Teardown of Apple's EarPods finds more durable, water resistant design

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's newly redesigned headphones, the EarPods, have been taken apart to reveal a more durable design that is more resistant to water and sweat damage.

iFixit


The teardown of Apple's new EarPods was published on Tuesday by iFixit. A repairability score was not given to the headphones, as they will come packaged with new iPhones and iPods and are "still of the throw-away kind."

But the EarPods can also be purchased separately for $29, which is how iFixit got their hands on the new accessory before the new iPhone 5 launches on Friday. The solutions provider used a guitar pick to separate the integrated volume controls and microphone on the headphone cord, while the earbuds were taken apart with an X-Acto blade.

"Like most speakers, the EarPod speakers consist of a diaphragm/cone, a voice coil, a permanent magnet, and a cabinet," they explained. "The voice coil is supported by a composite diaphragm made of a paper cone and a polymer surround. This is the first iteration of Apple headphones to use paper cones rather than all plastic."

iFixit


The switch to paper cones is said to make the speakers more resistant to tearing. That's an improvement from the plastic that Apple previously used.

In their teardown, the repair website found that Apple "had durability in mind" when the company designed the new EarPods. In particular, the redesigned controls include larger cable wrapping on both ends to reduce strain on the wires.

The EarPods are also said to be more resistant to water and sweat damage. This was accomplished by removing the external microphone grate Apple employed on its previous earbuds.

"Unfortunately, these products are still of the throw-away kind," iFixit concluded. "Sourcing parts is next to impossible, and it would be a tough sell to convince someone to take apart their earbuds in stead of buying a new pair. They will never be the same once taken apart."

iFixit


Apple unveiled its redesigned EarPods at the iPhone 5 media event in San Francisco, Calif., last week. Apple design chief Jony Ive said his company scanned hundreds of ears searching for commonality between them, and the new headphones are designed to fit the geometry of a user's ear without creating a seal.

EarPods feature a directed speaker that points forward into a user's ear canal. A second port on the back aids with mid-level tones, and also maximizes air flow for improved sound quality.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    I'd be more interested to hear how an audio site would rate those headphones, as audio quality is the most important feature, in my view. I never did like the sound quality of the old Apple headphones.


     


    Since they call themselves iFixit, I guess that they're a little bit biased against things that aren't easily fixed, but I disagree with them, when they say that it's unfortunate that these products are still of the throw away kind. Why is it unfortunate? Who's going to bother and go fix a pair of $29 headphones? Of course they're disposable.


     


    If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.

  • Reply 2 of 38
    I'm anxious to try mine out this Friday, though I'm sure they wont be replacing my Klipsch S4i's.
  • Reply 3 of 38

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    I'd be more interested to hear how an audio site would rate those headphones, as audio quality is the most important feature, in my view. I never did like the sound quality of the old Apple headphones.


     


    Since they call themselves iFixit, I guess that they're a little bit biased against things that aren't easily fixed, but I disagree with them, when they say that it's unfortunate that these products are still of the throw away kind. Why is it unfortunate? Who's going to bother and go fix a pair of $29 headphones? Of course they're disposable.


     


    If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.



    Cnet gave them a "meh" rating. They called them the best included headphones on the market but not worth $30 on their own. Sound is substantially improved from old headphones but fit is slippery.

  • Reply 4 of 38
    ifixIt gives these headphones a 0 on the repair-ability scale. No phillips screws, everything is glued together, and no user-replaceable speaker cones. This is a slap in the face to Apple's user base.
  • Reply 5 of 38
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.



    I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?


    I have the Shure earphone now.


     


    I was looking at:


     


     


    Bowers & Wilkins


    Bose


    Sennheiser
  • Reply 6 of 38
    The two things I'd like to know are: How do they sound? How long is the cord? Apple has been notorious for going cheap with shorter headphone cords that other makers.
  • Reply 7 of 38

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?


    I have the Shure earphone now.


     


    I was looking at:


     


     


    Bowers & Wilkins


    Bose


    Sennheiser



     


    I've got a great solution for you. It's called a book. That way your fellow passengers don't have to hear what you're listening to while they quietly read or chat during the flight. Unless we're talking Sennheiser closed ear headphones [large, great but bulky] all earbuds bleed sound out and very rarely does someone listen to them on 3 or 4. They jack'em to 11.

  • Reply 8 of 38
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    I've got a great solution for you. It's called a book. That way your fellow passengers don't have to hear what you're listening to while they quietly read or chat during the flight. Unless we're talking Sennheiser closed ear headphones [large, great but bulky] all earbuds bleed sound out and very rarely does someone listen to them on 3 or 4. They jack'em to 11.



    Good suggestion thanks. I was curious how well the Bose noise cancellation works. With the flights I often take especially ones in Central America, the planes are really loud. I don't know if you have ever been on a twin engine prop aircraft but after an hour or so of that you are likely to have a splitting headache. Forget about chatting, you need to be able to read lips.

  • Reply 9 of 38
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AeronPrometheus View Post



    ifixIt gives these headphones a 0 on the repair-ability scale. No phillips screws, everything is glued together, and no user-replaceable speaker cones. This is a slap in the face to Apple's user base.


     


    They are included ear pods that cost $29 to replace.  Who would even bother repairing them?!

  • Reply 10 of 38
    mstone wrote: »
    I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?
    I have the Shure earphone now.

    I was looking at:


    Bowers & Wilkins
    Bose
    Sennheiser
    I just got the Apple new earpods $30 and Wow!! My daughter has Bose & beats ear buds and we just compare, fit & quality sound..... The fit, no need to shove in the ear, they just sit in the ear. The sound, is close enough to the Bose and beats to give me pause on purchasing again! Wow !!! Apple, get ready for the earpods to be cloned. What a value for $30.
  • Reply 11 of 38
    Add me to the list of happy customers. These headphones rock.
  • Reply 12 of 38


    If you are looking for a great airplane headphones try audio-technica noise-cancelling headphones.


    These are very good, and about $40 at Amazon.

  • Reply 13 of 38
    Might want to get your sarcasm meter checked out...

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AaronJ View Post

     

    They are included ear pods that cost $29 to replace.  Who would even bother repairing them?!

  • Reply 14 of 38
    What is everyone complaining about? When was the last time you took apart a pair of headphones?
  • Reply 15 of 38
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Waverunnr View Post


    Might want to get your sarcasm meter checked out...


     



     


    Ouch.  Right you are.


     


    :(

  • Reply 16 of 38
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    I bought them at the Apple store yesterday.

    They have some bass! They stay in my ears better! The box they come in is fantastic! (Good for putting them away without tangling, but pay attention to how they wind them at the end when you unbox. I didn't and now I can't figure out how they did it.)

    I don't have any other ear buds to compare them to except the old Apple ones, so I'd be interested to hear if anybody has other recommendations for about the same price.

    My originals, 8 months old, had lost a channel and the strain reliefs were tearing. Plus I misplaced them, no more limping along with one good ear. Now I'm glad they got lost.
  • Reply 17 of 38
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    mstone wrote: »
    Good suggestion thanks. I was curious how well the Bose noise cancellation works. With the flights I often take especially ones in Central America, the planes are really loud. I don't know if you have ever been on a twin engine prop aircraft but after an hour or so of that you are likely to have a splitting headache. Forget about chatting, you need to be able to read lips.

    I have Bose over the ear noise cancelling headphones and they work great. However, note that there are several types. I have the oldest ones where the ear cup completely surrounds your ears. The newer ones have a smaller cup with at least partially sits on top of your ears and I didn't find them to be as comfortable.
    aaronj wrote: »
    They are included ear pods that cost $29 to replace.  Who would even bother repairing them?!

    Come on, how are the iFixit people going to make a living if people won't pay the $50 diagnostic fee plus $60 per hour to fix their headphones?
  • Reply 18 of 38

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?


    I have the Shure earphone now.



     


    To your list, I would consider Thinksounds also.  They were on my short list until I stumbled on the EQu app, which gave my current set (Westone WS-1) a new lease on life.

  • Reply 19 of 38
    drowdrow Posts: 126member
    forget about the headphones, what about the lightning cable? apple's continuing refusal to include a cable which can be reliably disassembled and repaired by the end user is a complete fiasco.
  • Reply 20 of 38
    mstone wrote: »
    I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?
    I have the Shure earphone now.

    I was looking at:
    Bowers & Wilkins
    Bose
    Sennheiser
    Away from home, I'm currently using these earbuds: NuForce NE600M. They don't have volume control buttons on the cord, but that's really the only main shortcoming of these.

    While I haven't tried the new Apple EarPods, the NuForce are the best pair of $30 earbuds that I've used to date. I'm not interested in spending much more for travel since they get bashed around so much.

    At home I use my venerable Grado SR-80 headphones, but they are an open-air design and will leak sound to people around you.
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