I just updated to the latest firmware 3A283, and it seems that whenever I go out of range for bluetooth, instead of trying to reconnect, after the audio cut outs start, the Airpods just stop playing music even though they are still connected. I have to go back to my device, pause the music and play again for the music to start playing again. The Airpods are still connected, and no reconnection is needed. I just need to pause the music on the source device and play it again.
Same on both Windows 10 and on Android. In the past, I'll just get audio cutouts but the music will still play with cutouts, returning to normal once back in range. This was with firmware 2D27.
Currently checking in my new iPhone in case it's some iOS 14 related feature that's causing this.