The company revealed the headphones on Monday, five years after the original AirPods Max first arrived in 2020.

AirPods Max 2 will open for pre-orders on March 25 and will reach customers early next month. The headphones carry a starting price of $549 and will be sold in midnight, starlight, orange, purple and blue.

Apple says the device is powered by its H2 chip, the same audio processor used in newer AirPods models. The company says this chip allows the headphones to deliver stronger active noise cancellation and better overall sound performance.

“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.”

Apple says the new noise-cancelling system can block up to 1.5 times more background sound than the previous generation. That includes steady noise such as aircraft engines or train travel.

The headphones also introduce a new digital signal processing system designed to improve Transparency mode. This feature lets users hear the environment around them while still listening to audio.

Sound quality has also been upgraded and Apple says the headphones now use a high dynamic range amplifier to produce cleaner output, while maintaining the signature sound profile of the original model.

When connected with the supplied USB-C cable, AirPods Max 2 support 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio. Apple says this will help musicians and creators who work with professional tools such as Logic Pro.

The company is also adding a range of smart features designed to make the headphones easier to use in daily life.

Adaptive Audio automatically adjusts noise cancellation and transparency depending on the user’s surroundings. Conversation Awareness lowers audio volume when the wearer begins speaking to someone nearby.

Another addition is Live Translation, powered by Apple Intelligence, which allows people to communicate across languages during face-to-face conversations.

For calls, the headphones include Voice Isolation, which prioritises the user’s voice while reducing background noise.

Apple has also built tools aimed at creators. Users can record studio-quality audio through the built-in microphones, while a camera remote feature lets them take photos or start video recording by pressing the Digital Crown while using the Camera app on an iPhone or iPad.

The headphones also introduce Loud Sound Reduction, which helps limit exposure to high environmental noise without affecting the sound being played.

Apple says AirPods Max 2 are part of its wider environmental target under the Apple 2030 programme, which aims to make the company carbon neutral by the end of the decade.

According to the company, the headphones use recycled materials in several components. All magnets contain 100 percent recycled rare earth elements, while the ear cushions use fully recycled polyester. The packaging is made entirely from fibre-based materials designed for easier recycling.

AirPods Max 2 will be available in the United States and more than 30 other countries and regions when sales begin next month.

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the company revealed new Gemini features for Google TV that go beyond content search, aiming to change how people interact with their screens entirely.

Instead of scrolling through menus or adjusting settings mid-show, viewers will soon be able to speak to their TV in plain language. 

You can ask for recommendations that suit more than one person, request a recap of a series you missed, or describe a film without knowing its title. 

Gemini is built to respond like a conversation, not a command list. If you forget a show’s name but remember the plot or an actor, that’s enough.

Google demonstrated this with everyday questions, including, “What’s the new hospital drama everyone’s talking about?” The response is not just text. Gemini uses a visual layout that changes based on the question, mixing words, images, video context and live sports data when needed. The idea is to make the TV screen useful, not cluttered.

The company is starting this rollout with TCL, its launch partner for Gemini on TV. The features will first appear on TCL’s flagship QM9K series before expanding to other Google TV devices in the coming months. 

That is important because Google TV and Android TV OS already run on more than 300 million monthly active devices worldwide, including televisions, streaming boxes and projectors. This gives Gemini instant scale once the wider rollout begins.

Entertainment is only part of the plan. Google wants the TV to double as a learning tool. When users ask a question they want to understand, the screen can present a guided overview of the topic. 

Concepts are broken down visually, with narration, and follow-up questions can be asked without restarting the search. It feels closer to a lesson than a lookup.

Personal media is also getting attention. Gemini can search through Google Photos on the TV, helping users find specific people or moments. It can apply artistic styles to photos and videos and turn them into cinematic slideshows.

Google believes that people want to relive memories on a larger screen, not just a phone.

One of the most practical changes is how Gemini handles TV settings. If the picture looks wrong or the sound is unclear, there’s no need to pause and hunt through menus. 

Saying things like “the screen is too dim” or “I can’t hear the dialogue” prompts Gemini to adjust the right controls instantly, without pulling you out of what you’re watching.

All of this depends on software. The new features require devices running Android TV OS 14 or higher and an active internet connection. OS 14, which began rolling out widely in 2025, brought upgrades such as picture-in-picture, improved energy-saving modes, smoother performance and stronger accessibility and security features. 

A Google account is also required, and support will vary by language, country and device at launch.

Strategically, Google is no longer treating the TV as a passive screen. With Gemini, it is positioning the television as an always-on home hub, capable of conversation, learning and control. 

In that process, Gemini is also stepping into the role once held by the older Google Assistant, promising more natural dialogue and bigger abilities.

This was revealed on Monday by Co-founder and Chief Executive Femi Aluko, who described the company’s rise as a clear sign that the on-demand model can succeed at scale in Africa. 

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “Chowdeck just hit 2 million users!” He recalled the company’s early days, noting: “It feels like just yesterday that we started with three riders and two restaurant partners. We now have more than 20k riders across 14 cities in Nigeria and Ghana.”

Chowdeck’s recent drive shows how quickly it has moved from a small experiment to a major logistics company. Founded in 2021, the company has expanded into urban markets including Lagos, Abuja, Accra, and Kumasi.

Its network of over 20,000 riders now supports a growing mix of restaurant deliveries, groceries, and everyday essentials.

The latest achievement comes months after Chowdeck secured $9 million in Series A funding, an investment led by Novastar Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and a series of angel investors, including Paystack founders Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi. 

The company said the capital would support its expansion plans in both Nigeria and Ghana and speed up its move into quick commerce.

That strategy, built around dark stores and hyperlocal fulfilment hubs, is designed to cut delivery times. Chowdeck sees it as the backbone of a bigger vision to build what Aluko has previously described as “Africa’s number one super app.”

Africa’s food-delivery sector is expanding at double-digit rates each year, driven by smartphone growth, denser cities, and high demand for convenience. 

While larger global companies such as Jumia Food have struggled to maintain profit, Chowdeck’s locally tuned approach has helped it sidestep many of those challenges.

Aluko, in his message, credited users and partners for the company’s rise. “We are incredibly proud of the technology we’ve built and the logistics network we have established. But most importantly, we are proud of our ecosystem: our customers, our riders, and our vendor partners.” 

He added: “I am really grateful to our team, customers, riders and partners for coming on this journey with us. Thank you so much for coming on this journey with us. It’s still Day 1!”

Competition in Africa’s delivery market is far from settled, but Chowdeck is highly focused on enlarging its lead and testing how far its model can stretch across the continent.