CUPERTINO, California, April 18, 2026, 10:42 PDT
- Apple’s AirPods Max 2 is now being judged less as a launch and more as a value test.
- The first-generation AirPods Max has fallen to £399.99 at Amazon UK after the new model’s arrival.
- Sony’s WH-1000XM6 and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra remain the main pressure points in premium noise-canceling headphones.
Apple’s AirPods Max 2 has moved from product launch to market test, as new comparisons with Sony and Bose arrive while the older AirPods Max is being discounted. TechRadar said the first-generation AirPods Max fell to £399.99 at Amazon UK, a £100 cut and a record low, after the AirPods Max 2 launch.
That matters now because buyers of premium noise-canceling headphones are no longer looking only at a spec sheet. Apple lists AirPods Max 2 at $549 in the United States, while Sony’s WH-1000XM6 is marked at $429.99 on Sony’s U.S. store, down from $459.99. The price gap is not small.
The fight is also about lock-in. Active noise cancellation, or ANC, uses microphones and processing to cut outside sound, but the best headphone for a buyer now depends as much on phones, apps and daily use as on silence.
Apple’s pitch is mostly internal. The company says AirPods Max 2 uses its H2 chip for Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation and Live Translation, while offering up to 1.5 times more ANC than the previous generation. Eric Treski, Apple’s director of Audio Product Marketing, said the new sound is “remarkably clean, rich, and acoustically detailed.” Apple
The outside did not change as much. Design Milk described the new AirPods Max 2 as a refinement rather than a reinvention, with the same over-ear design language and new finishes including midnight, starlight, orange, purple and blue.
Sony’s counter is the WH-1000XM6, a cheaper rival with stronger cross-platform appeal. Creative Bloq reviewer Jon Stapley said the headphones offer strong ANC and a 10-band equalizer, a tool that lets users adjust sound frequencies manually, though he also found the stock sound heavy in bass and the fit less comfortable than Bose’s cheaper QuietComfort Ultra.
Tom’s Guide’s Erin Bashford still said she would keep the AirPods Max 2, citing sound quality and Apple ecosystem integration. But she recommended Sony for users split across Android, Windows and Apple devices, and Bose for long-haul flights or commutes where light weight and stronger ANC matter more. She also called Apple’s 20-hour battery life “inexcusable” for 2026. Tom’s Guide
CNET has put the same decision in buyer terms, with executive editor David Carnoy comparing the AirPods Max 2 and Sony WH-1000XM6 on design, features, performance and sound quality. The framing is notable: the question is less whether Apple made a better AirPods Max, and more whether that is enough against Sony.
The risk for Apple is that the old model may now be good enough for some buyers. The first-generation AirPods Max still offers spatial audio, strong ANC and tight iOS integration, according to TechRadar, which weakens the upgrade case for shoppers who want Apple over-ear headphones but not the newest chip.
Sony has the opposite problem. Its XM6 has broad appeal, longer claimed battery life and more tuning control, but it does not have Apple’s seamless device switching or Apple-only features such as Live Translation on supported iPhones.
SoundGuys put the trade-off bluntly: Sony covers more ground for most people, while AirPods Max 2 makes its strongest case for users already deep in Apple’s ecosystem. It also noted Apple’s $100 premium over Sony, the heavier build, weaker battery life and Apple-exclusive features as drawbacks.
The next test is price discipline. Apple headphones often hold their list price longer than rivals, but the first-generation AirPods Max discount shows retailers already have a cheaper Apple story to tell. That could help clear old inventory. It could also make the $549 AirPods Max 2 look like a harder sell.
