What Are The Holes On The Bottom Of The AirPods Pro Charging Case For?

If you own AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, or AirPods 4, you may have noticed a series of small holes on the bottom of the MagSafe case, positioned on either side of the charging port. If you're like us and always want to know how things work, you'll be happy to learn that these holes are used for the case's built-in speaker. The trio of holes on one side of the port are for the speaker, while the single hole on the other side is an air vent for the speaker.

Now, before you consider using the speakers of your AirPods case as an extra kicker to hear your favorite tunes, you should know that the speaker works in just a few specific situations. The most common times you'll even know the speaker is there is during pairing, charging, or low-battery alerts. If you're attempting to find your lost AirPods, the speaker also emits a sound when prompted by the Find My app. And just in case you're wondering what the holes are for on the side of some AirPods cases, those are for a lanyard loop, allowing you to attach the case to your wrist or backpack making it less likely you'll have to use the Find My function at all.

As for the case itself, it has been purposefully designed to charge and protect your AirPods. Of course, you can use it to charge your AirPods with a wired cable (Lightning or USB-C, depending on the model) or a wireless connection, including your Apple Watch charger. Equally important, the case is also sweat, water, and dust resistant, offering varying degrees of ingress protection (IP) depending on the specific model. So, what does the IP rating mean?

According to Apple, AirPods Pro 2 and the MagSafe charging case with a USB-C port feature IP54 protection, meaning it can take splashes of water, like if you're using them on a rainy day or if you spill water on them. For AirPods Pro 3 and its MagSafe charging case (also with the USB-C port), Apple improved the IP rating to IP57, which means both AirPods and charging case could theoretically be submerged by up to a meter for 30 minutes. That being said, Apple points out that neither the AirPods nor the MagSafe charging cases are waterproof. In fact, both components are water resistant for non-water sports and exercise, so using them to swim or practice a sport in water is not recommended and if they do get splashed, from rain or sweat, you should dry them properly.