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AirPods 5 went on sale on 18 September in an open-ear design that is physically different from every AirPods before it, and two weeks later the case market is almost entirely one brand. We checked ESR, OtterBox, Nomad, Spigen and Fuse Chicken. ESR has twenty-four AirPods 5 cases live. The other four have none we could find, and every pick below was priced off an ESR product page.
That concentration is worth stating at the top rather than burying, because a roundup that quietly padded itself out with AirPods 4 cases would be worse than a short one. The AirPods 5 charging case is a different shape from the AirPods 4 case, so nothing here is cross-compatible, and prices were read after the model was confirmed on the page.
Quick picks
- Lid that stays shut: ESR Cyber FlickLock Magnetic Case
- Lanyard included: ESR Pulse Lite Magnetic Case with Lanyard
- Open face, buds visible: ESR Orbit Hybrid Magnetic Case
Best Overall
1. ESR Cyber FlickLock Magnetic Case
Price: $19.99 (regular $27.99)
The FlickLock is the mechanism worth understanding on any AirPods case: the lid stays shut until you press the lock, which stops the lid swinging open in a pocket and the buds coming out. On a case that fits in a jeans pocket that is the difference between a lost bud and an inconvenience.
ESR publishes 750 g for the magnet, which is a real figure and a modest one compared with phone cases. It is enough to hold the case to a MagSafe charger, which is what an AirPods case needs a magnet for in the first place. $19.99 against a $27.99 regular price is the largest saving on this page.
Best Hybrid Build
2. ESR Pulse FlickLock Hybrid Case
Price: $19.99 (regular $24.99)
Same FlickLock closure as the pick above with a semi-transparent shell, so you can see the charging case’s colour underneath and check the battery light without opening it. ESR calls the build Hybrid, which is their term for a clear back with a coloured frame.
Same 750 g published magnet figure and the same lock. Buy this over the solid-colour version if you want to know at a glance whether your buds are in there, and accept a slightly higher chance of the finish scuffing over time.
Best for Drop Protection Claims
3. ESR Cyber Tough Magnetic Case
Price: $17.99 (regular $19.99)
No locking lid, and that is the trade. The Cyber Tough wraps the charging case in a harder shell with a raised lip around the seam, which is where an AirPods case actually fails when it lands. What you give up is the lid staying shut on its own.
At $17.99 it is one of the cheapest here and ESR keeps the magnetic ring. Note the name: Cyber Tough is ESR’s build designation, not a published drop rating, and this page quotes no drop height. AirPods cases carry published drop figures far more rarely than phone cases do, from ESR or anyone else.
Best Open-Face Design
4. ESR Orbit Hybrid Magnetic Case
Price: $16.99 (regular $19.99)
The Orbit leaves the front of the charging case exposed, which is the design choice here. You can see the buds’ stems and the case’s front face, and you can get a bud out with a fingernail rather than fighting a lid.
That openness is why it is also the least protective option on this page, because most of the impact surface is uncovered. At $16.99 it is the second cheapest here and ESR keeps the magnetic ring for charging on a pad.
Best With a Lanyard
5. ESR Pulse Lite Magnetic Case with Lanyard
Price: $16.99 (regular $19.99)
The only pick here that ships with a lanyard, and that changes who it suits. A charging case on a loop around a wrist or a bag strap is the difference between finding it and losing it, which is the most common way AirPods actually go missing.
It is a lighter build than the Cyber Tough above and the lid does not lock. For anyone who has replaced a pair because they left them on a cafe table, the lanyard is worth more than the shell thickness it costs you.
Best Colour Match
6. ESR Cyber FlickLock Magnetic Case, Burgundy
Price: $21.99 (regular $27.99)
The same FlickLock case as the pick at number one, in the burgundy Apple introduced with this generation. It costs two dollars more than the black version, which is a colour premium rather than a feature difference.
If you bought the AirPods 5 in a finish that Apple names and this is the closest case colour on the page, that is a reasonable thing to pay for. The magnet figure is the same 750 g as the black case.
Best Discreet Colour
7. ESR Cyber Tough Magnetic Case, Gray
Price: $18.99 (regular $19.99)
The Cyber Tough in gray, which is the version to buy if black reads as a screen mark on a light-coloured bag and you would rather the case disappeared. Same construction, same seam lip, one dollar more than the black.
Nothing about the protection changes with the colour, which is worth stating plainly because it is the only difference. Buy it for the finish or buy the black at $17.99 and save the dollar.
Best Metallic Finish
8. ESR Orbit Hybrid Magnetic Case, Titanium
Price: $18.99 (regular $19.99)
The Orbit design in a titanium finish, and the only case here that tries to look like the phone rather than the accessory. The open front means it shows the charging case rather than covering it, which suits anyone who bought AirPods 5 for how they look.
Two dollars more than the black Orbit for the finish. The magnet is present on this page but ESR publishes no gram figure for the Orbit line specifically, so unlike the FlickLock cases there is no number to hold it against.
The Verdict
Take the ESR Cyber FlickLock Magnetic Case if you want the lid to stay shut in a pocket, which is the single most useful feature on this page. Buy the ESR Pulse Lite with Lanyard if you have actually lost a pair before. Pick the ESR Orbit Hybrid if you want the charging case visible and do not care about protection.
Everything here is between $16.99 and $21.99, and the differences are features rather than price. Spend the difference on the locking lid rather than the colour, and if you are outside the US, note that these pages served us rupee prices on first load and only resolved to dollars on a retry.
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