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The product we’d all thought Apple had forgotten about is finally receiving a long-awaited update. The new AirPods Max 2 will be available for pre-order starting on 25 March 2026, will cost £499 and are stuffed with new features and capabilities.
The original AirPods Max debuted way back in 2020 to universal acclaim and we give them a positive review, too, awarding them 4/5 stars and a Recommended award. But despite six years passing since the first model, the design of the AirPods Max 2 doesn’t look to have changed at all.
The anodised matte-finish, squarish earcups look the same, the rotating crown control and button are in the same place on the top of the right-hand earcup, and the headband still has that split-bar head design with stretchy material suspended between. It looks as if the much-maligned handbag case that was supplied with the headphones before is the same, too.
The headphones will be available in some funky new colours, however, with orange and purple joining blue, midnight and starlight. And, of course, they now have a USB-C connector instead of Lightning for charging.
What new features do the AirPods Max 2 come with?
The main upgrades, however, are all on the inside and these come courtesy of the new Apple H2 chip. This new silicon brings better ANC (active noise cancellation) that’s “up to 1.5x more effective than the previous generation” – we already loved the noise cancellation on the old headphones, so that’s great news.
There’s better transparency, too, with the audio that’s piped into the earcups sounding more natural. Sound quality gets a boost, thanks to new amplifiers driving the AirPods Max 2’s transducers. Plus, there’s support for 24-bit 48kHz lossless audio when the headphones are connected to a source via USB-C, and lower latency, making the Max 2 better for gaming.
Elsewhere, the AirPods Max 2 gain a laundry list of new “smart” features, which should bring them level with leading ANC headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM6. These include adaptive audio, conversation awareness, live translation, voice isolation, loud sound reduction, and the ability to nod and shake your head to receive or reject phone calls.
The AirPods Max 2 are also equipped with something called Personalised Volume, a feature that learns your preferences over time and then “fine-tunes the listening experience”. And you’ll be able to use them to trigger the camera shutter on your iPhone.
Perhaps the most interesting new feature of all, however, is that the microphones on the new AirPods Max 2 gain “studio-quality” audio recording capabilities. If they’re anything like as good as the studio microphones on Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops, this will provide budding content creators a way to make their voiceovers and podcasts sound professional without having to fork out for a professional microphone.
How much do the AirPods Max 2 cost and when will they be available?
Unlike with most new Apple product announcements, new Apple AirPods Max 2 over-ear headphones won’t be available to pre-order right away. You’ll have to wait until 25 March to do that, and they’ll be
The good news, however, is that the new AirPods Max launch at a price that’s £50 less than the originals: £499. That still puts them on the upper rungs of the high-end headphones ladder, though, with our current favourites – the Sony WF-1000XM6 – £170 cheaper at £329.
