Apple Clarifies Power-Saving Modes of AirPods Max When Not in Use

When Apple unveiled AirPods Max last week, it revealed that they don't come with an on/off power button, but instead enter an "ultralow" power mode when inserted into the included Smart Case. That left a lot of questions about what happens to battery life when they're left out of the Smart Case and not being actively used. However, today Apple has provided some somewhat surprising answers to those questions, suggesting that the Smart Case isn't as essential to preserving battery life as many first thought.

AirPods Max Smart Case Battery Life Feature2
According to Apple, when ‌AirPods Max‌ are taken off but not put in their 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 headphones enter an "ultralow" power state that disables Bluetooth and their Find My location to help further retain their remaining charge. From Apple's AirPods Max support document, updated overnight:

If you set your AirPods Max down and leave them stationary for 5 minutes, they go into a low power mode to preserve battery charge. After 72 stationary hours out of the Smart Case, your AirPods Max go into a lower power mode that turns off Bluetooth and Find My to preserve battery charge further.

Apple has also clarified how ‌AirPods Max‌ behave when placed in their Smart Case, and it turns out that the same two distinct low power states are involved, but enabled at different times. The first "low power mode" is immediately activated upon insertion, but the "ultralow" power mode doesn't actually kick in until after 18 hours in the Smart Case.

If you put your AirPods Max in the Smart Case when you're not using them, they go into a low power mode immediately to preserve battery charge. After 18 hours in the Smart Case, your AirPods Max go into 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 would appear that the headphones enter the same "low power mode" when put down and left alone for five minutes as they do when placed in the Smart Case. However, the same "ultralow" power mode that activates after ‌AirPods Max‌ have been left for 18 hours in the Smart Case takes a full 72 hours to kick in when they are left out of the case.

Before Apple provided the above information, tests conducted by MacRumors suggested that ‌AirPods Max‌ battery drains only slightly faster when left outside of the case – a difference that is likely down to the longer time it takes for the "ultralow" power mode to activate when the headphones aren't in the Smart Case.

Putting aside the seeming arbitrariness of these sleep mode activation times, the main takeaway is that in the short term at least, there's no real power-saving advantage to be had from putting ‌AirPods Max‌ in the Smart Case instead of just setting them down on a desk and not touching them. But if you don't plan to use them again for the next 18 hours, then that's when to put them into the Smart Case, otherwise the "ultralow" power mode will take three days to activate, by which time the battery drain is likely to be a lot more significant.

Given the confusion that has followed the power-saving features of ‌AirPods Max‌, some users have speculated that Apple might be able to add a power-off functionality to the physical controls via a future software update. Is that something you would prefer over the current situation? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...

Top Rated Comments

Kebabselector Avatar
58 months ago
Again Apple's reluctance to include a simple feature means you need to go through a ridiculous storage procedure to maintain battery life. Why not allow a press of the crown for a few seconds to power down the device instead.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LongWayHome Avatar
58 months ago
This is really good to know. I wish Apple would just be upfront about this stuff from the get go instead of waiting until people complain enough they feel they have to explain how their devices actually work. We are paying a premium for these headphones and it would be REALLY nice to know that we don't have to use your ridiculous case and not lose a ton of battery because of it.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SubduedTiger Avatar
58 months ago
And if a puppy dog wags its tail counterclockwise or a turtle is in mating season twice in a year, it goes into an ultra-ultra-low power mode after 22.6537225 minutes if the GMT offset is the absolute value of 3 hours or less. Otherwise, low power mode. Very intuitive. It just works.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
58 months ago
just adding a button as an additional way to turn things off surely would have been easier
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ZachNathan Avatar
58 months ago
Pressing and holding both the crown and the Transparency button for several seconds (I counted around 6-10) will power them completely off (similar to a hard reboot on iOS devices).
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0924487 Avatar
58 months ago
I think in the future, everything will be on all the time. Just like people, we don't die for a while when we have free time, right?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)