AirPods Pro Teardown: Heavier Than Original AirPods, Different Battery, Same Zero Repairability Score

[Jim Lahey]

Looks like you missed the point completely. Let me spell it out for you.

Apple is using a watch-style, REPLACEABLE battery inside. They are taking an off-the-shelf component, and soldering it and encasing it in glue and plastic. Not a custom battery that can squeeze out maximum mAh.

It's a conscious design decision that turns them into a disposable product, and effectively creates a hardware subscription model. It is good for Apple, good for its' investors, but it is NOT good for the consumers.

No, I didn't miss a point, I just don't agree with it. The type of battery is of minor importance. Of major importance is engineering a means by which it can be easily removed and replaced. And considering this would happen maybe once every two years, it's easy to see how a decision was made to seal it inside the unit.

You don't have to share my view, but please don't pretend to be smarter than other people just because you disagree with them. "Spell it out"? Yes Dad! 😭

 

[4sallypat]

I have the original charging cables from iphone 4 and ipad 2. That's 8 years. A little care goes a long way.

Very well said!

I have a Macbook Pro from 2008 being sold on eBay - first unibody aluminum Core 2 Duo - fully upgradeable parts: battery, RAM, Hard Drive, optical drive, etc...

It's lasted 11 years and still working perfect because the parts are replaceable and upgradeable - something the new Macbooks can't do anymore....

Can you say that about the current Apple products ??

 

[I7guy]

Very well said!

I have a Macbook Pro from 2008 being sold on eBay - first unibody aluminum Core 2 Duo - fully upgradeable parts: battery, RAM, Hard Drive, optical drive, etc...

It's lasted 11 years and still working perfect because the parts are replaceable and upgradeable - something the new Macbooks can't do anymore....

Can you say that about the current Apple products ??

My point wasn’t about being able to upgrade, it was about taking a bit of care with the “fragile” Apple products will pay back dividends of a long lifetime. You took the opportunity to air a gripe.

 

[Mydel]

By couple, I assume you're not talking about just 2 years? But perhaps several? Even if you only get 2 years of usage out of them, you have spent $10.41 per month. Just to put it into perspective with how much you spend on other things. If you manage to use them for 3 years, that goes down to $6.94 per month. Again, people spend that kind of money on a single trip to starbucks these days, multiple times in a week. Yet you feel hard done by, because you might only get 2 years of use out of a $250 product?

By couple I mean close to 2. And the cost is not a point here. Im not complaining about the price but the practice of making disposable items. It is not needed nor called for. Its waste of resources at the same time waving the Eco banner around
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There "was"? Newsflash - low-cost wired headphones still exist. In fact, Apple will happily sell you a pair, if that's your thing.

Stop with the drama.

Just the reminder.... To increase the sales of their wireless products they showed "the courage" and removed hreadphone jack making it really annoying to use wired headphones. Same story with an iPad. It infuriates me that my iPad pro has now only USB C and no headphone jack. For the sole reason of selling you a pair of 200USD disposable earphones.

 

[mannyvel]

The idea that end-users are capable of repairing anything, much less headphones, is absurd. Even putting in batteries correctly is difficult for most.

 

[polbit]

No, I didn't miss a point, I just don't agree with it. The type of battery is of minor importance. Of major importance is engineering a means by which it can be easily removed and replaced. And considering this would happen maybe once every two years, it's easy to see how a decision was made to seal it inside the unit.

You don't have to share my view, but please don't pretend to be smarter than other people just because you disagree with them. "Spell it out"? Yes Dad! 😭

Let me put it this way, kid (since, you know, you called me dad and all...). Do you think their decision to seal the battery was done because of an engineering hurdle, or as a business decision to have a disposable item at a known failure rate?

Honest question, joking above aside. I don't like the fact that everything seems to be going to a subscription service, and disposable headphones, with a monthly AppleCare, just seems like another cog in the subscription-based reality.

 

[keyofnight]

Lots of people here going on about Apple being hypocrites, and how they're not going to buy Airpods Pro…

…but how many of you have bought other disposable tech, never giving it a second thought because they're not Apple products? How many of you have bought cheap knockoff stuff from Amazon? How many of you crimp your own cables or fix your own electronics?

 

[bobob]

Not couple, 2 years max given with history of AirPods

The original AirPods have been available since December 2016. Your use of the term "max" is incorrect, since there are many reports on this forum of users with AirPods still functioning fine after almost 3 years.

my use of the term "max" is incorrect because anecdotals from couple users here?

Exactly.

not exactly.

max [maks]

1. the greatest quantity or amount possible, assignable, allowable, etc.
2. the highest amount, value, or degree attained or recorded.
3. an upper limit allowed or allowable by law or regulation.

 

[ilikewhey]

max [maks]

1. the greatest quantity or amount possible, assignable, allowable, etc.
2. the highest amount, value, or degree attained or recorded.
3. an upper limit allowed or allowable by law or regulation.

... you can pick apart words all you want, doesn't disprove the main point i originally said here that airpod max battery capacity goes out of the window after a year or two under daily normal usage.

 

[diddl14]

Waiting for Apple Care PRO...

 

[npmacuser5]

Come on, changing expensive and even smaller hearing aid batteries possible, why not simple music pods? How difficult could it be as a similar ear industry has been doing it for decades. I cannot buy the excuses Apple is trying to sell.

 

[Abazigal]

Let me put it this way, kid (since, you know, you called me dad and all...). Do you think their decision to seal the battery was done because of an engineering hurdle, or as a business decision to have a disposable item at a known failure rate?

Honest question, joking above aside. I don't like the fact that everything seems to be going to a subscription service, and disposable headphones, with a monthly AppleCare, just seems like another cog in the subscription-based reality.

Honestly, I do believe that all this was done to make the AirPods as small and compact as it is.

Even if the battery wasn’t soldered on, most people will not be cracking their AirPods open to replace the battery, so I feel that’s a moot argument ultimately.

Apple probably could have a better and more proactive recycling programme in place (I don’t see many people going all the way to the Apple store to turn in their old AirPods when selling on eBay can still nab them a few bucks), but that’s another argument for another day.

 

[bobob]

Well I do have original iPhone in a perfect condition. And replacing a battery was a breeze as compared to iPhone 7Plus. And that is the point. I can still use it and my children are on 5s that they got from me. Its many years of use without need to dispose the electronics.

I'm happy to hear you still have your original iPhone - - I imagine many MacForums members (including myself) have their own little Apple museum of beloved previous devices.

Personally, my original AirPods are still working fine, but when their replacement ultimately comes along, they will be going right into my Apple museum. I fully expect to be able to bring them out in 2030 and get at least 30 minutes of use on a fresh charge for a nostalgic little trip down memory lane. Afterwards, I will return them to the museum, and put back in my 10th generation AirPods and go for a spin in my autonomous flying Apple car.

 

[alphaod]

The kind of equipment required to repair these isn't owned by your everyday Joe so it's repair-ability is kind of irrelevant.

 

[ctyrider]

Just the reminder.... To increase the sales of their wireless products they showed "the courage" and removed hreadphone jack making it really annoying to use wired headphones. Same story with an iPad. It infuriates me that my iPad pro has now only USB C and no headphone jack. For the sole reason of selling you a pair of 200USD disposable earphones.

$30 buys you a pair of nice white USB-C ear buds from Google. It's really not worth losing sleep over.

https://store.google.com/us/product/usb_c_earbuds

 

[randomgeeza]

Do you fix household appliances like toasters, blenders, microwave ovens and the like when they stop? Nobody does, because it’s cheaper to simply buy a new one when they quit.

Nope, but they do get driven to the nearest recycling centre so that parts and precious metals can be stripped and reused where they can... or (in the UK/Europe) the retailer that sells you a new appliance is obliged to offer a recycle service.

 

[Tech198]

"iFixit notes that this could be the same battery found in Samsung's Galaxy Buds, and those are replaceable, but Apple has tethered the battery to a soldered cable, so ‌AirPods‌ customers will have no such luck.


Apple knows how to twist in the wind. (...they just have a problem landing)

 

[fairuz]

I love how Apple always just HAS to solder everything for no obvious reason yet claims they are so environmental. Hypocrites

They're tiny. If you're worried about the waste, you can lose them in your house instead of throwing them away. If it's the manufacturing, think about how many things you consume that in just one day outweigh the impact of an EarPod, however long one of those lasts.
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This are "single use" items. Frankly speaking I think it should be banned. There was nothing wrong with wired headphones that did not need battery etc and were lasting many years. Now you pay 250USD and have basically couple years of use until battery gives up. I will not support that practice neither from Apple nor any other company

Ok, then you won't be buying them
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$30 buys you a pair of nice white USB-C ear buds from Google. It's really not worth losing sleep over.

https://store.google.com/us/product/usb_c_earbuds

Sure you can buy USB-C ones, but that severely limits options, plus I already have regular ones. The removal of the jack was certainly to sell wireless headphones. We've had Bluetooth for nearly 2 decades, nobody used it cause it was always a crappy technology, and "coincidentally" way more people started using it once the jack was removed.
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Has any company ever made earphones like this that are actually repairable...

Yeah, as the article says, "iFixit notes that this could be the same battery found in Samsung's Galaxy Buds, and those are replaceable"
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Exactly environmental when it’s convenient. I just wished they’d stopped being all high and mighty about the environment if their other policies such as non repairable are so common.

They rely heavily on renewable energy, and I'll bet anything that dwarfs the extra devices thrown in the trash/recycling. Maybe soldering stuff in makes their products reliable enough to offset it, considering how few people actually repaired things that can no longer be repaired.

 

[I7guy]

...
Sure you can buy USB-C ones, but that severely limits options, plus I already have regular ones. The removal of the jack was certainly to sell wireless headphones. We've had Bluetooth for nearly 2 decades, nobody used it cause it was always a crappy technology, and "coincidentally" way more people started using it once the jack was removed.
...

I don’t buy this “conspiracy theory”, that the removal of the jack is to sell more Bluetooth devices. The removal imo was to push the state of art of b/t headphones and just move on with technology.

Ironically I’m back to using my wired headphones with my max when my favorite sport BT headphones died after about 7 years.

 

[I7guy]

Yeah, as the article says, "iFixit notes that this could be the same battery found in Samsung's Galaxy Buds, and those are replaceable"

AirPods Pro Teardown: Heavier Than Original AirPods, Different Battery, Same Zero Repairability Score

Well, they don't. That's how they look after a professional repair technician from iFixit spend over 1 hour working on it. Imagine actually paying a professional for 1 hour + the parts to get them back in this condition. Any sane person would rather buy a new pair.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[ipponrg]

I don’t buy this “conspiracy theory”, that the removal of the jack is to sell more Bluetooth devices. The removal imo was to push the state of art of b/t headphones and just move on with technology.

Ironically I’m back to using my wired headphones with my max when my favorite sport BT headphones died after about 7 years.

I actually think it was for both: to push technology to wireless AND to push for more accessory sales. The Bluetooth mics on these things still suck today, but they were able to help drive another sector of accessory sales.

 

[fairuz]

I don’t buy this “conspiracy theory”, that the removal of the jack is to sell more Bluetooth devices. The removal imo was to push the state of art of b/t headphones and just move on with technology.

Ironically I’m back to using my wired headphones with my max when my favorite sport BT headphones died after about 7 years.

If it were so good, consumers would have chosen it without having to remove the other options.

 

[Baymowe335]

Tim is KILLING this company. I wish Apple would make PROPER in-ear headphones.

- Replaceable battery
- Modular RAM
- Ethernet port
- SD card reader

Of course that would impact the bottom line by SOLDERING everything. Disgusting practice.

Killing it all the way to $1.1T valuation and a wearables business growing at 54%.

You overly dramatic posters get so old. Almost NO ONE wants to fiddle around with their tech, and making some sort of user or repairman replaceable component earbud would change the product appreciably. It's too small.

Take them to Apple for recycling when their life is over. All tech is disposable. Get over it.
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I love how Apple always just HAS to solder everything for no obvious reason yet claims they are so environmental. Hypocrites

Take them to Apple for recycling. Apple IS environmental...in many ways. This doesn't make them not so.

All tech is disposable at the end of the day. Get over it. This isn't your family's tacky mahogany dresser that sticks around for generations.

There are all kind of engineering, aesthetic, and practical reasons to make these small and not repairable. Get over it or don't buy them. Plenty of people like them and get great use out of the technology for several years until they are ready for an upgrade. Wearables growing at 54%....it's working bro.

 

[CarlJ]

Killing it all the way to $1.1T valuation and a wearables business growing at 54%.

You overly dramatic posters get so old. Almost NO ONE wants to fiddle around with their tech, and making some sort of user or repairman replaceable component earbud would change the product appreciably. It's too small.

Baymowe, check your sarcasm detector, I think it may be malfunctioning. Keysofanxiety is quite clueful, yet is asking for earphones with an ethernet port. He's mocking the same group that you (and I) find vexing.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Baymowe, check your sarcasm detector, I think it may be malfunctioning. Keysofanxiety is quite clueful, yet is asking for earphones with an ethernet port. He's mocking the same group that you (and I) find vexing.

What do you mean?! An Ethernet port is clearly one of the top requirements for a PRO wireless headphone.

Don’t be such an apologist Carl. You’re happy with your wireless headphones doing things like “playing sound”. But real PROS need a full blown 8-port USB hub built in to them.