Apple announces AirPods Max 2 with better ANC thanks to H2 chip

(Credit: Apple)

• 🎧 Apple has announced the new AirPods Max 2

• ⚙️ The headphones come with Apple’s H2 chip, which enables a lot of new features

• 🔇 You get better ANC, Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, cleaner audio quality, and better transparency

• 📐 The headphones maintain the same aluminum design as before

• 💰 Apple is also keeping the price the same at $549

• 📅 AirPods Max 2 go up for preorder on March 25 and go on sale next month

Apple has announced one of the most anticipated updates to its products in years: a new pair of AirPods Max. Today, the company unveiled the AirPods Max 2, the successor to Apple’s updated version of the original AirPods Max which swapped Lightning for USB-C a few years ago. The new version gets an updated chip which enables a bunch of new features, better sound quality, and better ANC.

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Greg Joswiak@gregjoz

Headphones that are so much more than just headphones! The new AirPods Max 2 have even better audio, even better ANC, and even better features like Adaptive Audio and Live Translation.

1:06 PM · Mar 16, 2026 · 44.4K Views

64 Replies · 184 Reposts · 1.4K Likes

(Credit: Apple)

Apple hasn’t changed everything about the AirPods Max for the official second-generation, but there are some nice upgrades on board. Apple swapped the aging H1 chip for the H2, the same chip found in the AirPods Pro 3, which delivers up to 1.5x more effective active noise cancellation than before. Transparency mode is also improved; Apple says it sounds even more natural on the new version, which is impressive given that AirPods Max historically excel at transparency mode to begin with. Spatial Audio has also been slightly improved.

The H2 chip also enables a ton of smart features that the AirPods Max have been missing. The AirPods Max 2 gain Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Live Translation, Voice Isolation during phone calls, a new camera remote, better audio recording, Loud Sound Reduction, Personalized Volume, and head gestures for interacting with Siri.

There’s still a USB-C port on the bottom of the AirPods Max 2 for charging and wired audio playback, which Apple says also still enables 24-bit/48kHz lossless audio. And while you’ll want to use a wire to reduce audio latency completely, Apple says it reduced wireless audio latency enough to make a noticeable difference when gaming.

(Credit: Apple)

The AirPods Max 2 maintain a lot of similarities with the original model. You still get an aluminum design that’s available in five colors, up to 20 hours of battery life with ANC enabled, and the same Smart Case as before (boo!). All of the updates here are under the hood, so if you were hoping for new colors, a lighter design, or anything better than Apple’s Smart Case to store them in, you’ll have to wait for AirPods Max 3 and beyond.

The price is also staying the same at $549, which means they cost just under $100 more than our current favorite headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM6. Will the AirPods Max 2 justify the higher price with a better user experience? We’ll have to wait to get our hands on a review unit to let you know.

Apple syas the new AirPods Max 2 will go up for preorder next week on March 25. The headphones will start shipping in early April.

Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.