iOS 26 could give your AirPods charging case a helpful lighting system boost – here’s how

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AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation
The 4th-gen Apple AirPods 4 (Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)
  • iOS 26 is changing the lighting on AirPods cases
  • The new colors are green, yellow, and orange
  • It's not clear exactly how these new lights will work

We got the grand reveal of iOS 26 back in June, and it's currently in public beta testing, but Apple continues to add new features to the software – including support for an expanded lighting system on AirPods charging cases.

As spotted by Minimal Nerd (via 9to5Google), the fifth iOS 26 developer beta update – the one specifically for app makers – makes a change that "more clearly indicates charging status" on AirPods cases, as per a graphic that pops up on screen.

It seems there will now be three lights in action: green for charged up, yellow for currently being charged, and orange to show the case needs charging. One of those colors is new, but without any official word from Apple yet, it's not clear exactly which one.

The Apple support document that's currently live lists green and amber as the two colors you'll see when charging your AirPods and their case, so it appears we're going to get two different variations on amber going forward.

Lights, charging, action

Considering the AirPods case has such a simple indicator light, interpreting it is actually quite complicated – what it shows varies depending on whether it's connected to power, whether it's open or closed, and whether the AirPods are actually in it or not.

During charging and with the case closed, for example, you can tap on the case to get a reading: charging (amber) or charged (green). If the case is open, isn't charging, and has your AirPods in them, amber means you've got less than a single charge on the earbuds.

We'll have to wait and see exactly how this new triple-light approach works in practice: presumably Apple will provide official documentation if the feature gets kept in the iOS 26 betas and makes it to the full release (due in September, with the iPhone 17).

Another unknown is whether this is going to apply to every AirPods model, or only the most recent ones. The next pair of Apple earbuds to see the light of day could be the AirPods Pro 3, which have been referenced in iOS 26 code.

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David Nield
David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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