Daniel Haaf
Editor
Updated: 17 March 2026
Apple AirPods Max 2 are new, upgraded over-ear headphones with better sound quality, more effective noise cancellation and new features compared to the old AirPods Max. The new headphones go on sale in April 2026 and cost around £499.
The new AirPods Max 2 in all colours.
Image: Apple
TLDR
One major piece of news is that AirPods Max 2 uses the newer H2 chip, which is also found in AirPods Pro 2 , AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 .
Thanks to the newer chip, the headphones offer improved active noise cancellation, support for live translation, adaptive audio, personalised spatial audio with head tracking and Conversation Awareness.
Note that we say "newer" and not "new" because the H2 chip is old in this context. The chip was introduced in 2022 and has not been upgraded since, so this is not any new technology from Apple.
In addition to the not-so-new H2 chip, AirPods Max 2 also has a new amplifier with higher dynamic range for a "cleaner sound". If you connect the headphones via USB‑C you can listen to lossless audio up to 24‑bit/48kHz.
The Digital Crown on Apple AirPods Max 2.
Image: Photo: Apple
An exciting new feature if you are interested in photography is that the Digital Crown can control the camera on your iPhone.
When the Camera app is active on your iPhone, you can press the Digital Crown to either take a photo or start/stop a video recording. It also works with compatible third‑party apps.
Here is everything the Digital Crown can do:
For the Digital Crown to work optimally, your iPhone must be running iOS 26.4 or later. Have an iPad? Then you need iPadOS 26.4 or later.
Other news in AirPods Max 2 is that the delay, so‑called latency, has been reduced, which makes the audio and picture feel better synchronised. That is especially important when you are watching films and series, and when you play certain games.
Exactly how much lower the latency is remains to be seen when the first independent tests come out.
The Bluetooth chip has been upgraded from Bluetooth 5 to 5.3. It is not the very latest Bluetooth standard, but the change should mean that the connection to the headphones becomes more stable while power consumption is reduced.
Apple replaced the Lightning connector in the original AirPods Max from 2020 with USB‑C in the 2024 version. AirPods Max 2 retains USB‑C with the same wired audio transfer technology as the previous model.
AirPods Max 2 use the same design as their predecessor.
Image: Apple
AirPods Max 2 is available in five colours: blue, purple, midnight, starlight and orange.
The colours can be compared to AirPods Max, which came in space grey, silver, sky blue, green and pink.
Both the old AirPods Max and the new AirPods Max 2 cost £499 at their respective launches.
If you want to add AppleCare+, it costs £49 via Apple.
There are many things with AirPods Max 2 that are not entirely new, or even improved, compared with its predecessor.
The overall design is the same, with the same aluminium ear cups, stainless steel headband and telescopic arms. Nothing strange there – why change something that works?
The mesh in the headband is also identical to the predecessor. The same goes for the dimensions and weight.
Inside the cups sit the same, custom‑built 40‑millimetre drivers as in AirPods Max. The reason why the headphones can sound better than the original is therefore the H2 chip that drives them.
Battery life is also the same, roughly 20 hours with normal use, and charging and wired audio are handled by the same USB‑C connector.
If you want over‑ear headphones from Apple at a slightly lower price than AirPods Max 2, you can have a closer look at the USB‑C version from 2024.
You get good sound quality, excellent noise cancelling and good battery life for less money.
At the time of writing, the price difference is about £140, which makes AirPods Max 2 clearly the more expensive choice. If you wait a while, there is a good chance that AirPods Max will drop even further in price.