Review: AirPods Max 2 have better audio and noise cancellation but still cost a lot

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Reviewed: Apple AirPods Max 2

Price: €579

Pros: superb build quality, excellent audio and noise cancellation, removable ear cups

Cons: very pricey, unchanged other than new chip and USB-C

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When Apple launched their original AirPods Max in 2020, the sky-high price (€618, almost twice that of the best-selling pair at the time from industry leader, Sony) made them feel like a boutique, ultra-niche product that would appeal only to especially flush Apple loyalists.

While they haven’t come close to replicating the massive success of regular AirPods (by far, the most popular headphones ever sold), they’ve done okay, considering that price. It’s not unusual to see the trademark coloured aluminium cans floating along an urban street somewhere, usually on a Gen Z or Millennial skull.

Apple minorly updated them in 2024 with USB-C and have now launched an official Mark II of the genre.

Physically, they look and feel exactly the same as a pair bought last year (or even my original 2020 pair). Other than the USB-C charging port and new colours, literally nothing has changed – so much so that you can even use the older carrying cases for the new headphones (and vice versa), usually something that Apple would rarely allow happen.

That means they still have the same two-button setup, with one of the buttons doubling as a ‘Digital Crown’ dial to control volume, phone calls and to activate Siri.

But under the hood, there are some changes that marginally improve both the sound and active noise cancellation quality, both of which were already very good, as well as the transparency mode.

There are also upgrades that bring the AirPods Max 2 in line with the latest Apple Intelligence capabilities of AirPods Pro 3, including whizzbang feats such as live translation, voice isolation, conversation awareness, adaptive audio and camera remote.

Mostly, these upgrades have one thing in common: the more powerful H2 chip.

On the four most important metrics for judging any pair of overhead noise-cancelling headphones, the AirPods Max 2 come out well.

Audio quality is generally excellent, at all sound levels. There’s (wired) lossless support over USB-C. For tech nerds, it supports AAC and SBC over Bluetooth, but not LDAC or aptX (unlike some rivals).

There’s slightly improved bass over AirPods Max 1, too. If I compare it with Sony’s WH-1000XM6, still considered an industry benchmark for active noise cancellation headphones, it’s hard to pick an outright audio quality winner. But that’s a very high bar, indeed.

From an active noise cancellation perspective, the AirPods Max 2 are superb, matching the best I’ve ever tested. Aside from the active technology used, the natural insulation from the weight of the materials is clearly a boost to this, too. Your ears feel like they’ve been put to bed in a very snug, expensive hotel room with triple-glazed windows to the outside world.

When considering any pair of headphones, comfort is also up there as a metric. The AirPods Max 2 are definitely the heaviest flagship noise-cancelling headphones you can buy, just like their predecessors. This comes with challenges. Like their predecessors, the AirPods Max 2 try to mitigate this extra weight with a mesh ‘canopy’ headband that distributes the heft evenly and somewhat softly across a relatively wide area at the top of your head.

Overall, it’s effective and I could wear the AirPods Max 2 for an hour or two without really feeling any pressure or discomfort. However, they are not as comfortable as one or two rivals, mainly due to this weight. If you have a sensitive head, you might want to try them on first before making a buying decision.

To be clear, the reason for the weight is the high quality of the materials. I have about a dozen pairs of decent, flagship-grade noise-cancelling headphones. The AirPods Max are easily the best-built in terms of the quality of the materials. The external ear cups are anodised aluminium while the frame and the telescoping arms are stainless steel. It’s an ultra-premium feel.

By comparison, the vast majority of rival headphones are made mostly from plastic. You have to really hold and feel them side by side to appreciate this difference.

One other fairly unique element of this build quality is the magnet-supported removable earcups. The thing that causes headphones to be thrown out the most is torn ear cups. Apple lets you remove them easily, snapping them on or off. It’s a really excellent feature from both an environmental and a longevity perspective.

Otherwise, the purse-cum-mini-handbag style case hasn’t changed. It looks like an expensive accessory you’d buy in the posh part of Brown Thomas. When that first came out, I wasn’t wild about it, aesthetically (as opposed to my wife and daughter, who really like it). I’ve gotten used to it, though. One limitation is that it leaves quite a bit of the headphones (the main stems and the mesh canopy band) exposed. However, because the materials are generally of such high quality, I don’t feel there’s any real risk of damage to them.

Like the previous version, there’s still no on-off button. Instead, they ‘wake up’ when they’re out of their case and placed on your head. This set up (the lack of an on-off button) is something that has attracted negative criticism in the past. I don’t mind it, though, possibly because I don’t have to worry about remembering to turn them off. I haven’t had any instances of them not waking up when they’re on my head, although that did happen a handful of times (out of hundreds, in fairness) with my original AirPods Max.

There are new colours for the AirPods Max 2. The green colour I had in my original 2020 pair has been retired. My test pair this time were ‘Starlight’, which is the same light golden beige tint that Apple has sometimes used for its MacBook Air models. Other available colours include purple, blue, orange and ‘midnight’.

As for downsides, I can only think of two. One is the price which, although lower than its 2020 predecessor, is still at least €150 more than any of its immediate rivals. The rationalisation for this high price, I think, is less about it being ‘an Apple product’ and more about the sheer cost of the materials used.

Then there is battery life. At around 20 hours of use with noise cancellation on, it’s acceptable for a modern pair of headphones. But it’s a good 10 hours less than many flagship competitors.

Even still, the AirPods Max 2 is a high-end set of cans that generally delights.