Reading Apple's info on AirPods Max, they describe how placing the headphones in the case puts them into a low-power state that preserves battery life (in other words, "turning them off"). To me, that sounds like perhaps they took a minimalist approach with these and, like AirPods / AirPods Pro, if they're out of the case they are "on" and are draining. Any word on whether or not this assumption is true? Hopefully not, hopefully they have a power button.
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Do AirPods Max have power button?
- Thread starter mcaswell
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That would make sense... but then what's the point of the case prompting an "ultra-low power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use"? I mean, that sounds like like turning them off (implying that putting them in the case is the only way to accomplish this)? Unless maybe that's a redundancy (IOW, you can turn them off manually by holding a button down, but putting them in the case is another way to do it).
I just hope they are not like AirPods, where storing them in the case is a must (otherwise the battery is drained)... though I use my AirPods almost every day, my over-the-ear headphones don't get used as frequently, and I'd hate to have to keep that case on them (and keep it handy) as the only way of turning them off.
That’s probably just so you don’t have to fully power on and off when pulling them in and out of the case.
One of the reviews mentioned there's no way to power them off, so they continue to consume battery power until they go into a low-power state after a couple of hours of inactivity. That would be a tough sell for me.
But we're not talking about a 10 step 5 minute process. It's literally pressing 1 button for 1/2 a second.
That is the main reason my APP run out of battery: I can't be arsed to always find my case to put them back in. I know the APP are tiny, but on APM the are huge and have 2/3 buttons that can be used for power purposes
Yeah, it's an understandable design decision for the AP/APP, but a baffling one for the APM. I understand the Apple ethos is simplicity, ease of use, etc... presumably the rationale presented in the design meetings was, "well, if a user manually turns off the headphones, they have to remember to manually turn them back on again when they want to use them, and that's going to ruin the user experience." But come on, we can handle a power button! I would make the argument that having to keep the case around, and having to remember to put them back in the case every time (else drain the battery unnecessarily) harms the user experience more than a power button would.
Assuming reports of its absence are correct, this one thing brings me from about a 60-70% likelihood of buying APM to only about a 10-20% chance.
I cancelled my order exactly because of this issue. If you can't turn them off or put them to sleep unless you actually put them in their ridiculous case then that's a major major problem for me I don't care how good they sound! This is so stupid I'm starting to question the credentials for the people who actually came up with this absurd mechanism! Headphones are large bulky items, they're not little airpods where you have to put them in their case so they can turn off! a little off button or some added functionality to the crown to turn these off could've easily solved this problem! Hard pass, will wait for the airpods max pro!
Yep I agree totally. What’s the point in having a device that you can’t actually switch off. I guess if you are someone that would use the headphones every day then it’s not so much of a problem but if you’re a light or casual user then you have to keep charging the headphones whether you need them or not. I think this is a massive failing on apples part
Why would you even buy these (or any other expensive headphones) if you only use them occasionally?
I use my APP a lot more often than I do my Bose headphones, but I still consider the headphones to be a worthwhile purchase. Admittedly, though, $550 would be a lot harder to justify.
Unlike AirPod buds, they aren't exactly portable and they don't fold up to put them in a rucksack with everything else, they don't have a protective hard case and if you want to charge them, you would have to carry a power brick and cable so because of that I guess most people would just use them when they are at home so I can't see them being in constant use.
I wouldn't overreact to this yet. Wait until reviews come out stating the battery life when leaving them out of the case for long periods.
You have a starting point of 20h, so it my not drain them as much as you think, or to a point where you're struggling for juice.
You have a starting point of 20h, so it my not drain them as much as you think, or to a point where you're struggling for juice.
I use my XM3’s maybe once a week, sometimes once per two weeks and because you can turn them off they always have the exact same percentage battery left since the last time I used them. I charge them maybe once per two months. It’s just great that it always has power when I turn it on.
But these AirPods Max sound terrible for an occasional user like me. Always on and always draining, that’s just crazy. That’s a hard pass for me. But I’m still curious to see how fast it drains in standby mode. If it takes one or two months to drain, it’s a little less bad
But these AirPods Max sound terrible for an occasional user like me. Always on and always draining, that’s just crazy. That’s a hard pass for me. But I’m still curious to see how fast it drains in standby mode. If it takes one or two months to drain, it’s a little less bad
Turn them what.
Off or deep sleep with BLE beacon?
I think Airpods Max have 3 states
1) on and connected to device (maximum power draw)
2) on and ready sitting on the table (low power draw)
3) on and in deep sleep (ultralow power draw), with BLE beacon for “Find my”
Going from 2 to 3 can be accomplished in 4 different ways, I think
a) put them inside the smart case
or
b) don’t use them and don’t move them for 2 hours
or
c) press and hold the button for 10 seconds
or
d) when battery is very low
Then there’s the actual off state achievable only when the battery is completely and utterly dead.
DISCLAIMER: this post reflects what I have understood so far, don’t take it as fact
From the John Gruber podcast, they seem to lose between 5% and 10% every 24 hours when outside of the case and not in use. We need more sources to be sure, but that sounds okay to me. If I'm not going to use them for several days or more, I don't see much issue in spending 30 seconds putting them in their case.
it is confirmed. They remain on and drain at a rate as if they were playing for TWO HOURS before they shut off (according to the MKBHD new review) This is a monumentally stupid flaw. I'm so glad I cancelled my order. I don't have the luxury of an actual apple store where I live so returning an opened box is out of the question.
I don't think it's out of the question for you to return something to Apple that has been opened/tried... you don't need a local Apple store. But, if the lack of a power button is an absolute deal-killer, then it doesn't make sense to order one when you are certain you'd be returning it.
But yeah, it's glaringly stupid omission... the headphones are good enough that I'm willing to live with it, but at the same time I'm hoping that they add a power-off option via firmware.
This may or may not be accurate. Did they actually test it?
This is the test I have done so far. I have had these lest than 24 hours so... need to do a lot more obviously but.
1) I used them straight for over 4 hours. 15% battery drain. or 1% per 16 minutes.
2) Then I took them off and put them down on the table for 15 hours straight. 8% battery drain. or 1 % per 100 minutes.
Now maybe this 8% drain was the first two hours only and THEN it went to 0% drain for the next 13 hours. If so, I can live with that, assuming I can not bring myself to use the case. That means if I dont want to use them for a month, no problem. But I doubt this is the case. why? Speakers are mechanical devices. It takes power to move the speaker membrane to push air to make sound. So it makes no sense the drain rate on or off is the same regardless if on the head and in use, or sitting quiet on a table. my guess is there is a reduction in power use when off the head for 2 hours, and then a further slower reduction after that as bluetooth powered down (when not in case)
I own a pair and try as many combinations as I can think of, I can not reproduce this.. i.e I can not manually turn it off by any reasonable combination of button pushing.
I manually disconnect it from everything, still no joy.
If I hold down the crown, it evokes SIRI, keep holding down, Siri says, I didnt get that, keep holding down.. nothing. it is still active. if I talk to Siri after 10 seconds of holding down, she still responds.
If I hold down the transparency select button for 10 seconds, it just switches state but doesn't turn off. I can still connect to it etc.
If I Hold down both buttons for 10 seconds, Siri gets confused, I get confused (awkward), and my volume button (crown) doesn't seem to work right, but eh, still doesn't turn off.
It may be there is something I am forgetting to disconnect and that is preventing it from turning off, but so far, no luck