AirPods Max 2: price in the UK, and are they worth it over the AirPods Max?
What AirPods Max 2 cost in the UK on 16/10/2026 at Apple, the shops and eBay, what Apple says changed from the first AirPods Max, and refurbished prices.
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Apple announced its second AirPods Max on 16/03/2026, at £499. Below is what they cost on 16/10/2026 at Apple and at the shops we compare, what Apple says is new, and whether an older or refurbished pair is the better buy.
How much are AirPods Max 2 in the UK?
On 16/10/2026 Apple sold AirPods Max 2 at £499 on its UK store, in Midnight, Starlight, Blue, Purple and Orange, and Argos and Currys charged the same in every colour, as did John Lewis for the Midnight pair we read. The cheapest new pair on our pages that day was £384.95 on eBay, from a UK business seller with 14 days' returns.
| Where | Price |
|---|---|
| Apple | £499 |
| Argos, Currys, John Lewis | £499 (John Lewis includes a 2-year guarantee) |
| eBay, new | £384.95, business seller, 14 days' returns |
| eBay, refurbished | £377.25, Very Good, Currys's eBay clearance shop |
| Currys, refurbished | from £429, Excellent |
Show 2 more listings (out of stock or no price)
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Is anywhere cheaper than Apple?
Not at the big shops: Argos, Currys and John Lewis all matched Apple's £499 on 16/10/2026, so choose between them on delivery, collection and returns. John Lewis's two-year guarantee is the one extra on offer.
The savings were on eBay. A new pair at £384.95 was £114.05 under Apple, from a business seller, and a refurbished pair graded Very Good at £377.25 came from Currys's own clearance shop on eBay with 30 days' returns. Currys also sold its own refurbished AirPods Max 2 from £429, graded Excellent. Our AirPods prices guide has the rest of Apple's range.
What is different from the first AirPods Max?
By Apple's own description on its UK AirPods Max page, read on 16/10/2026, the Max 2 add:
- The H2 chip, which Apple says gives up to 1.5 times the active noise cancellation of the previous generation.
- A new high dynamic range amplifier for its custom-built driver.
- Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness and Live Translation, which adjust noise cancellation, lower your music when you speak, and translate speech, respectively.
- Voice Isolation on calls.
- Lossless and ultra-low-latency audio over USB-C.
Apple gives the battery as up to 20 hours with noise cancellation and Spatial Audio on. We have not tested either pair, so we leave sound quality to Apple's own words.
Is a refurbished or older AirPods Max a better buy?
If you can live without the H2 features, yes: the first-generation AirPods Max cost far less refurbished on 16/10/2026.
| First model | Price |
|---|---|
| Refurbished, Lightning (2020) | £249.99, Excellent, eBay |
| Refurbished, USB-C (2024) | £299, Very Good, eBay |
| Opened, never used, USB-C | £289.90, eBay |
There are two first-generation models, so check which one a listing is. The 2020 pair charges over Lightning (model A2096); the 2024 pair charges over USB-C (model A3184). A USB-C first-generation pair at £299 cost £200 less than a new Max 2 at Apple, and £78.25 less than the cheapest refurbished Max 2 that day. For what a grade means, see our grades guide.
Which should you buy?
- AirPods Max 2 new, £499 at Apple or the shops, if you want Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Live Translation and the stronger noise cancellation Apple describes, with a full warranty.
- AirPods Max 2 refurbished, from £377.25, for the same features for about £120 less, from a seller with returns.
- First-generation AirPods Max refurbished, from £249.99, if you want the over-ear design and noise cancellation for the least money and can do without the H2 features. Prefer the USB-C model if your other devices charge over USB-C.
Here is the cheapest price we have seen each day for AirPods Max 2, new and refurbished together:
Our AirPods Max 2 page opened on 15/10/2026, so the line is short and fills in as the days pass. And here is the first-generation page:
Show 1 more listing (out of stock or no price)
Retailer links may earn OwlyFinds a commission or a small fee per click. It never changes the order. How we make money
Its new rows at Argos and Currys are AirPods Max 2 listings carried over from before the Max 2 had a page of its own, so read the new prices in the box as Max 2 prices.
What to do
- Check Apple's £499 first: Argos, Currys and John Lewis charged the same on 16/10/2026.
- Compare a refurbished Max 2 from a business seller with returns, from £377.25 that day.
- For the first generation, check the model number: A2096 is the 2020 Lightning pair, A3184 the 2024 USB-C pair.
- Set a price alert on the AirPods Max 2 page to hear when a shop drops below £499.