Product test
Apple AirPods Pro 3: new features, new look, new bass
by Florian Bodoky
Apple introduces new AirPods Max 2
16/3/2026
Translation: machine translated
Apple launches the AirPods Max 2 with H2 chip. New audio functions, better noise cancellation and features for creatives should set the over-ears apart from their predecessors.
More than five years after the launch of its predecessors - and strangely enough two weeks after the big Apple launch week - Apple is launching the AirPods Max 2 on the market. The new over-ear headphones focus on stronger noise cancelling and functions for the recording studio.
Source: Apple
H2 chip is intended to remedy old weaknesses
Apple's H2 chip, which was already installed in several AirPods Pro generations, works inside the headphones for the first time. It handles the audio processing and forms the basis for better noise cancelling.
In combination with new analysis algorithms, the active noise cancellation works much more effectively than its predecessor. According to Apple, it blocks out disturbing noises up to 1.5 times more effectively. The AirPods Max 2 are said to block out typical background noises - such as incoming trains and traffic noise - more effectively. The transparency mode has also been revised. It utilises new digital signal processing and the headphones' microphone array. This allows you to perceive sounds from your surroundings more naturally - without artificial amplification.
Lossless audio, but for whom?
Apple has also adapted the audio technology of the headphones. A new amplifier with a greater dynamic range should ensure a less interference-prone sound. With spatial audio, Apple promises a more precise arrangement of individual sound sources. This allows you to hear instruments more clearly individually, making the sound less mushy. The AirPods Max 2 support lossless audio with 24-bit and 48 kHz via the USB-C cable supplied. It is not yet clear whether this is limited to Apple's own ALAC codec. At the same time, the latency of the connection should be reduced. This is interesting for gamers. However, Apple is restricting its announcement to «-compatible games on iPhone, iPad or Mac».
Noise cancellation adapts, headphones recognise your voice
Thanks to the H2 chip, adaptive audio is also available on the over-ears. This controls the ratio between noise cancellation and transparency mode. If it gets louder around you, the ANC intensity increases and vice versa.
The AirPods Max 2 also intervene when you start talking. With Conversation Awareness, they recognise the start of a conversation. At this moment, they lower the playback volume and emphasise voices in your surroundings.
As with the AirPods Pro 3, Voice Isolation is also used: the function emphasises your voice and reduces background noise during a call. Apple has also integrated the translation function for conversations between different languages into the headphones.
Pre-orders are possible from 25 March, the AirPod Max 2 will be delivered at the beginning of April. They are available in five colours: Midnight, Starlight, Orange, Purple and Blue.
Conclusion: Better late than never
What a joke my colleague Samuel Buchmann and I have had. In every annual preview, in every keynote preview of our Apple podcast «Take a Byte», there was a line about the AirPod Max 2 that Apple was about to unveil. It was almost a meme.
And now they're here. Over five years after the release of their predecessors and, strangely enough, two weeks after Apple's big hardware launch week.
With all due respect: FI-NA-LLY!
Header image: Apple
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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