Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac:

While reviewers have generally been impressed by Apple’s AirPods Max over-ear headphones, there have been two consistent complaints: the terrible design of the ‘bra’ case, and the fact that there appears to be no way to switch off AirPods Max headphones unless you put them into the case that nobody wants to carry.

And:

The bad news is that there isn’t any practical way to do it without using some kind of case. In particular, you can’t switch them off while they are slung around your neck, which is how many people carry on-ear and over-ear headphones between uses.

Love or hate of the case aside, I do think the lack of ability to switch the headphones off without a case is an issue. Follow the link for an embedded video that reverse engineers how magnets are used to switch the AirPods Max into low power mode.

This process feels ripe for home-hacking, perhaps with magnets glued to some sort of cardboard sleeve or rubber bands? I do wonder what drove Apple to this particular design decision.