Apple announces AirPods Max 2 with H2 Chip and more
Apple today introduced AirPods Max 2, with significant improvements including the H2 chip, increased active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and features such as Adaptive Audio, Conversational Awareness, Voice Separation, and Live Translation.
The new AirPods Max have the same general design as the previous generation, many new features from the development of the H2 chip:
– Adaptive Audio adjusts ANC and Transparency levels in response to the environment automatically to improve the sound experience.
– Conversational Awareness it helps reduce the volume of content and reduce background noise when the user starts talking to someone nearby.
– Live Translationpowered by Apple Intelligence, it helps users communicate across languages automatically.
– Voice Classification uses advanced computer audio powered by the H2 to prioritize voice during calls, while blocking background noise.
AirPods Max 2 also support personal volume, which adjusts the volume based on a combination of your surroundings and your volume preferences.
With the H2 chip, Apple claims that AirPods Max 2 delivers up to 1.5 × more effective noise cancellation than the previous generation, and promises that the Transparency mode that allows certain audible sounds to sound even more natural.
AirPods Max 2 features a new variable-range amplifier for “even clearer sound,” and Apple says Spatial Audio content “sounds better than ever.” The headphones also reduce wireless audio delay compared to the previous generation.
The headphones also have a USB-C port for charging and lossless audio. Apple advertises 20 hours of battery life on a single charge with active noise cancellation enabled, unchanged from the previous generation.
Like previous AirPods Max running iOS 18.4 or newer, AirPods Max 2 supports lossless 24-bit, 48 kHz audio with the included USB-C cable, for the highest quality wired playback. For wireless connectivity, AirPods Max 2 supports Bluetooth 5.3, while the previous AirPods Max supports Bluetooth 5.0.
Color options are Midnight, Starlight, Orange, Purple, and Blue.
The new remote camera feature allows users to press the Digital Crown on AirPods Max 2 to take a photo and start or stop video recording while using the Apple Camera app or compatible third-party camera apps on an iPhone or iPad.
AirPods Max 2 will be available to order on Apple.com and the Apple Store app starting Wednesday, March 25 in the US and more than 30 other countries, and starting on an unspecified date in early April. In the US, AirPods Max 2 has the same price of $549 as the previous AirPods Max, which Apple no longer sells.
AirPods Max 2 comes with a Smart Case, which has the same design as always. The headphones go into a very low power state when placed in this carrying case, which is very important, since the headphones still have a power button.
These are technically the third AirPods Max headphones to be released. The original AirPods Max with a lightning port launched in December 2020, and the headphones received a minor update with a USB-C port and new color options in September 2024.
