BMS tested these ducts and contrary to the layman's assumption of their 'lack of function', they in fact work.
I'd imagine since the vehicle's nose is a high pressure zone, it will subsequently force air through those
snorkels. In contrast, air moving around the vehicle is accelerating, low pressure, and any
vents in these areas would need
vents and ducts with a more laminar flow design.
Besides, it's a bit pretentious to assume we know more than a team of automotive engineers who are experts in their field. Since it's on the front end of the vehicle, there was likely crash test contingencies included in it's design. Overall, yeah, it's weird, but stating it's non-functional is just cherry picking logic. The entire vehicle is the sum of it's parts and those sealed factory airboxes get cool air. If anything, heatsoak is more of a real world issue vs the OE
snorkels. lol. The money used to purchase aftermarket
snorkels would be better spent on an intercooler upgrade, IMO.