Apple’s acquired new headphones in its lineup. Or does it?
The brand new AirPods Max 2 are the primary correct improve to the corporate’s first and solely set of over-the-ear headphones, which got here out in 2020; the revised model in 2024 solely acquired a USB-C port as an alternative of Lightning, and Apple, once more, simply referred to as them AirPods Max.
Now, the AirPods Max 2 are right here, however the listing of upgrades is as soon as once more fairly quick. I’ve spent a few week with a pair to see whether or not these are value their worth; here is what I discovered.
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Design, colours, battery life: No adjustments
That is the primary time, and presumably the final time, I am lumping all of those collectively in a headphone evaluation. The reason being easy: They’re all the identical. The design, weight, and dimensions have not modified in any respect. Even the colours on supply are the identical: Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, and Orange.
I’ve had an outdated pair of Midnight AirPods Max with USB-C (examine my full evaluation), and the brand new ones Apple despatched me had been Blue. There’s actually no approach of telling that these are completely different mannequin numbers and two years aside.
On the left, the brand new AirPods Max 2. On the fitting, the outdated AirPods Max.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
To be honest, there is not very a lot I might change right here, design-wise. These headphones look nice, they’re extremely glossy and cozy, and regardless that I hardly ever use the bodily controls on the fitting earcup, I’ve no enchancment options there, both.
Some individuals complain that the AirPods Max are too heavy. At 386.2 grams, they’re fairly chunky; for comparability, Sony’s WH-1000XM6 and Bose’s QuietComfort Extremely headphones, that are additionally wi-fi, over-the-ear headphones with energetic noise cancellation, each weigh roughly 130 grams much less. I do not thoughts the burden, however if you happen to do, simply observe that nothing has modified on this regard for the reason that very first AirPods Max mannequin.
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What does annoy me is the truth that the AirPods Max can solely be absolutely folded inwards, and if you try this, the possibility of 1 earcup chaffing and scratching the opposite will get very excessive with every motion. Apple’s Good Case is virtually a must-carry for that reason alone, however I am sad to report that the case remains to be the identical as earlier than: Ugly and never very protecting.
I just like the look of the AirPods Max 2, and I do not thoughts the truth that they’re fairly heavy however…they’re fairly heavy.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
The Blue coloration was nicer than I assumed, as a result of it is extra silver than blue. It’s a lot flashier and extra noticeable in your head than Midnight, so if you happen to’re on the lookout for one thing subdued, Blue is not it. It’s odd, nonetheless, that Apple did not introduce a minimum of one new coloration with the brand new mannequin.
Battery life remains to be listed at 20 hours with noise cancellation on, and I did not discover any distinction between the outdated and the brand new mannequin.
They sound just about the identical, too
If you happen to’re searching for a pair of headphones, the best way they sound must be fairly excessive in your listing of priorities. With the AirPods Max 2, Apple left many of the {hardware} unchanged, with the most important distinction being the brand new H2 chip.
In concept, it ought to enhance sound high quality; in its advertising supplies, Apple says the brand new mannequin provides “elevated sound high quality.”
As laborious as I attempted, I could not hear the distinction with regards to sound high quality.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Each the outdated AirPods Max and the brand new ones sound wonderful. They provide a large soundstage and loads of element throughout all frequencies. The sound is tuned in order that the bass and treble are pronounced, whereas the mid-range is slightly subdued. I choose to repair that with a trick: On the iPhone, go to Settings – Accessibility – Audio & Visible – Headphone Lodging; flip the setting on, and choose “Tune audio for Balanced Tone”. I’ve it set to Reasonable, which makes the general sound brighter and the vocals extra current.
With or with out such tinkering, I couldn’t hear the distinction between the outdated and new fashions. My preliminary setup was to take away all equalization, flip off Bluetooth, join the headphones to a MacBook Professional with a USB-C cable, and play some hi-res lossless monitor on Apple Music, whereas alternating between the 2 fashions. In such a setting, the 2 fashions sounded precisely the identical.
With the most important enchancment to the brand new mannequin being the H2 chip, I assumed maybe I may get a much bigger distinction by going wi-fi, and switching between varied modes and choices, together with Transparency mode and Noise Cancellation. Nope. I nonetheless could not hear a distinction, apart from noise cancelling being higher on the brand new mannequin (extra on that in a bit).
Higher noise cancellation and tons of latest software program options
The noise cancellation has been improved.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
Apple says the brand new H2 chip improves noise cancellation by 1.5x in comparison with the outdated mannequin. I can not vouch for that actual determine, however the noise cancellation has been audibly improved. I’ve examined it by blasting white noise and jet engine noise on varied audio system round the home, and never solely did the brand new AirPods Max 2 blocked extra noise, however they had been additionally higher at decreasing noise relying on the place I turned or how I moved my head.
That stated, Apple’s AirPods Max 2 nonetheless aren’t significantly nice at noise cancellation. Whereas indirectly comparable as they are a completely different kind of headphone, Apple’s personal AirPods Professional 3 earbuds are a better option, and never by slightly. Carrying them on a busy avenue makes the skin noise vanish in a spectacular style; the AirPods Max 2 make the noise extra tolerable, however the impact is not almost as noticeable.
The AirPods Professional 3 are value mentioning right here as a result of in addition they have the H2 chip, and with this newest improve, Apple’s AirPods Max 2 are primarily catching up with them. This implies the AirPods Max 2 now even have options like Adaptive Audio, Dialog Consciousness, Reside Translation, Voice Isolation, Personalised Quantity, Loud Sound Discount, and Siri Interactions. These are all nice since they’re elective. For instance, I prefer to manually change Noise Cancellation on and off, however if you happen to choose the headphones to do it mechanically, Adaptive Audio is the best way.
Nonetheless fairly nice, however not all that new
The AirPods Max 2 are nonetheless an awesome product, however when you’ve got an outdated mannequin, you do not actually need to improve.
Credit score: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
The AirPods Max 2 are Apple’s solely over-the-ear headphones (if you happen to do not rely Beats), and so they’re a superb product. They sound fairly good, play good with Apple {hardware}, they appear nice, and so they’re very cozy (if you happen to do not thoughts the burden). They’re pricy, and you will get better-sounding headphones for the cash, however you’ll by no means get all the options listed above in a single product.
As a second-generation product, nonetheless, they are not nice. They’re principally the identical as the unique, with the one significant improve being the brand new H2 chip. This does allow a variety of new options in addition to enhance noise cancelling, however that is the place the listing of enhancements ends. And sure, they’re nonetheless priced at $549, which is greater than you may pay for related headphones from Sony, Bose, or Sennheiser.
Consequently, I can advocate the brand new AirPods Max 2 in a single case solely: If you happen to’re an avid Apple person searching for over-the-ear headphones for the primary time. If in case you have a pair of outdated AirPods Max at house, it is not value upgrading, and I might argue that if you happen to simply want one thing that cancels noise properly, you’d do higher if you happen to simply purchased the AirPods Professional 3.
