AirPods Max 2 Teardown: Same Design, No Fixes
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Apple's highly-anticipated AirPods Max 2 were announced via press release on March 16th, 2026. They are premium wireless over-ear headphones, featuring Bluetooth 5.3 and Apple's H2 chip, which enables better noice cancellation and Live Translation. Design-wise they're completely unchanged from the previous iterations.
The original AirPods Max were released in December 2020. In September 2024, Apple refreshed the AirPods Max, updating the Lightning port to USB-C, and in five new colors: Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and Orange.
The available AirPods Max 2 are also available in Blue, Purple, Midnight, Starlight, and Orange. The price has stayed unchanged for all three models: $550 USD.
AirPods Max can be identified by their signature aluminum oval ear cups, magnetic cushions, and mesh headband.
The industrial design of the original AirPods Max, AirPods Max (USB-C), and AirPods Max 2 are all the same. Besides for Lighting vs. USB-C and what colors were available for which model, it's difficult to tell the models apart.
The only way to tell the difference between AirPods Max (USB-C) and AirPods Max 2 is the model number, printed on the inner ear cup, underneath the magnetic ear cushions.
Audio:
Sensors:
Microphones:
Chip: Apple H2 (one in each ear cup)
Battery: Up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC on
Dimensions: 6.64 x 3.28 x 7.37 in (168.6 x 83.4 x 187.3 mm)
Weight: 13.6 oz (386.2 g)
Past 24 Hours: 13
Past 7 Days: 81
Past 30 Days: 425
All Time: 425