Apple AirPods Max 2 Review: The Best Over-Ears for iOS | WIRED
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Rating:8/10
Open rating explainerInformation
WIRED
Retains the gorgeous, comfortable, iconic design. Improved noise canceling and Bluetooth connection. Upgraded software features, like gesture controls and Adaptive Audio.
TIRED
Battery life is still disappointing. No customizable EQ. Live translation is hilariously bad.
On a recent trip, I accidentally booked my family to fly on a de Havilland propeller plane. If there’s anything I hate more than flying, it’s flying on a tiny plane sitting next to giant propeller blades that are, improbably, the only things that keep you from crashing into the ground. I immediately pulled out the AirPods Max 2 ($549) and put them on to block out the overwhelming buzzing whirr. When I looked up, three other people had pulled out their own pairs.
Yes, the updated version of the 2020 AirPods Max is iterative. Yes, the only reason I knew the woman two rows ahead of me had the old version instead of the new one was that the new one doesn’t come in green anymore. But the AirPods Max design is instantly recognizable. Even the Sony WH-1000XM6, the best headphones, look more or less like every other pair. It takes a second—or third—look to see if someone really is wearing a pair of premium headphones or a pair of gorgeous cheap ones.
Photograph: Adrienne So
The Apple AirPods Max 2 will never require a second glance. This year’s iteration is basically stuffing the headphones with all the new software that landed in the AirPods Pro 3. They have Siri, Live Translation, head-based gestures, and more, along with some of the best noise-canceling on the market, deep bass, and shimmering highs. If you’re an iPhone owner with $549, there is just no reason to get another pair of over-ear headphones besides these.
What's Old Is New Again
I have the OG AirPods Max and yes, the two look exactly the same. They have the same milled aluminum casing, magnetic replaceable (and repairable) ear cups, the button and dial on the right ear cup, and the mesh headband (that Apple calls “the canopy”) that looks like a Herman Miller Aeron chair. Yes, they’re still two ounces heavier than every other headphone, but the canopy goes a long way towards making them feel lighter than they are.
And yes, they still come in the soft, magnetic, bra smart case. I understand why Apple uses this case. You can carry the headphones easily by just sliding the canopy onto your wrist; they’re easier to pull out of a bag. The canopy is tough enough to take whatever treatment you can dish out. I shoved the AirPods Max 2 into an overstuffed Wandrd Prvke Pocket ($245) and kicked it under airplane seats, and there’s no damage at all.
Photograph: Adrienne So
Still, the case is related to the one major downside of these headphones. There’s still no power off button, so the only way to turn the headphones off is by putting them into the case and carrying it around with you. The headphones go into low power mode if you leave them alone for 5 minutes, but mostly the battery is constantly, slowly draining. I put them on at 3 pm when I boarded my flight, kept them around my neck, pulled them on and off to watch movies or listen to music in between taking care of my kids. By the time I got home at 8 pm, the battery was down to 50 percent.
I got about two days of battery life per charge, with about 15 hours of active listening that includes noise cancellation. This is the headphones' most embarrassing flaw, when the Sony WH-1000XM6 have 30 hours of listening and a convenient power button that lets you extend the life of the battery by turning it off when, you know, you're just wearing them around your neck.
This is an Apple problem, not unique to the company’s headphones. The Apple Watch and iPhone have also struggled historically with battery life, but that’s partly due to advanced mission creep. Aside from USB-C charging and the new H2 chip (that’s also in the AirPods Pro 3), the main upgrades to the AirPods Max 2 are software-related.
It's All Inside
You can’t really talk about the AirPods Max 2 without talking about all the ways that the headphones integrate with iOS. Yes, the noise canceling has improved (it blocked out about 80 percent of the propeller blade noise and 60 percent of my terror), but a ton of the new software that showed up in the AirPods Pro 3 is now in the AirPods Max 2.
Live translation is still in beta and still working out of a lot of the kinks. (It was painful to watch my phone puzzle over the most rudimentary sentences when my son and I spoke in Spanish.) But many of the other new interactions are much easier to use. I can shake my head yes or no to respond to Siri’s questions or use the button as a camera remote to take selfies (as I did here!).
Photograph: Adrienne So
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