, which means this is quite literally a case of style over substance.

I could pay lots more for a nice hard case, but I already paid quite a lot for the actual headphones. Other brands manage to include a real case – surely Apple can too with the AirPods Max 2.

2. A standard cable connection that's included

Yes, really: like everybody else’s, my AirPods Max didn’t include an audio cable for wired 3.5mm listening. Instead, you have to give Apple an extra $35 / £35 / AU$35 for its USB-C to 3.5mm cable. Since the software update, you can get wired audio using the USB-C charging cable that comes bundled in the box, but would it be too much to ask to get the standard wired cables other options include (and for far less, might I say)?

For headphones this pricey, not including the cable was a cut corner too far.

3. Real multi-point Bluetooth

As it stands, AirPods can auto-switch between Apple devices, however they lack standard Bluetooth multi-point pairing which is common in Sony and Bose models.

If the AirPods Max 2 adopted this same approach, it would make it a lot easier to switch between different devices, especially for people who have an iPhone but a Windows laptop, which we know is the case for tons of people. Is this a long-shot? Yes, sure, however it would make a huge difference.

4. L/R ear detection

If I had a penny for every time I’ve put my AirPods Max on the wrong way round I’d have enough money to buy the AirPods Max 2. I can never remember which side the controls are supposed to be on, and while I understand why Apple wanted to go with an Apple Watch-style Digital Crown I think it should also have implemented the Apple Watch’s reversibility: every Apple Watch can be used on the right or left side and its controls reversed accordingly.

However, the same doesn’t apply to the AirPods Max: you can have the controls on the right, or you can have them on the right. But the earpads are very uniform, so the ability to put them on either way round and for the headphones to automatically adjust would be perfect.

5. Swappable components

The AirPods Max were long rumored to be modular, with interchangeable headbands and ear cups so you could make yours truly personal (and Apple could sell you more stuff) in the same way you can change the bands on your Apple Watch.

Apparently Apple couldn’t make that work, at least with the headband (the earpads can technically be swapped pretty easily), so it binned the whole idea. But the AirPods Max are actually quite easy to dismantle, especially if you just want to take the ear cups off, so it’s not far-fetched to imagine swappable ear cups in a range of funky colors and design at the very least.

If I'm going to pay lots for one of the best wireless headphones, it'd be great if I can make them feel totally like my own.

AirPods Max 2: Rumors so far

If the AirPods Max 2 are in development, then Apple has done a phenomenal job of keeping details and leaks to an absolute minimum. As such, there aren't many rumors to divulge at present. That said, here are all the early rumblings we've been able to find about the AirPods Max 2 so far.

At a glance: 

• Touch controls
• No Digital Crown this time
• No Adaptive Audio
• Better battery life
• USB-C instead of lightning port
• New colors

USB-C
Unsurprisingly it has been reported by Mark Gurman (writing for Bloomberg) that the AirPods Max 2 will have USB-C rather than a Lightning port.

Thanks to new EU laws, Apple has moved most of its products over to USB-C, so it's fully expected that the AirPods Max 2 will follow suit.

New colors
At the same time as mentioning a move to USB-C, Gurman also claimed that the AirPods Max 2 will be available in new colors, though he didn't specify what shades those might be.

The same chipset and no Adaptive Audio
According to a leak on Chinese social media (via MacRumors), the AirPods Max 2 will have the same H1 chipset at the original model. That unfortunately means they apparently won't get the Adaptive Audio feature offered by the AirPods Pro 2, as this requires a new chipset (such as the H2 used by the Pro 2).

Touch controls
A patent discovered by Patently Apple suggests that Apple is working on touch control functionality for the AirPods Max. The patent, published in early February, 2022, shows that touch controls could be present on future devices, though it's not clear if this pertains to a potential AirPods Max 2 or an updated AirPods Max model.

The patent mentions the act of "processing gestures on a touch-sensitive surface," displaying a diagram of an example of this tech. Furthermore, the digital crown featured on the AirPods Max appears to be absent in the patent's diagrams, potentially hinting that a future AirPods Max model could eschew it entirely in favor of bespoke touch controls.

Lossless audio
Another patent spotted by Patently Apple suggests that Apple could be working on new high-quality optical audio transmission technology for AirPods, though this unlikely to be the main transmission tech – Bluetooth would still be the main way people use these devices.

While this isn't a guaranteed feature for the AirPods Max 2, we have to imagine that a potential follow-up model could feature this same tech. After all, if the AirPods Pro 2 can manage to include this tech, there's no reason why a pair of over-ear headphones couldn't feature the same lossless audio support.