In the last few years I have purchased a pressure cooker and an air fryer. They both waste electricity by having an off light. Furthermore they act like red nightlights and my kitchen has an eerie red glow at night. What is the actual purpose for off lights besides to waste electricity?
For soundbars at least, the off light is there because there shouldn’t be any lights on while it’s being used so as not to distract the person watching tv. So the only way to know if the device is off is to have a light on.
You joke, but one time I got woken up by what sounded like a Chinese lady complaining about batteries, and it turned out to be the low power alert on the cheapo import soundbar.
My soundbar has a tiny blue light in the bottom corner that's on when the power is on and off when it's off. I've never been distracted by the tiny little blue LED while watching TV.