Apple unveiled the AirPods Max in December, its over-the-head Apple headset that joins the AirPods and AirPods Pro. Since its launch, a growing number of MacRumors readers who have purchased the AirPods Max complain about the drain of the battery which looks excessive.
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Complaints range from a high battery drain while using the headphones to a significant battery loss if the headphones are meant to be idle. MacRumors reader VL_424 explains:
I’ve been using my AirPod’s Max since launch day, and for the past few days I’ve been running a serious battery.
For example, last night I took the headphones out of the case with an 85% battery, used them for about 15 minutes, and put them back in the suitcase.
This morning I learned via my iPhone that there was only 5% left. I did not even try to connect to the ‘AirPods’, but I played to the HomePod in the room. It’s weird that the AirPod Max’s were even awake because they’re still sitting in the case. Is there anyone else experiencing such problems?
Many of the complaints indicate that the ‘AirPods Max’ do not go into a low power mode properly, and without an on / off button there is no way to force them to save battery power. When the AirPods Max was launched for the first time, there was significant confusion about how low power works when the AirPods Max is in and out of the Smart Case included with the headphones.
Apple explained in a support document that the ‘AirPods Max’ was designed to be placed in a “low power mode” after five minutes of silence (not in a case). If not touched, the ‘AirPods Max’ is meant to stay in low power mode for three days, after which the headphones go into an ‘ultra-low’ power state that turns off Bluetooth and Find My.
When ‘AirPods Max’ is placed in the Smart Case, it is designed to switch into low power mode immediately rather than waiting five minutes, and goes into the ultra-low power state after 18 hours.
Given Apple’s description, battery drain should be kept to a minimum when using the ‘AirPods Max’ inside and out, but there may be a problem with the low power mode due to the battery issues. which some users experience.
Very MacRumors readers see high levels of batteries draining overnight, sometimes in double-digit percentages, but most see that the batteries drain about 10 to 12 percent per day when the headphones are not in use. There are also reports from some users who have seen their headphones go off completely over the course of the day. Of MacRumors DaSal reader:
The standby battery life is really poor. I only had it for about two weeks and it has already happened that I just wanted to use it to find out that it is completely empty overnight. You can not save it at 30% and assume you can use it next time.
Some users believe that the problem may be related to the fact that the ‘AirPods Max’ is not disconnected from devices when placed in the case or when going into low power mode. Of MacRumors reads Broken Hope:
It seems to be a problem that they are not properly disconnected from all devices.
I got mine yesterday, used it with my phone, annoyed that my Mac kept saying that the ‘AirPods’ were close and turned on my Mac automatically, when I put it away for the night on which my Max was still in the battery widget my Mac, because I thought it was a mistake I went to work, I came back and my Max has drained to 27% since last night.
With no power off option, it appears that the ‘AirPods Max’ will run slightly overnight, even in low power mode, but given the number of reports of excessive battery drain, it appears that there may be a software bug that Apple needs to address in the future.
Like AirPods and AirPods Pro, Apple can submit firmware updates for AirPods Max, but so far there have been no new firmware releases.