Sony, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins have all refreshed their flagship headphones in recent months; now Apple is joining the party. The US technology giant has just announced a big boost to its popular AirPods Max cans, improving the overall audio quality and making the active noise cancellation (ANC) far better at blocking out unwanted sounds. In fact, Apple is boasting that its new AirPods Max 2 will offer up to 1.5x more effective ANC than its predecessor.

Things get even better for audiophiles as the new AirPods Max support 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio when connected with the included USB-C cable. This will offer the highest-quality audio across music, movies, and games.

Along with making things sound better, the latest Max also come packed with other smart upgrades including Adaptive Audio which adjusts the levels of ANC and Transparency in response to the environment.

Conversation Awareness has been added, which will lower content volume and reduce background noise when a user starts speaking, and Voice Isolation uses advanced computational audio to help users sound crystal clear on phone calls.

These cans also feature Live Translation, which should come in handy when travelling abroad.

One final bonus could be a big hit with podcasters, musicians, and content creators. The new AirPods Max feature studio-quality audio recording and a camera remote, which can be used to snap selfies on an iPhone.

All of these upgrades have been made possible thanks to the inclusion of the latest H2 processor, which is now packed inside the metal design.

“H2 ushers in an array of features that make AirPods Max 2 even more intelligent and convenient,” Apple explained.

Fancy a pair? AirPods Max 2 will be available to order starting March 25 in midnight, starlight, orange, purple, and blue, with availability beginning early next month. They start at £499

“With the incredible performance of H2, AirPods Max are upgraded with up to 1.5x more effective ANC for the ultimate all-day listening experience,” said Eric Treski, Apple’s director of Audio Product Marketing. “The sound quality is remarkably clean, rich, and acoustically detailed — and when combined with capabilities like Personalised Spatial Audio, AirPods Max 2 deliver a profoundly immersive experience.”