Teardown shows AirPods 4 still unfixable by the public
The teardown of the new AirPods shows it is still not repairable by end users, while the AirPods Max with USB-C are pretty much the same as the Lightning version it replaced.
Using heat to disassemble AirPods 4 [YouTube/iFixit]
Continuing the teardown trend that follows after Apple's product launches, the AirPods range are the latest to be disassembled. The latest close examination of Apple's audio gear takes a look at the AirPods 4 in both with and without ANC forms, as well as the AirPods Max with USB-C.
The ten-minute teardown video by iFixit starts off with the AirPods 4, which are placed into a jig and heated to separate the enclosure. More heat is applied to the glue, which is used in large amounts in the earbuds.
As usual, the delicate components coated in glue make a repair practically impossible, with disposal and replacement the only real remedy for faulty AirPods.
While the construction of the fourth-gen models are practically the same as the third-gen AirPods, there is a noticeable difference for one component. The internal microphone in the ANC-equipped edition is larger than the non-ANC model.
The charging case for the AirPods 4 was also disassembled by the team. It was found to have a 345mAh battery, matching that of the AirPods 3 charging case.
X-rays of the ANC version's charging case shows it uses the same PCB as the non-ANC, except it also has the speaker.
Just as with the third-gen AirPods, the fourth-gen models receive a 0 out of 10 for repairability.
AirPods Max
Tearing down the AirPods Max is relatively straightforward by comparison. While the Lightning connector is gone in favor of USB-C, there's still a mini Lightning connector in the headband to connect the two cups.
Opened up, with a little more adhesive used in the USB-C than the Lightning versions, the internal inspection reveals near identical construction. There are some minor adjustments to the charge port section, but everything else is the same as the Lightning edition.
The AirPods Max with USB-C secures a repairability score of 6 out of 10, the same as the Lightning model. However, it is a provisional score, and iFixit is also unhappy about the lack of replacement parts or manuals for the personal audio device.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Listen: I realize that the Right to Repair niche and the iFixIt gang would like to return us to the 1960s and Radio Shack, but the vast majority of consumers have voted otherwise with their wallets. So give it a rest! Hey, I remember the days when I could do most of my own repair work on my car, now impossible because most car functionalities are computer monitored and controlled, but the car I drive today is FAR more reliable than the self-repairable cars of my youth.
https://shop.fairphone.com/fairbuds
It is important to clarify that no one has voted (with or without their wallets) on essentially disposable buds.
If anything, if they said 'disposable' on the box, sales would probably drop off considerably.
Not at all. I don't think any reasonable consumer would ever expect a $129-$179 wireless ear bud to ever be repairable. You can replace them for less than the labor to have someone try to fix them. And only a subset of a subset of users would even think they would have the means or knowledge to repair it themselves.
1. Sure, lots of peeps have bought wireless earbuds but many of us have also refused. “For running”, I use a behind the ear Sony wireless headphones and “at home” I use Sony XM4’s.
2. It’s not impossible to do repairs on your car. First you get a Bluetooth OBD (On Board Diagnostic) device (~$100), plug it into your car, open the app (I use BluDriver). It works for most cars, your cars, your families cars, everybody! Very handy!
When the red light on your dash comes on, it sounds like you would rather … take it to the dealership and 100% trust that the dealer will tell you the “real problem” then give you “a deal” to fix it?
For everybody reading this … I can hear your laughter from Canada. 😂🤣😂
Nowadays, dealers and manufacturers have a new shell game where they have another computer that controls stuff that you can't access. In my Ford it was called a junction box.
First: countless millions of people around the world have bought and continue to buy wireless, non-user-repairable earbuds from Apple and the dozens of other companies making them. AirPods by themselves are the biggest selling audio listening device in the history of audio listening devices. So yes, the vast majority of consumers for wireless earbuds have and continue to vote with their wallets. Simple question: if there's a sizable market of people who want user repairable buds, why is no one making them? Actually there is one small Danish company, Fairphones, mentioned in an earlier comment, and it can't even find a US distributor who wants them. The "user repairable" claim actually amounts to user replaceable batteries in the earbuds and case, but okay. The real issue is that the buds use thick-ish button batteries for power, and the extra room needed for the battery pushes the speaker portion of each bud out from the head in a way that looks like Uhura's earpiece on Star Trek. It's a stupid look and that's not going to sell. Thanks for sharing that you use wireless headphones, but that's irrelevant to the article being commented upon, which is about user repairable (or the lack thereof) earbuds, not headphones.
I'm well aware of the diagnostic devices that are sold, but the problem is that repairing modern cars is more often a case replacing an assembly of parts rather than "fixing" anything. Simple example: my cracked tail light lens was leaking water. I figure I'd buy a new lens for maybe $100 and fix it myself, as was once the case. Nope! Turns out the lens is a permanent part of the overall taillight assembly, which is the only tailight part you can buy and has to be replaced in its entirety. The OEM part cost alone is $680. And that's online at a bit of a discount off list. I'm just lucky it wasn't a cracked headlight lens, which would also involve replacing the whole headlight assembly, and that costs $1600 for the part. Similarly, control boards for various car functions also involve complete board or board assembly replacement of some type, often requiring specialized tools and diagnostic equipment to do the job.
By the way: sounds like car repair in Canada is so dishonest that you trust no one! What a shame! And here I was thinking that you Canadians are an honest bunch! Well, if you ever break down in NYC, I have a great guy I can send you to!
It likes to spin its environmental achievements (to the point of eliminating the Apple stickers) but chooses to continue with the 'disposable' nature of these electronics.
And clearly it is a choice. There is nothing stopping them from going the extra mile and offering users at least the option of a similar product to the Fairbuds within the AirPods line.
This doesn't only apply to Apple of course, and from 2027 it is highly likely that AirPods will come with user replaceable batteries as a result of the updated EU batteries directive (along with a raft of other battery related requirements).
Ten years of AirPods repair school, down the drain!
Teardown shows AirPods 4 still unfixable by the public
And they never will be, so these complaints are and have always been ridiculous.