Sony XM6 vs. AirPods Max 2—7 Brutal Reasons Apple Fans Are PANICKING Right Now!
Sony’s brand-new WH-1000XM6 just landed with a headline-grabbing folding design, a smarter noise-cancelling chip and a $449 launch price, while Apple’s long-awaited AirPods Max 2 are still stuck in rumor-land with patchy firmware blips and a likely $549+ price tag. Below are the seven biggest blows the XM6 lands on Apple’s next cans—and why die-hard Cupertino fans are sweating on Reddit this week.
1. The Fold Is Back—Portability Wins
Sony reversed last year’s non-folding gamble: the XM6’s hinges collapse into a palm-sized case, shaving 40 % of the travel volume.(The Verge) Apple’s AirPods Max 2 leaks show the same fixed-headband frame that already hogs backpack space—and no sign that the giant Smart Case is being redesigned.(Tom’s Guide, Tom’s Guide)
2. Fresh ANC Silicon vs. Old Chips
Sony’s new “QN3” processor drops another 2 dB of airplane roar and finally kills the wind-noise artifact.(heise online) Leaks suggest AirPods Max 2 may stick with the 2024 H2 variant, meaning only incremental ANC gains.(CHIP, Tom’s Guide)
3. Listen-While-Charging (Sony) vs. Firmware Fiasco (Apple)
XM6 owners can keep the music playing even while topping up over USB-C.(The Verge) Apple tried to enable wired lossless playback via firmware 7E99, then yanked the update for two days after user reports of glitches before rereleasing 7E101.(9to5Mac, The Verge) The stumble rekindled the “$549 paperweight” memes.
4. Removable Ear-Cups—Finally Easy to Clean
Sony made the cushions twist-off in seconds, a first for its flagship line.(The Verge) AirPods Max owners still need a pry tool or a $79 replacement kit—and no leak points to a fix.(Tom’s Guide)
5. LDAC & Hi-Res Out-of-Box vs. USB-C Cable Upsell
XM6 ships with LDAC, LC3 and multipoint Bluetooth 5.3 straight away.(TechRadar) Apple’s lossless dream now requires buying a $39 USB-C-to-3.5 mm cable and waiting for iOS 18.4+—and early adopters hit that pulled-firmware wall.(9to5Mac)
6. $100-Cheaper Sticker Shock
Sony held the U.S. price at $449, €449 in Europe.(The Verge, WinFuture) Tom’s Guide and Bloomberg insiders peg AirPods Max 2 at the current $549 MSRP—or higher if a heart-rate sensor materializes.
7. Shipping Now vs. “Maybe 2026”
FCC papers for the XM6 cleared in January, and the headphones hit stores this week.(The Walkman Blog) By contrast, Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter puts a full AirPods Max refresh “no earlier than late-2026,” with only color tweaks in 2024.
Quick Spec Shoot-Out
| Sony WH-1000XM6 | AirPods Max 2 (rumored) | |
|---|---|---|
| Release | May 2025 (shipping) (The Verge) | Not announced; insiders push to 2026 (Bloomberg, Tom’s Guide) |
| Price | $449 / €449 (WinFuture) | Likely $549+ (Tom’s Guide) |
| ANC chip | Sony QN3 (heise online) | Apple H2 variant (CHIP) |
| Foldable | ✅ (The Verge) | ❌ (Tom’s Guide) |
| Battery | 30 h (ANC on) (WinFuture) | 20 h (est.) (Tom’s Guide) |
| Lossless | LDAC 990 kbps (wireless) (TechRadar) | USB-C cable + firmware (9to5Mac) |
Bottom Line
Unless Apple can conjure a shock launch date, Sony’s WH-1000XM6 just stole the noise-cancelling crown on price, portability and polish—leaving AirPods Max loyalists biting their nails (and scouring firmware notes) for another year.
