Keep vs. Upgrade: AirPods Max vs. AirPods Max 2 — Can He Hear the Difference?

Should you upgrade to Apple's new AirPods Max 2—or keep the originals?

In this episode of Keep vs. Upgrade, we put the original AirPods Max head-to-head against the new AirPods Max 2... but with a twist.

Our tech writer, Henry, has no idea which headphones he's listening to.

Blindfolded, he goes through a series of real-world tests—including:

✅ Audio Quality
✅ Microphone Quality
✅ Active Noise Cancellation
✅ Transparency (Ambient Sound) Mode
✅ Comfort & Features

Can he actually tell which is which?

Or are the differences so small that you should save your money?

Watch until the end for the big reveal—and find out whether it's time to Keep or Upgrade.

-----------------------
0:00 - Start
0:36 - What's new for the AirPods Max 2
1:30 - Live translation feature demo
1:50 - Blindfolded sound quality tests
2:39 - Blindfolded microphone quality tests
2:54 - Blindfolded transparency mode tests
3:15 - Blindfolded Active noise cancellation mode tests
3:36 - The winner reveals
4:30 - Final verdict. Keep or upgrade?



-----------------------

When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.

Apple - AirPods Max (USB-C): https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/c/1442537/614286/10014?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bestbuy.com%2Fproduct%2Fapple-airpods-max-usb-c-blue%2FJJGCQ3ZZHZ%2Fsku%2F6550078&subId1=072226airpodsmaxyoutube

AirPods Max 2: https://ncls1.com/irk?s=769621&o=sxjd55&subid=cnn.com&bkd=apple.com&d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fshop%2Fbuy-airpods%2Fairpods-max-2%2Fblue&arid=072226airpodsmaxyoutube



-------------------------

Check out more of our headphone reviews:
https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/reviews/apple-airpods-max-2
https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/reviews/the-best-over-ear-headphones


Check out our other reviews:
https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored

CNN Underscored IG:
https://www.instagram.com/cnnunderscored/

CNN Underscored TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@cnnunderscored

Sign-up for the CNN Underscored newsletter and the CNN Underscored Deals newsletter to receive product reviews and deals straight to your inbox.



Watch 24/7 live news with CNN Headlines: https://bit.ly/4eIvlTr

#cnn #cnnunderscored #underscored #KeepVsUpgrade #airpodsmax #airpodsmax2 #overearheadphones #apple #TechReview #News





Watch 24/7 live news with CNN Headlines: https://bit.ly/4eIvlTr

#News