AirPods Max 2 adds H2 and keeps lossless audio on a cable

Apple introduced AirPods Max 2 on 16 March with the H2 chip, adding Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation and Live Translation to its over-ear headphones. Orders were scheduled for 25 March, with availability beginning the following month. The company claimed noise cancellation up to 1.5 times more effective than the previous generation.

Lossless playback remains a connection-specific feature: Apple specifies 24-bit, 48kHz audio when the headphones use the included USB-C cable. Buyers should not read that as a promise of wireless lossless streaming. The release also described audio-recording tools and a Digital Crown camera remote for compatible iPhone and iPad apps. Apple’s cancellation and sound-quality comparisons are its own claims, rather than results from a Capvise listening test.