AirPods Pro 2 scan reveals the charging case’s lanyard loop has a hidden purpose

One of the visible differences between the charging case of AirPods Pro 2 and its predecessor is the lanyard loop. Ostensibly the loop makes it easy to secure the charging with a band but a scan of the new charging case by Lumafield reveals that the lanyard loop has a hidden double purpose.

With the same design language as the charging case of the first-generation AirPods Pro, the new charging case offers a built-in speaker, lanyard loop, sweat- and water-resistant, support for Precision Finding on U1-enabled iPhones, and compatibility with Apple Watch charging puck, along with MagSafe, Qi-certified and the Lightning connector chargers.

AirPods Pro 2’s charging case might be using the lanyard loop for Find My tracking

Lumafield used Neptune industrial CT scanner for the “nondestructive” teardown of the AirPod Pro 2 which revealed the internal layout of its second-generation charging case. Unlike the first-generation case, the new case adds four magnets around the inductive charging coil to align it with MagSafe or Apple Watch charger.

Furthermore, the lanyard loop features a hidden tail that connects it with a metal pad. It is assumed that the eyelet serves as an additional antenna for Find My support.

There’s a new metal eyelet on the side of the case. Apple says it’s for a lanyard, but it seems to serve an additional purpose: it’s 4 mm deep and 18 mm long, with a hidden tail that’s connected to a metal pad around the Lightning port. Perhaps it’s an antenna to support improved “Find My” tracking.