Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: This is closer than I predicted
The AirPods Max 2 may look identical to the previous model, but it’s what inside that counts. I gave them a fantastic 4.5-star rating in my review, and I love the improved sound, ANC and upgraded features like Live Translation. In my opinion, the AirPods Max 2 are some of the best headphones you can buy.
But that got me thinking… so are the Sony WH-1000XM6, which came out last year and received a solid 4-star rating from us. So how do the AirPods Max 2 and the WH-1000XM6 compare? How do both these flagship models sound? How do they feel? How’s the ANC? I tested the Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6 side by side to declare a winner.
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Sony WH-1000XM6 |
AirPods Max 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
Price |
||
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
ANC |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Durability |
No IP rating |
No IP rating |
|
Battery |
30 hours (ANC on) |
20 hours |
|
Weight |
8.8 ounces |
13.6 ounces |
|
Dimensions |
N/A |
7.4 x 6.6 x 3.28 inches |
|
Colors |
Black, white, navy, pink |
Starlight, midnight, orange, purple, blue |
|
Compatibility |
iOS, Android |
iOS, Android |
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Price
The AirPods Max 2 are the same price as their predecessor: $549/£499. This makes them more expensive than most other flagship over-ears.
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The Sony WH-1000XM6 were $459/£399 at launch, and you can get them from around $449 (Sony) to $458 (Amazon) now. Overall, you’re saving $90/£100, which is a considerable amount of money.
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Design
I’m not sure there are any tech brands that can beat Apple on the design front. Sony gear looks and feels good, don’t get me wrong, but Apple always blows the competition out of the water.
The AirPods Max 2 are heavy, yes, which is my biggest complaint about the new cans. At a hefty 13.6 ounces, the Max 2 aren’t about to let you forget you’re wearing them. The mesh headband alleviates as much of the pressure as physically possible, but you cannot work out wearing these cans. They’re for running errands rather than 5Ks.
However, the Max 2 look utterly divine. The metal ear cups are premium in every way, and the fabric cushions are super soft on my skin. I also have to hand it to Apple for mastering easy, intuitive controls — the ‘Digital Crown’ and ANC button on the right ear cup are both super easy to use.
Comparatively, the XM6 look a little lackluster. I tested the white/beige colorway, which is nice and unobtrusive, but isn’t exactly winning any design awards. The ear cups are plasticky, which, of course, is how Sony managed to keep the weight down to a frankly delicate 8.8. ounces, but risks the headphones looking cheap.
The headband is padded, but still presses down on my head after a few hours of listening. So, while the XM6 are half the weight of the AirPods Max 2, you only really notice this when working out or while walking. If you’re sitting at your desk or just relaxing at home, the weight difference is mostly unnoticeable.
The touch controls on the WH-1000XM6 are good. Even so, I wouldn’t say Sony’s controls are Apple-beating — in the search for a discreet, smooth design, one has to memorize complex hand magic to skip songs or pause.
Bring back the buttons! I promise, we won’t get mad. So, while I’ve taken points away from Apple due to the Max 2’s heft, the overall appearance and easy touch controls mean that Apple wins this round.
Winner: AirPods Max 2
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Features and connectivity
For your $549, Apple has stuffed the AirPods Max 2 full of AirPods-Pro-esque smart tech features, such as Live Translation and more Siri integration. Whether or not you use these is up to you — I personally don’t have need for AI in my headphones, but if you gravitate towards these features, great!
The XM6 have tons of useful features, too. You can activate adaptive sound control, which uses your location to switch between ANC modes — so you can turn on ANC when you reach the train station for your commute, or turn off when you arrive home. This is pretty cool.
You can also cycle through listening modes: standard, background music (mimics background music in a cafe, for example), and cinema, which upscales content to mimic Dolby Atmos.
Apple offers this with Personalized Spatial Audio, but you need to be watching a Dolby Atmos-encoded video to take advantage of it.
Of course, if you’re an Apple user, you benefit from seamless integration with your AirPods Max 2. Once the headphones are linked to your Apple ID, they switch seamlessly between all your devices.
On the other hand, the Sonys require you to download the Sony Connect app to manually control dual pairing — and even then, you can only connect up to two devices simultaneously. You can, of course, add more devices in the app, but you can’t connect to more than two at once.
If you’ve got more than two Apple products — an iPhone, MacBook, and iPad, for example — it makes more sense to get the AirPods Max 2. However, Android and Apple owners would probably get more seamless connectivity out of the Sony.
The AirPods Max 2 and WH-1000XM6 both run on Bluetooth 5.3, which is disappointing to see on brand-new/relatively new flagship headphones. Samsung launched its Galaxy Buds 4 series in February 2026 with Bluetooth 6.1, which both future-proofs and improves reliability and range.
Both the XM6 and Max 2 have great features, but I’m giving this win to the Apple as its features are more versatile.
Winner: AirPods Max 2
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Sound quality
The AirPods Max 2 and Sony WH-1000XM6 are tuned similarly: both have a wide, expansive, detailed soundscape, with gentle-yet-confident bass, and a faithful balance across the entire frequency range. If you’re used to a bass-heavy signature, for example Bose headphones, you may be put off by these.
However, I love this sound signature. I really appreciate being able to hear nuance and delicate tightrope-walking across the frequency range.
I listened to ‘True Believer’ by Hayley Williams, which is a piano-led track with layers of discordant keyboard riffs, choir background vocals, and powerful bass drum. The song sounded utterly divine through the XM6s, complete clarity in every frequency. I could hear all of the choral sections and delicate bass notes.
In the AirPods Max 2, the choir was handled just as delicately, with the strings driving the back-end of the soundstage being just as insistent.
I found the Sonys to be a touch narrower, with a louder bass section, but this will depend on your preference. Do you want the most expansive soundscape, or do you want a heavier bass response?
Next, I tested out both cans with an electronic track, ‘If U Want my Heart’ by Kettama. This song has a modulated vocal section with effusive synths and siren-synth sound effects. The XM6s handled this rich soundscape well, with depth in the vocals and instrumental.
However, the AirPods Max 2 were much more expansive, and the bass was even a little more pronounced. The vocals felt as if they were swarming around my head rather than playing into my ears.
Finally, I went for a softer, hazier track: ‘Better Distractions’ by Faye Webster. This bluegrass-meets-alt song is built from a lazy percussion section and wobbly slide guitar, with pianos twinkling in the right ear. This sound was immersive and wide through the AirPods Max 2, and I felt like I was in a sunsoaked bar in the Deep South.
Comparatively, the XM6 sounded much narrower again — I was longing for the same amount of width and immersion. This isn’t to say the XM6 sounded bad, but different. I much prefer an expansive soundscape, so the AirPods Max 2 win this round for me.
Winner: AirPods Max 2.
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: ANC
Both the AirPods Max 2 and the Sony WH-1000XM6 have excellent ANC. They offer the following modes: ANC on, transparency/ambient, off.
However, Bose is still the undefeated champion of ANC. The QuietComfort Ultra boast the best ANC I’ve ever experienced. When I was walking around the city with the Bose cans, I was effectively in my own universe. Traffic? Nothing. Sirens? No. Passers-by? Silent.
No, Apple and Sony haven’t quite reached Bose’s level, but that’s not to say the ANC on these models is anything to sneer at.
When I was wearing the XM6 around the city, I was in near-silent conditions the entire time. The XM6 can definitely hold their own.
While the ANC on the AirPods Max 2 is considerably better than the originals, the XM6 still win here. I couldn’t hear low-frequency sounds like motorbikes or buses, but some high-frequency tones still leaked through.
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Call quality
We’ve reached a point in flagship headphones where nearly all have guaranteed great call quality. You won’t be disappointed by either the AirPods Max 2 or the WH-1000XM6.
I really like how the XM6 make your voice audible during calls, so you can monitor your speaking volume. I wish more headphones would do this! To test the call quality, I called my boyfriend, who reported that my voice was perfectly clear.
Again, the AirPods Max 2 are better than the Max 1 — the new over-ears sound like AirPods Pro 2/3 on calls — but the XM6 still takes this crown in this round.
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Battery life
The XM6 go for 40 hours on a single charge, 30 hours with ANC enabled. Comparatively, AirPods Max 2 will tap out at 20 hours with ANC. A 20-hour battery life is simply not good enough from a company with so many resources at its disposal.
At this point, I genuinely think 20 hours is the lowest battery life I’ve seen on lifestyle headphones, Apple or not. I’m giving the win to the Sonys.
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM6
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Verdict
AirPods Max 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM6: Ratings scorecard
This was almost too close to call. Sony finished with an admirable score of 83, and Apple just eeked out the win with 84.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
AirPods Max 2 |
Sony WH-1000XM6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Price (5) |
2 |
4 |
|
Design & controls (15) |
12 |
9 |
|
Features (10) |
10 |
9 |
|
Sound quality (25) |
24 |
21 |
|
ANC (20) |
17 |
18 |
|
Call quality (10) |
9 |
10 |
|
Battery (15) |
8 |
12 |
|
Total score (100) |
84 |
83 |
I think most people would be happy with either the XM6 or the AirPods Max 2. While I personally prefer the AirPods’ expansive, immersive, and rich soundscape, the XM6 sound great, too. It just depends on what you want: do you place immersion or detail higher on your must-haves list?
I’ll be the first person to admit that the AirPods Max 2 have ho-hum battery life and are still heavy, but the sound quality makes up for it (for me). Similarly, the XM6s don’t have that same expansive, energetic soundscape, and the design falls flat. I think I would buy the AirPods Max 2. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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