When Apple unveiled the AirPods Max last week, it revealed that they don’t come with a power on / off button, but go into “ultralow” power mode when inserted into the included Smart Case. This left a lot of questions about what happens to battery life when they are left out of the Smart Case and are not actively used. However, today Apple provided some somewhat surprising answers to these questions, suggesting that the Smart Case is not as essential to maintaining battery life, as many believed.
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According to Apple, when “AirPods Max” are removed but not put in the Smart Case, they enter a “low power mode” after five minutes of being left stationary. If left untouched, they remain in this low-power mode for three days, after which the headset enters an “ultralow” power state that turns off Bluetooth and the Find Me location to keep the remaining charge. . From the Apple AirPods Max support document, updated overnight:
If you set AirPods Max down and leave them stationary for 5 minutes, they enter low power mode to keep the battery charged. After 72 hours of standing in the Smart Case, irAirPods Max enters a low-power mode that turns off Bluetooth and find it to keep your battery charged.
Apple has also clarified how AirPods Max behave when placed in Smart Cases and it turns out that the same two distinct low power states are involved, but activated at different times. The first “low power” mode is activated immediately after introduction, but the “ultralow” power mode does not actually start until after 18 hours in the Smart Case.
If you put AirPods Max in the Smart Case when not in use, they immediately enter low power mode to keep the battery charged. After 18 hours in the Smart Case, irAirPods Max enters an ultralow power mode that turns off Bluetooth and “Find My” and maximizes battery life.
Based on this description of AirPods Max power saving modes, it seems that the headphones go into the same “low power mode” when put down and left alone for five minutes, as they do when placed in Smart Cases. However, the same “ultralow” power mode that activates after AirPods Max has been left in the Smart Case for 18 hours takes 72 hours to start when left out of the case.
Before Apple provides the above information, the tests performed by MacRumors suggested that the irAirPods Max battery discharges a little faster when left out of the case – a difference that is likely to take longer than the “ultralow” power mode to activate when the headphones are not in the Smart Case .
Leaving aside the apparent arbitrariness of these sleep mode activation times, the main solution is that, at least in the short term, there is no real energy saving advantage of putting AirPods Max in the Smart Case, instead of just putting them on an office and without touching them. But if you do not intend to use them again for the next 18 hours, then it is time to put them in the Smart Case, otherwise the “ultralow” power mode will take three days to be activated, at which time it is likely to discharge the battery. be much more significant.
Given the confusion that followed the power-saving features of irAirPods Max, some users speculated that Apple could add a shutdown feature to physical controls through a future software update. Is it something you would prefer to the current situation? Tell us in the comments.