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I sold my AirPods Max four years ago. The sound was incredible, the transparency mode outstanding, but three things made me crack. Not in a good way.
And now Apple releases the AirPods Max 2. Five years of waiting. I read the TechRadar piece with the interviews with Tim Millet (VP of architecture) and Eric Treski (audio marketing director). It’s enticing. But is it enough to pull me back in?
The H2 — much more than a chip swap
The H1 is finally gone. In its place: two H2 chips alongside a custom-designed audio streaming processor, co-developed with the acoustics teams from the ground up. Millet sums up the philosophy: “At Apple, when we design chips, the product always comes first. We don’t sell our chips on the open market, and that gives us the luxury of knowing exactly what we’re working toward.”
Here’s the wild part: some of the audio processing in the Max 2 exceeds the computational power available in a Mac. But since everything is optimized for audio, it fits in a headphone. The adaptive EQ runs 48,000 times per second to correct the sound in real time based on the shape of your head and how the headphones sit. And you can’t turn that off. Apple considers it non-negotiable.
Better ANC without touching the hardware
The boldest claim. Apple promises 1.5× better active noise reduction without changing a single physical component. Treski says it himself: “It’s a real feat, especially since we didn’t change the headphone’s design at all.”
And it’s not across a specific frequency band — it covers the entire spectrum. Bass, treble, everything. The H2 also brings Adaptive Audio, which intelligently blends ANC and transparency — attenuating the noise of a café while still letting you hear someone talking to you, for example.
Millet also drops that the H2 still has headroom. “It’s a platform that keeps demonstrating that it still has room to grow.” In other words, software updates could continue improving the headphone after purchase. Like the AirPods Pro 2, which gained hearing health features well after their launch.
The weight: 386 grams, still
My first complaint about the v1 was the weight. 386 grams on your head for hours starts to weigh on you. In video calls all day long, I’d feel pressure at the temples by late afternoon. I mentioned it in my original review .
The Max 2? 386 grams. Same aluminium and stainless steel chassis, same mesh headband. A Sony WH-1000XM5 weighs 250 grams. I know the metal build feels more premium, but after four hours it’s cold comfort.
The case: Apple, can we talk?
I wrote that the Smart Case was “ridiculous.” Five years later, it’s the same one. Still that cover that only protects the ear cups. The headband stays exposed. It doesn’t charge the headphone. At €579, providing a proper hard case wouldn’t exactly be asking too much.
Battery life: 20 hours and not a minute more
I was hoping for a leap. The AirPods Pro 2 gained battery life thanks to the H2 — why not the Max? Result: 20 hours with ANC. Same as the v1. The Sony XM5 gets 30 hours. For working from home all week, that’s the difference between charging at the weekend and charging mid-week.
USB-C replaces Lightning, and with the cable you get lossless audio at 24-bit/48 kHz. But over Bluetooth, still no lossless. As I said when I compared Spotify and Apple Music , lossless audio quality stays a niche argument as long as you need a wire.
My verdict (from my couch)
I didn’t buy them. The temptation is real. I miss Apple’s sound, I miss the dial, and the idea of a headphone that keeps improving over time thanks to the H2 appeals to me. But 386 grams, 20 hours of battery, and that case are holding me back. These are the exact same reasons I sold the v1.
Apple improved what was already great without fixing what was frustrating. If they ever release Max headphones under 300 grams with at least 30 hours of battery, I’m in without a second thought. Until then, I’ll stick with my AirPods Pro 3 and try not to give in 🎧.
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