Apple on Monday unveiled the second generation of its premium AirPods Max over-ear headphones at $549, more than five years after the first version's launch.
The update marks Apple's first major refresh of the over-ear âheadphones â since their â 2020 debut, as the company adds new features âand improved noise cancellation to compete more aggressively in the âpremium headphones market.
Currently, the segment is largely dominated by Japan's Sony Group, Bose and âSennheiser.
Powered by Apple's in-house H2 â chip, which âruns the latest range of âAirPods devices, âthe new headphones will be â available to order from March 25 in âmore than 30 countries, with retail âavailability beginning early next month, the company said.
Upgrades to the AirPods Max 2 include better active noise cancellation, an improved microphone system and a range of new features âincluding Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness and Live Translation.
Live translation, first introduced on the AirPods Pro 3 in â September, enables users to translate in-person conversations across languages using Apple Intelligence, the company's artificial intelligence platform.
AirPods Max 2 also supports high-resolution lossless audio when connected via USB-C, targeting music creators and professional users who require higher fidelity audio, Apple said.
The update marks Apple's first major refresh of the over-ear âheadphones â since their â 2020 debut, as the company adds new features âand improved noise cancellation to compete more aggressively in the âpremium headphones market.
Currently, the segment is largely dominated by Japan's Sony Group, Bose and âSennheiser.
Powered by Apple's in-house H2 â chip, which âruns the latest range of âAirPods devices, âthe new headphones will be â available to order from March 25 in âmore than 30 countries, with retail âavailability beginning early next month, the company said.
Upgrades to the AirPods Max 2 include better active noise cancellation, an improved microphone system and a range of new features âincluding Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness and Live Translation.
Live translation, first introduced on the AirPods Pro 3 in â September, enables users to translate in-person conversations across languages using Apple Intelligence, the company's artificial intelligence platform.
AirPods Max 2 also supports high-resolution lossless audio when connected via USB-C, targeting music creators and professional users who require higher fidelity audio, Apple said.