One of the features of the upcoming iOS 10.3 is Find My AirPods. This is just an addition to the Find My iPhone app, which can find any of your network-connected Apple products: iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches.
I’ve installed iOS 10.3 on my iPod touch to test it, and it’s clear that there are some limitations with Find My AirPods.
It won’t find your AirPods if they’re in their case. And it won’t find them if they’re out of charge. It will only find them if they’re paired with the device you’re using to search for them. Which also means it will only find them if you’re within range of where they’re located.
On the plus side, when you are within range, you can have them play a sound, but when I tested this with them in their case, the sound was “pending,” as you can see above, and never played even after I eventually paired them with my iPod. But this is a beta, so it’s understandable that certain features don’t work correctly.
The biggest problem is that, unlike with iPhones, iPads, and Macs, the AirPods need to be paired to a device to work. If you’ve lost them in their case, you’re out of luck.