Here’s What Every Hole on the Apple Watch Series 4 Is for

The Apple Watch Series 4 is a carefully and meticulously designed device. Every slot, hole, button and apparatus has a unique and distinct purpose. But, of course, you may not know what all of the physical design features of your own Apple Watch actually do.

There’s the Side button and Digital Crown, of course, but what about all of the holes on the outside of the wearable? Continue reading to learn about all of those mysterious holes on your Apple Watch Series 4.

4 Left Side Slots

On the left side of the Apple Watch Series 4, you’ll notice two horizontal slots. These are the speakers of the device.

Apple has redesigned some of the physical elements of its new wearable, and that includes making the speakers on the Apple Watch Series 4 larger — and louder.

While you’ll still need Bluetooth headphones for music and podcasts, the new speakers will allow for a better experience when it comes to notifications, Siri, and phone calls.

3 Right Side Hole

You may also notice that, compared to past generations, there are a couple of holes missing from the left side of the new wearable.

That’s because Apple has nixed the two microphone holes on the left side of the device. In their place, there’s a single microphone on the right side — in between the Side button and the Digital Crown.

This has allowed the Watch's speakers to be louder and pump out more volume. Not only that, reviewers report that the new microphone features better audio and call quality — thanks in part to upgraded hardware, but also to the new placement.

2 Hole Under Watch Band (Top)

If you remove the bands from your Apple Watch Series 4, you may notice a new mysterious hole in the top side of the device. This isn’t a speaker or microphone. In fact, it has nothing to do with audio at all.

According to iFixit, this is a small air vent hole that helps to equalize pressure on the new Apple Watch Series 4. It also helps the wearable’s built-in barometric altimeter accurately detect relative altitude.

It's worth noting that this is also a placement change compared to past Apple Watches. On the Series 3, the pressure vent was located on the bottom of the device.

1 Slot Under Watch Band (Bottom)

Lastly, we get to the bottom of the Apple Watch Series 4. Here, you'll find a curious and mysterious slot that almost looks like it could be a cover for a port.

That's largely because it is. The physical feature is a cover for the Apple Watch Series 4's 6-pin diagnostic port, which could be used by Apple staff and service technicians to connect the wearable to repair machines or access hidden and demo features. Its exact purpose is relatively unclear, however.

On that note, we do not recommend that you go messing around with the port. It's undocumented and messing around with it could lead to unexpected consequences on your device (including a potentially voided warranty).