Standing between us and the Lightning port are four Torx screws. Two of them are so hard to reach we have to daisy-chain a T2 Torx bit into a 4 mm nut driver—nothing else fits in this little space.

While challenging to remove, this port's modularity is critical for repairs—without it, your AirPods will never charge again.

Next up: Behind the two exterior slits on the lower corner of each can is this plastic air channel, which passes straight through to the cavity directly behind the driver. You might call it an air port.

Presumably this is the ventilation system that gives those drivers their distortion-free oomph at higher volumes.