Headphones / Apple
Apple AirPods Max 2
The most beautifully built headphone here — and the heaviest, with no EQ.
Overall score 7.5/10
Pros
- + Exceptional build — stainless steel and machined aluminium, the most premium object here
- + 24-bit lossless over USB-C with ultra-low latency
- + Best-in-class Spatial Audio with head tracking on Apple devices
- + Live Translation and studio-quality recording
Cons
- − 386g, a full 74g heavier than the next heaviest here, and it tells over long sessions
- − Still no EQ of any kind, at any price
- − AAC and SBC only, so Android users get the worst codec support here
- − Almost every headline feature requires an Apple device, including firmware updates
- − 20 hours is the shortest battery here
- − No true power off — only the Smart Case
Apple AirPods Max 2 review: what the specs say
The most beautifully built headphone here — and the heaviest, with no EQ. At $549, Apple's 2026 model sits at the premium end of the category — the headphones we compare run from $89 to $549. It scores 7.5/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 10 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Durability at 9.5/10 — build materials, hinge quality, and reported longevity. The weakest is Value at 5.0/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: 386g, a full 74g heavier than the next heaviest here, and it tells over long sessions; and still no EQ of any kind, at any price. Every specification on this page comes from Apple's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| Battery Life | 20 hrs |
| Battery (ANC off) | Apple rates only the 20-hour ANC-on figure hrs |
| Quick Charge | 10 min for 3hrs |
| Bluetooth Version | 5.3 |
| Weight | 386 g |
| Driver Size | Not published by Apple mm |
| Active Noise Cancelling | Apple Active Noise Cancellation on the H2 chip, using 8 of the 9 microphones, with Adaptive Audio, Transparency and Conversation Awareness |
| Multipoint Pairing | Yes, but only across compatible Apple devices |
| Microphones | 9 mics |
| Foldable | No |
| Water Resistance | None |
| App EQ | No |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C lossless audio, 3.5mm via adapter |
| Material | Stainless steel frame with anodised aluminium earcups and a mesh canopy |
| Warranty | 12 months |
Compare Apple AirPods Max 2 With
Cheaper Alternative
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 — $479.00