After almost five years, Apple finally released the second generation model of its over-the-ear premium headphones back in April. It’s only been a couple of months since then, but we’re already beginning to see some significant discounts on the stylish audio accessory. If you resisted being a day one adopter of the Gen 2 model, it’s time to reap your rewards. That comes in the form of saving yourself a solid $40.
The Apple AirPods Max 2 launched with a retail price of $549, but right now, Amazon has them in almost all colors down to just $510. You can pick up either the midnight, blue, purple, or starlight options while saving 7%. The orange model is also discounted, but only by $20, which brings the price to only $529.
Improvements to the New Generation Apple AirPods Max
Perhaps the biggest upgrade found in this year’s model is Apple’s inclusion of its proprietary H2 chipset. This new processor allows for up to a 50% boost in quality to the headphones’ noise cancellation feature. It does a much better job eliminating background noises so you can focus on what you truly want to hear, distraction-free.
Also included with noise cancellation is the all new Adaptive Audio. The headphones are now able to intelligently adjust the level of noise cancellation applied to best suit your environment, all on its own. Conversation Awareness can also detect when you’ve started up a conversation with someone, and can lower the volume automatically. Transparency mode is still supported, which is a feature that allows the outside noise to filter in during times you wish to be fully aware of your surroundings without having to take off the headphones.
With the switch to USB-C, you’ll now be able to charge over the same cable as newer iPhones as well as other devices that use the same standard. USB-C wired audio also supports lossless listening at 24-bit/48kHz. To be fair, later first generation Apple AirPods Max headphones were capable of this after Apple made the jump to USB-C, but the earliest models in the lineup originally launched with the Lightning port.
One new cool thing you can do with communicate across languages. The Apple AirPods Max 2 support live translation. During conversation, if someone is speaking a different language, you can have the AirPods Max 2 automatically translate into your preferred tongue, right in your ear. Two folks who don’t speak a word of each other’s languages can maintain a full conversation with one another.
