Perhaps for Find My/UWB support?
Find my works fine on a coin cell battery on AirTag, hard to imagine they need to power up the headphones to do the same.
Re:AirPods Max 2
by iAMkenough on Monday March 16, 2026 @03:59PM
(#47404058)
Funny enough, the original and the new AirPods Max don't have UWB. That won't help me find my headphones in my house.
If for Find My, why stay in "low power" mode for days before moving to "ultralow power" mode? Is silly.
Wow, I had no idea they didn't have no UWB. Honestly that would remove half the value for me. That's crazy for Apple in 2026.
Re:AirPods Max 2
by Schiendelman on Tuesday March 17, 2026 @12:57PM
(#47415300)
They do, they turn off almost entirely once you leave them stationary for five minutes.
This is the same as any over-ear headphones.
Re:AirPods Max 2
by StefanKarpinski on Tuesday March 17, 2026 @01:08PM
(#47415452)
Except that they don't. Or at least many, many people report that they don't, including myself and I have tried all the remedies that supposedly help. If you don't provide an off button and you can't build a product this expensive to power itself off reliably for everyone, then you've failed at product design.
Re:AirPods Max 2
by Schiendelman on Tuesday March 17, 2026 @01:13PM
(#47415528)
I didn't see a reply to the responses to you saying to reset them.
One question I have - do you have them connected to an Android device via bluetooth? Most Android devices will keep them awake by pinging them incessantly.
Re:AirPods Max 2
by femiagbabiaka on Tuesday March 17, 2026 @04:24PM
(#47417812)
They don't, because almost entirely is not the same as entirely.
> When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultra‑low‑power state.