The new AirPods Max headphones hit the market with mixed opinions and reviews. One of the most controversial
People have two main problems.First, how the Smart Case looks and functions — It's not really a case, it's just a shell for the headphones, which doesn't even provide enough protection. Secondly, there is another feature: “AirPods Max never turn off.”
Smart Case for AirPods Max
You see, AirPods Max doesn't have a switchon / off. To put them in a low power state, you really need to insert them into the aforementioned case. This creates some confusion: "Do I need to put the AirPods Max back in the case every time I take them off?"
Some people on the Internet insist thatAirPods Max run out of battery if left lying around without a case. Apple came out and said, "Don't worry, the AirPods Max will go into a power saving sleep mode instead."
And what is actually true? Will the AirPods Max battery drain if left out of the case?
One of the bloggers decided to check and this is what he wrote.
I specifically went to check this on pastweekend. The AirPods Max were left out of the case for two days and I tried to understand exactly how Low Power Mode worked. So, let's begin. Once you take off your AirPods Max and put them down, your i-devices will immediately recognize that you're no longer wearing them, so any audio will play through the device's specific speaker (like your phone). After about 5 minutes, AirPods Max enters low power mode — I can't tell what this means since they still remain connected to the same phone for example. And continue to transmit information such as current battery level
When you pick up AirPods Max to put it onthem, their tiny LED connection indicator at the bottom blinks green to let you know they're "awake." So yes, they react to movement, but the movement must be truly conscious — they don't wake up with little rocking movements. They actually hung on my gaming chair for hours (don't judge me, okay?) and they didn't seem to wake up from all that chair rocking.
How do I know?Well, they stayed 100% from 19:00 to 01:00. So the next day I just left them lying around and going about their business. At 19:00 on the second day, the battery charge of AirPods Max dropped to 95%. This is 5% of the battery discharge after 24 hours of being outside the case.
With that said, let's look intoeventually… Do you need a case for AirPods Max? Yes, sure. But you don't have to worry about it all day. You can freely use AirPods Max throughout the day without worrying about battery drain. Only when you are completely finished with them (for example, in the evening) can you put them back in the case and let them rest.
Here's the info from Apple's AirPods Max support page:
When you put AirPods Max in your smart case
- They immediately go into a low power mode
- They go into ultra-low power mode after 18 hours.
When you leave your AirPods Max outside
- They go into hibernation mode after 5 minutes.
- They go into ultra-low power mode after 72 hours.
In fact, there is not much difference, you put them incase or not. Over time, a low power mode is activated. You can leave the "case" at home and go to the office with headphones. You don't need to keep them in a case every time they're out of your head.
And yes, it is impossible to completely turn off AirPods Max— at least in the normal way we know and love. Essentially, the AirPods Max "shut down" when they enter ultra-low power mode — it disables Bluetooth and Find My.
Why is there no power button on AirPods Max?Well… this is Apple. If Apple can get rid of the power button on the device, it will do so. And I have to say, it's always nice to be able to just put on the AirPods Max and immediately get audio from your device.