Apple AirPods Max 2 review: Whatever happened to thinking different?
The Apple AirPods Max 2 isn’t the complete overhaul any of us were expecting. Rather than a facelift, the Cupertino tech conglomerate has chosen to recycle the design of their original over-ears, thrown in a new processor, and slapped the number two on the box. Promising improved ANC and additional software features, are these upgrades really enough to call the Apple AirPods Max 2 a second-gen product? To find out, let’s take the headphones into our labs, pop open the hood, and see whether these were worth the nearly six-year wait.
How has this article been updated?
- This article was updated on April 3, 2026, to test another unit and confirm observations.
- This article was published on April 3, 2026.
What’s it like to use the Apple AirPods Max 2?
On the outside, the Apple AirPods Max 2 remains unchanged from its predecessor. It’s only when you connect the headphones to a compatible Apple device that you’ll start to see some differences.
Design
The design of the Apple AirPods Max 2 is identical to the original.
Apple’s latest over-ears offer the same industrial design cues as its predecessor — complete with aluminum ear cups, stepless adjustable metal frame, and the mesh headband that Apple calls the “canopy”. The headphones also use the same magnetic ear cushions from prior models for easy replacement.
Wearing the Apple AirPods Max 2 feels just like I’m wearing the original AirPods Max. The deep ear cups provide plenty of space for my ears, and the ear pads sufficiently cushion my head. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, these headphones feel heavy.
Measuring 386 grams, the Apple AirPods Max 2 weigh more than the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen). If you found the original AirPods Max too heavy for your head, it’ll be the same story with the Apple AirPods Max 2. Also, the clamping force is quite strong, which can make them uncomfortable to wear during long listening sessions. However, the clamping force should improve over time as you continue to break in the headphones with frequent use.
Almost six years later, we’re stuck with the same ugly carrying case and no dedicated power button.
Physical controls remain unchanged with the Apple AirPods Max 2. The digital crown is used to control volume, playback, and to summon Siri. You can toggle between listening modes and activate Live Translation by pressing the button beside the crown. The Apple AirPods Max 2 now support head gestures for responding to calls and notifications with a nod or shake.
Nearly six years later, the Apple AirPods Max 2 still do not have a dedicated power button. The best way to preserve battery life is to place the headphones in the included “Smart Case,” which uses magnets to put the AirPods Max into an ultra-low-power state. The design of the protective case remains unchanged. It still looks like a sports bra and provides little protection against accidental drops or scratches.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 do not have an IP rating, meaning they are not rated for dust or water resistance. Even though the AirPods Max have become popular at the gym, we still don’t recommend working out with them.
Features
Real-time language translation is now available on the Apple AirPods Max 2.
The biggest upgrade to the Apple AirPods Max 2 is the inclusion of the H2 chip, which gives you access to a similar set of software features available on the AirPods Pro 3. For example, Live Translation can now be accessed by holding down the Listening Mode button, beside the digital crown. When activated, the headphones translate the language the person is speaking into your preferred language, which you can set up in the Translate app on iPhone.
After trying Live Translation on Apple’s latest over-ears, it’s clear that the feature hasn’t improved much since its debut on the AirPods Pro 3. I tested the feature twice: once with a friend speaking Japanese and once with that same friend speaking French. The headphones were set to read out translations in English. During our conversation, there was a noticeable delay between when my friend spoke to me and when I actually heard the translation. This made for an oddly-paced conversation full of awkward pauses. I wouldn’t dare try to use Live Translation when talking to a stranger.
Personalized Volume and Conversation Awareness are nice additions, but aren’t must-haves.
Personalized Volume is now available on the Apple AirPods Max 2. This allows the headphones to automatically adjust your media volume across different environments. This is particularly useful when moving from quieter to loud envionrments. From my testing, the headphones do a good job of maintaining a consistent relative loudness as I left my quiet office and walked around the city.
Loud Sound Reduction is another welcome addition. The feature is enabled by default when using Transparency Mode and Adaptive Mode. It works by temporarily increasing the noise canceling level to protect you from loud environmental noise, such as sirens or traffic.
Conversation Awareness also makes its debut on Apple’s over-ears. When you start talking, the feature lowers the volume of your media and amplifies voices in front of you. This can be really convenient if you’re working in an office and you often find yourself needing to chat with your team. However, be warned that this feature will also activate if you start to sing along to your tunes. Remember to turn it off before your next home kitchen concert.
The H2 chip brings many features from the AirPods Pro 3 to Apple’s newest over-ears.
Other features available on the Apple AirPods Max 2 include camera remote, personalized spatial audio, and audio sharing with compatible Apple and Beats headphones. Still no custom equalizer, sadly. If you aren’t happy with how these sound by default, then you’d best not take a bite out of Apple’s newest over-ears.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, all the features I’ve listed are accessible only on a compatible Apple device. Sorry, Android users.
How does the Apple AirPods Max 2 connect?
USB-C wired listening enables Lossless audio playback.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 uses Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connections. This upgrade should provide better connection range and stability compared to the original AirPods Max, which used Bluetooth 5.0. The headphones only support the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs — no LDAC, aptX, or any high-quality codecs here.
You can also connect the Apple AirPods Max 2 wired via USB-C for streaming lossless quality audio, or for mixing Apple Spatial Audio content in Logic Pro X. However, note that you cannot change any headphone settings via a wired connection — even if you are connected to an Apple device. You can still toggle through listening modes, control playback, and control volume by using the headphone’s on-board controls.
I didn’t notice any connection issues during my time with the Apple AirPods Max 2. Connecting the headphones wirelessly to my iPhone 17 Pro was quick and took just three taps. I didn’t experience any lag or connection dropouts during my tests. After pairing the Apple AirPods Max 2 to my phone, the headphones were added to my Apple account to enable automatic device switching. This worked well during my tests. I streamed music from my laptop while working, and the headphones quickly switched to my phone once I accepted a call.
Basic capabilities, like multipoint and firmware updates, are only available on compatible Apple devices. The best you can do on a non-Apple device is connect via Bluetooth or USB-C and listen to music.
How long do the Apple AirPods Max 2’s battery last?
Apple claims up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC enabled. In 2026, that’s downright disappointing — especially when flagship headphones from Sony and Sennheiser blow past the 35-hour mark on a single charge. While 20 hours will be enough for 2-3 days’ worth of listening, you will find yourself having to recharge the Apple AirPods Max 2 often.
How well do the Apple AirPods Max 2 cancel noise?
Apple made big claims about the ANC, and while the idea that the noise attenuation is 1.5x better than before is definitely a bit of a stretch, the Apple AirPods Max 2 does, in fact, attenuate noise more effectively than the AirPods Max — especially in the mids. This is important because most of the most annoying sounds you’ll hear on a daily basis live there, so the new headphones will seem noticeably more capable of addressing junk noise… because they are. But 1.5x better? Ehh…
The Apple AirPods Max 2 seems to have an isolation profile virtually identical to that of the original AirPods Max with fresh pads. Though it has slightly more effective ANC across the board. In oversimplified terms, the new model attenuated about 89.4% of unwanted outside noise by perceived loudness, where the old AirPods Max was able to dispel 88% the last time we measured.
But what is a little mystifying is that when you turn the ANC off, you get a little added noise. Not a lot, mind you, but enough to notice if you’re listening for it. Usually we see this when the ANC unit is on, so it’s anybody’s guess why this would be the case — maybe it gets fixed in a firmware update. You can see below that turning off the ANC (right) alters what you get. For example, the headphone level and crosstalk increase a little bit for the same stimulus, and the recorded noise under 100Hz is quite a bit louder in comparison to that of the other sample. Turning on the ANC kills a lot of this noise, but it’s not completely gone; strange, but not something that will destroy your experience or anything.
How do you read a spectrogram?
The above charts are what’s called spectrograms. These are different than frequency response charts in that they make the Y axis frequency, the X axis is time, and the color intensity is relative level. The label for the Y axis is on the right of the chart, the label for the X axis is directly under the chart area, and the labels for the color gradient are inside the bar on the bottom.
The shown spectrograms are clips where a 20Hz to 20kHz sine sweep was recorded during our testing (the diagonal line from bottom-left to top-right) — and show the same exact stimulus for two measurements taken with the same seating. Pay close attention to the noise under 100Hz for each.
Outside of the lab, the Apple AirPods Max 2 do a good job of reducing the loudness of our office. The sound of chatty co-workers, clattering keyboards, and the hum from our unexpectedly loud 3D printer are effectively dulled by the headphones’ ANC system. You shouldn’t be disappointed in the ANC, save for the hyped up figures in the marketing material.
Adaptive mode and transparency mode
Adaptive Audio is useful when you want to control how much of the outside world you hear.
The H2 chip enables Adaptive Mode on the Apple AirPods Max 2. This listening mode automatically adjusts the level of noise cancelation depending on the environment. You can adjust the amount of ambient noise that is piped into the headphones via the Settings app on iOS.
I found Adaptive Mode very useful while commuting to work, while Transparency Mode is convenient when you need to stay aware of your surroundings. When enabled, voices sound clear and ambient sounds come through naturally. It sounds as if I’m not wearing anything on my head — though your impressions may vary.
How do the Apple AirPods Max 2 sound?
The Apple AirPods Max 2 sounds decent — a lot like the old AirPods Max. If you liked the old sound, you should be happy with it.
Reviewer’s notes
The sound of the Apple AirPods Max 2 is similar to its predecessor.
Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.
Can you use the Apple AirPods Max 2 for phone calls?
Just like most other ANC headphones on the market, the Apple AirPods Max 2 is meant to be used as a smartphone companion, so it has a microphone array to handle phone calls. By default, the AirPods Max 2 microphones automatically switch between Standard and Voice Isolation, depending on your call environment.
I strongly encourage you to listen to the difference in samples below, as the standard mode doesn’t do an amazing job of rejecting noise. If you find your calls are filled with background junk, you’ll need to activate Voice Isolation mode in the Control Center.
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
What does the Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone in standard mode sound like in the real world?
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Office conditions, standard mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Street conditions, standard mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Windy conditions, standard mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Reverberant space, standard mode):
By default, it doesn’t seem as though the Apple AirPods Max 2 actually rejects a ton of noise. You can hear in the reverberant space, street noise, and office noise samples just how annoying it can get.
What does the Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone in voice isolation mode sound like in the real world?
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Office conditions, voice isolation mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Street conditions, voice isolation mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Windy conditions, voice isolation mode):
Apple AirPods Max 2 microphone demo (Reverberant space, voice isolation mode):
I’m not sure why the Voice Isolation mode isn’t the default microphone mode because… well… it works. Save for the reverberant space sample, the Apple AirPods Max 2 handles itself well in the rest of the tested conditions.
Should you buy the Apple AirPods Max 2?
The Apple AirPods Max 2 are excellent headphones, but they don’t have enough features to justify an upgrade.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 are worth buying if you’re heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem and you’re looking for a reliable pair of wireless headphones. It offers excellent noise canceling performance that rivals other flagships in its price, decent sound quality, and has plenty of software features that create a convenient listening experience on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
If you already own the AirPods Max with USB-C, don’t bother. At least, not yet anyway. There’s just not enough that separates the Apple AirPods Max 2 from its predecessors to justify spending more money on new headphones. If you were going to upgrade anyway, I highly recommend visiting a retail store and trying the new headphones out for yourself before you drop $549 on Apple’s latest. They’re not cheap.
Loading poll
The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser HDB 630 are great alternatives to the Apple AirPods Max 2.
Those looking to stay away from Apple’s walled garden should consider the Sony WH-1000XM6. It offers comparable noise canceling performance, very good sound quality, and you can adjust how the headphones sound via an in-app EQ. Features like sound virtualization, audio upscaling, and LDAC codec support make the Sony WH-1000XM6 ideal for people who want the tools to customize the headphones to their liking. It’s also $100 cheaper than the Apple AirPods Max 2.
Serious audio enthusiasts should take a look at the Sennheiser HDB 630. Priced similarly to the Apple AirPods Max 2, Sennheiser’s latest over-ears boast excellent sound quality, plenty of connection options, and a comfortable design. The Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app also gives you access to a five-band parametric EQ to help you tune the headphones exactly as you’d like.
Apple AirPods Max 2 price history
