Apple’s AirPods Max 2 bring H2 chip, boosted ANC in April for $549

Apple’s over-head headphones get an update after over five years.

Scharon Harding – Mar 16, 2026 12:51 pm | 103

Credit: Apple

Apple announced the AirPods Max 2 today, following up the original AirPods Max, which were announced in December 2020. The new model brings improved active noise cancellation (ANC) and other new features via an updated H2 chip.

The five AirPods Max 2 colorways. — The AirPods Max 2 are available in the same five colorways as their predecessor. Credit: Apple

Apple introduced the H2 with the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), which came out in September 2022. The original AirPods Max released in 2021 with an H1, meaning the new over-ear headphones should be more in line with Apple’s AirPods series in terms of features.

Apple claims that the new chip, combined with new computational audio algorithms, makes ANC up to 1.5 times “more effective” on the AirPods Max 2 compared to the original AirPods Max.

Transparency mode, meanwhile, should sound “more natural” due to a new “digital signal processing algorithm optimized for H2,” Apple’s announcement said.

The H2 adds support for a slew of additional AirPods Max 2 features, including adaptive audio (which automatically adjusts levels in Transparency and ANC modes based on ambient noise) and Conversation Awareness (where the device automatically lowers the volume when someone starts talking to you).

A close up of an AirPods Max 2 can in the starlight (purple) colorway. — The AirPods Max 2 also feature a small spec bump from Bluetooth 5.0 to Bluetooth 5.3. Credit: Apple

The H2 also enables the AirPods Max 2 to support live translation (which uses Apple Intelligence for real-time language translation) and voice isolation (which taps “advanced computational audio powered by H2 to prioritize the voice during calls, while blocking out ambient noise,” according to Apple’s announcement today).

Users can also now press the over-ear headphones’ digital crown to take a picture or start or stop video recording on their iPhone or iPad.

Other H2-powered features include studio-quality audio recording (for a “more natural vocal texture,” Apple said), loud sound reduction (for minimizing loud noises in the user’s environment), the ability to nod or shake your head to tell Siri yes or no, and Personalized Volume (where the device automatically makes volume adjustments based on how you use the headphones and on environmental noise).

In terms of audio quality, Apple says the AirPods Max 2 have a similar sound signature to their predecessor but with a new high-dynamic-range amplifier for “cleaner” sound and improved spatial audio, including instrument localization, bass accuracy and consistency, and “natural-sounding” mids and highs.

The AirPods Max 2 also support 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio if connected to a source via a USB-C cable instead of Bluetooth.

The AirPods Max 2 will be available for preorder on March 25 and launch in “early” April, Apple said. They will cost $549, the same as the original AirPods Max upon launch.