Apple AirPods (2nd generation) vs Apple AirPods Max (USB-C)

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AirPods (2nd generation) compared with AirPods Max (USB-C)

	AppleAirPods (2nd generation)	AppleAirPods Max (USB-C)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2019	September 2024
Sound
Type
Type	Open-ear	Over-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	No	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	No	Yes
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	No	Yes
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	SBC and AAC
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	No	Yes
Chip
Chip	H1	H1
Drivers
Drivers	–	Apple-designed dynamic driver
Chip
Chip	–	H1 in each ear cup
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	–	Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode
Audio features
Audio features	Automatic ear detection with dual optical sensors and a motion accelerometer; AAC Bluetooth audio; SBC support listed by What Hi-Fi?	Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking; Adaptive EQ; Lossless Audio and ultra-low latency audio via USB-C; analogue sources need Apple's USB-C to 3.5 mm Audio Cable, sold separately
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 5 hours	Up to 20 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	More than 24 hours of listening including case recharges, according to Apple; launch announcement claims up to 50% more talk time than first-generation AirPods	Up to 20 hours of movie playback with ANC and Spatial Audio on; storing them in the Smart Case puts them in an ultra-low-power state
Charging case
Charging case	Lightning Charging Case charges by cable; Wireless Charging Case supports Qi-certified chargers and Lightning, with a front status LED; both measure 53.5 x 44.3 x 21.3 mm	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	15 minutes in the case provides up to 3 hours of listening	5 minutes of charging gives around 1.5 hours of listening
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	4 g (better)	386.2 g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	No	Yes
Controls
Controls	Double-tap to play, skip forwards or answer a call; hands-free Hey Siri; double-tap actions can be assigned separately to each earbud	Digital Crown (turn for volume; press once to play, pause or answer a call; twice to end a call or skip forward; three times to skip back; press and hold for Siri); noise control button to switch between ANC and Transparency; “Hey Siri”
Microphones
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones and speech-detecting accelerometer	Nine microphones in total, eight for Active Noise Cancellation and three for voice pickup (two shared with ANC)
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Fixed open-ear shape without interchangeable tips; each earbud measures 40.5 x 16.5 x 18.0 mm	–
Case weight
Case weight	38.2 g for either case, according to Apple's specifications	134.5 g (Smart Case)
Works with
Works with	Full Apple features with compatible iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, Mac and Apple TV software; standard Bluetooth audio with fewer features on non-Apple devices; Live Listen, headphone levels and Headphone Accommodations	Full features with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro on the latest software; works as Bluetooth headphones with other devices, with limited features
Colours
Colours	White	Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple, Orange
In the box
In the box	AirPods, chosen charging case, Lightning to USB-A cable and documentation	AirPods Max, Smart Case, USB-C Charge Cable, documentation