Jacob Krol, writing at TechRadar:

To understand exactly what that means five years on, TechRadar sat down with Apple VP of Platform Architecture Tim Millet and Director of Audio Product Marketing Eric Treski to unpack how AirPods Max 2 is finally catching up to its own ambitions. [...]

One of the boldest claims Apple makes for AirPods Max 2 is a 1.5× improvement in active noise cancellation — achieved without changing a single physical component. “Getting those improvements to ANC and especially that 1.5 times more powerful ANC, which of course is a feat in itself, considering we didn’t change the actual design of the headphone at all from a form factor or material standpoint,” says Treski.

That improvement isn’t limited to a specific frequency band either. “We take that average at 1.5 times across an average of all frequencies. We’re not cherry-picking individual frequencies or a certain range,” he adds. That means AirPods Max 2 should perform better whether it’s blocking louder, booming sounds or higher-pitched ones — and that’s a high bar, given that the original AirPods Max were no slouches when it came to blocking out sound.