AirPods Max 2 review: Apple’s new headphones gave me serious main character energy
Truly natural-sounding noise-canceling and immersive Dolby Atmos spatial audio
🏆 Review score: 4.5/5
🏅 Editor’s Choice Award
✅ Pros
👩🎤 Improved ANC makes you feel like a main character with a personal soundtrack
🔊 High dynamic range amplifier makes sound louder, richer, clearer, and reduces distortion
🎧 Expansive soundstage for incredible immersion
📺 Dolby Atmos combined with head tracking creates a personal surround sound bubble
📀 Lossless 24-bit/48kHz audio over USB-C
⚜️ Uniquely designed and the most exquisitely built
❌ Cons
⚡ Battery constantly drains even while in “low-power mode”
🪫 Unimproved 20-hour battery life for the 3rd time
👜 Minimalist smart case still provides almost no protection
🔌 USB-C to 3.5mm connections require Apple’s official cable
The Shortcut Review
The original AirPods Max were a game-changer for wireless headphones, and the $549 (on sale now for $509) AirPods Max 2 build on what matters most: sound quality and noise canceling. Equipped with a new high dynamic range amplifier, these headphones push sound that’s louder, richer, clearer, and even more immersive than ever. Highs are crisp and detailed, while mids make vocals sound full-bodied, and the bass sounds deeper without being overbearing. Apple also continues to take the crown for spatial sound. Head tracking lets you move around a convincing surround sound experience, and watching Dolby Atmos media with the AirPods Max 2 places you in your own personal surround sound bubble.
The AirPods Max 2 also excel with truly natural-sounding noise-canceling that quiets all outside noises to a low murmur. Putting on these headphones can make you feel like the main character in your own movie as you listen to your own personal soundtrack, while outside noises barely come through the headphones. Now the noise canceling isn’t perfect, as even small headturns can cause noise leaks to pass through the headphone’s ear cushions. This is the only area where the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd Gen come out on top, producing much tighter and constant noise-canceling.
On the outside, the AirPods Max 2 look and feel exactly like the original top-end headphones Apple introduced 5 ½ years ago. The fantastically premium design is still here, along with all the problems like the non-existent power button, minimally protective case, and 20-hour battery life. Otherwise there are plenty of other “new” features that pad out the list of updates these new headphones bring, but most were introduced on the AirPods Pro 3 or from other Apple OS updates, including Conversational Awareness, Camera Remote, Loud Sound Reduction, Live Translation, Personalized Volume, and Siri Interactions. But key features like Adaptive Noise-Cancelling won’t be coming to the original AirPods Max with Lightning or USB-C without the new H2 chip.
While the $549 (currently $509) AirPods Max 2 aren’t a revolutionary upgrade, they’re well worth purchasing at full price over a discounted pair of AirPods Max (with USB-C) just for the improved sound profile and noise-cancellation. As for existing AirPods Max users, you already have one of the best pairs of wireless noise-canceling headphones, and the AirPods Max 2 are just a little better, but you won’t miss out on much without upgrading.
Full Review
📐 Same premium design. There’s nothing physically new about the AirPods Max 2 for better or worse. Even after 5 ½ years after the original AirPods Max debuted, these headphones are still the most uniquely designed and the most exquisitely built. There are so many small touches to marvel at, including the intricately woven earcups, the ball joints built into the headphone yokes, and, of course, the iconic mesh “canopy” headband that curves downward to act as a cushion. While there are a lot of things I like about the AirPods Max 2’s design, I wish Apple would add a power button, a smaller foldable shape, or at least create a more protective Smart Case.
🏋️ Identical weight. The Apple AirPods Max 2 still weighs 13.6 ounces, just like last year’s model. This makes them heavier than both the 8.96oz Sony WH-1000XM6 and the 9.32oz Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd Gen. All the AirPods Max’s extra weight comes from its two aluminum earcups and Apple’s other premium materials. Thankfully, you hardly feel the weight because these headphones clamp tightly onto your ears, distributing the load to the sides of your head. The headband, meanwhile, acts more like a guide to keep the headphones aligned on your dome, as the woven fabric and metal rails apply almost zero pressure.
Sound quality and performance
🎶 Elevated sound profile. While there’s nothing new on the outside of the AirPods Max 2, Apple has upgraded them internally with a new custom high-dynamic-range amplifier that improves every part of the original AirPods Max’s sound profile. The bass response is deeper, vocals are clearer, the separation between instruments is even crisper, and there is less distortion at higher volumes.
What’s even more pronounced is the AirPods Max 2’s incredibly wide soundstage that envelops you even with just music playing in stereo. Spatial audio truly shines when you listen to Apple Music tracks mastered in actual Dolby Atmos rather than virtually remixed from stereo. Apple’s Personalized Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking also does an incredible job of putting you in the center of movies and games as well. I just wish there were a way to extend the Apple TV 4K’s ability to pass-through HDMI eARC audio to the AirPods Max 2 as it can with a pair of HomePod 2.
👑 King of the hill. The AirPods Max 2’s better sound profile really comes to light when I compare them to its top two rivals, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd Gen. Apple comes well ahead with a cleaner sound signature and dramatically wider sound that lets you hear every detail and nuance in a song. The AirPods Max 2 also produces more high-end extension than its competitors, so the separation between different instruments is more pronounced.
The Sony WH-1000XM6 delivers incredible detail with punchier bass, but a distinctly narrower soundstage, with the audio projected in front of you, whereas the AirPods Max 2 envelop you. The XM6s are also more responsive, allowing them to play complex and rich tracks like “London Lights” with incredible clarity, so that you hear the crispness of every drum beat and synth pop.
Comparatively, the AirPods Max 2 make the same song sound a little more luxurious by smoothing out the tonal curve between the rhythmic basslines and the sharp instrumental highs. That’s not to say Apple smooths out the edges, but rather balances the track so there aren’t any strong notes or distortion that takes you out of enjoying your music.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd Gen, meanwhile, place greater emphasis on bass. Otherwise, Bose’s sound profile is the most neutral compared to Apple and Sony. What makes the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones 2nd Gen stand out is their flexible sound curve and two separate immersive modes for music and cinematic movies.
🤫 Improved ANC gives you main character energy. The noise-cancellation on the AirPods Max 2 is so complete that it makes me feel like a main character in a movie. It quiets all outside noises into a nearly silent murmur, especially conversations; meanwhile, all I can hear is my personal soundtrack. Basically, I’m Fin Shepard whenever he does something cool in the Sharknado movie series. Another thing I love about the noise canceling on the AirPods Max 2 is how natural it sounds, as if the headphone’s earcups just keep noise out really well.
🚰 ANC leaks. I’ve boasted about the almost perfect ANC, but it leaks quite a bit. Even turning one of the AirPods Max 2’s earcups to a high-pitched setting interrupts the noise-canceling experience. By comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2 maintain an almost perfect noise-canceling seal with their more adaptive ANC technologies and algorithms – though at the cost of some sound quality.
🪫 20-hour battery life for the 3rd time. The AirPods Max 2 still has only 20 hours of battery life, the same as the original AirPods Max and the AirPods Max with USB-C. While it’s impressive that Apple has maintained the same battery life despite increased performance and, seemingly, no change in battery capacity, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2 both promise 30 hours of playtime with ANC.
The lack of a dedicated power button remains a problematic omission, making the Smart Case a necessary accessory to prevent any and all battery drain. Meanwhile, Bose has developed an even better low-power sleep mode that can last for months on end. The AirPods Max 2, meanwhile, will slowly drain their battery if left on their own. In my own experience, these headphones went from 25% battery life to fully dead in less than five hours.
Features
⚙️ New chip, new tricks. Apple’s new H2 chip is the secret sauce behind the AirPods Max 2’s greatly improved ANC. This chip debuted on the AirPods Pro 3 and adds an array of new features to Apple’s top headphones. Namely, there’s a new Adaptive Audio mode that balances and mixes the headphones’ ANC and Transparency levels to what it thinks is optimal for your surroundings.
While working in the office, it sounds more like pure transparency as I can hear the clack of my keyboard as I type. However, as soon as I step outside onto the noisy NYC streets, Adaptive Audio sets the ANC to max. If you prefer complete silence all the time, you’re better off leaving these headphones in noise-canceling mode.
🧠 Smart thinking. I personally find “Loud Sound Reduction” to be a far more useful feature as it turns up the volume whenever loud noises are around you, so you can continue hearing your audio clearly. Conversely, “Conversation Awareness” activates whenever you speak, lowering the volume and temporarily switching the headphones to transparency mode. This comes in super handy if someone talks to me while I’m in my ANC bubble. I can respond without having to awkwardly pause my audio.
🤝 Effortless device switching. Switching playback audio on the AirPods Max 2 between Apple devices is a breeze. Instead of manually pausing and playing on individual devices, the AirPods Max 2 automatically switch between devices as soon as I start playing music on my iPhone or streaming a video on my MacBook Pro. This makes Apple’s version of automatic device switching so much more seamless than Bluetooth Multipoint.
🔌 Hi-res USB-C audio. As with the previous AirPods Max with USB-C, you can get high-resolution 24-bit/48kHz audio over a wired connection. That audio bitrate puts the AirPods Max 2 ahead of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen (16-bit/48kHz), but behind the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 (24-bit/96kHz). While it’s in the middle of the pack, this larger audio signal over USB-C lets the AirPods Max 2 carry over more nuances from lossless music streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.
✈️ Travel with the right cable. Don’t be like me and bring the AirPods Max 2 on a flight, ready to enjoy a movie, only to find out that your USB-C-to-3.5mm cable does nothing. These headphones will only connect to 3.5mm devices if you use Apple’s official $49 accessory, and that’s because this specific USB-C-to-3.5mm cable features a built-in DAC/ADC. The other option is to get a $35 AirFly, which plugs into a 3.5mm jack and acts as a Bluetooth transmitter.
📸 Camera remote. One of the AirPods Max 2’s other new tricks is that it can remotely trigger the iPhone camera to take a photo or record a video. While it’s nice that these headphones can do one more thing, Camera Remote also works with any pair of AirPods or AirPods Pro, since iOS 26 added the feature last year.
🙂↔️ Head gestures. Head gesture Siri controls that debuted on the AirPods Pro 3 have also been added to the AirPods Max 2. You can nod or shake your head to pick up or hang up on a call. I mostly used this feature to stop Siri from reading every Slack notification that came through, but after three consecutive vigorous headshakes, the AirPods Max 2 stopped responding to my head gestures.
Should you buy the AirPods Max 2?
✅ Yes, if…
🎶 You want the best-sounding wireless noise-canceling headphones
👨🎤 You want noise canceling that makes you feel like a main character walking around with your own personal soundtrack
🎵 You want your own personal surround sound bubble for movies and Dolby Atmos music
🎛️ You want high-quality audio without needing to mess with equalizer curves
🎧 You want the most premium set of headphones
🔊 You want wired lossless audio and low-latency audio
❌ No, if…
🧳 You want a more portable pair of headphones (get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Gen 2 instead)
🔋 You need a battery life longer than 20 hours (Sennheiser HDB 630 instead)
🚫 Constant noise-canceling headphones are a must (get the Sony WH-1000XM6 instead)
🏋🏻♂️ You’re looking for headphones to work out with(get the Beats Powerbeats Fit instead)
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam