Take a Unique Peek into How AirPods Have Evolved With Every Generation

[MacRumors]

New detailed CT scan images of the first-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and third-generation AirPods have revealed in detail what internal design changes Apple had to accomplish to include new features in every generation while continuing to miniaturize internal components.

The first-generation AirPods, announced in 2016, serve as the main design inspiration for the AirPods Pro and third-generation AirPods. The CT scan shows that the internal battery is the largest component in the first-gen AirPods, taking up the entire space of the long stem. In the earpiece, Apple's H1 chip finds its home and, at the bottom, a single downfacing microphone.

With the AirPods Pro, Apple's first update to the AirPods since their launch, the company had to completely rethink the internal structure and placement of components. Perhaps the most striking and noticeable change highlighted by the scans is the location of the battery.

The AirPods Pro nixed the long-stem design from the AirPods and Apple's classical EarBuds. Instead, Apple cut the stem to make the entire body shorter, meaning fitting a battery to provide sufficient charge into the smaller stem proved a challenge.

CT scan images by Scan of the Month​

To counter this, Apple placed the battery in the head of the AirPods Pro. In the head, which grew in size compared to the first-gen AirPods, Apple also miniaturized different components into a single PCB, or printed circuit board, to allow for a smaller footprint. The AirPods Pro also included Adaptive EQ, which was enabled thanks to a third, new microphone placed in the head of AirPods Pro in front of the speaker.

In the stem, Apple also repositioned the microphones compared to the initial AirPods, now placing them higher and not directly coming out of the bottom of the stem. The removal of the battery from the stem of AirPods Pro allowed Apple to include force touch sensors, allowing users to squeeze the AirPods Pro to pause music, invoke Siri, and more.

CT scan images by Scan of the Month​

The third-generation AirPods announced this past fall takes heavy inspiration from the AirPods Pro design but is a mix between the standard AirPods and the AirPods Pro in how it's internally built. Unlike the AirPods Pro, which features a primarily bare stem, the CT scan shows the third-generation AirPods' stem full of components and a few distributed sensors, similar to the first-gen AirPods. Like the AirPods Pro, the battery remains in the head of the AirPods alongside new skin-contact sensors.

Moving forward, Apple is expected to adopt an entirely new approach with the next-generation AirPods Pro, which will dispense with a stem altogether. The design and engineering lessons Apple has learned thus far with AirPods, such as being able to fit the battery in the head of the AirPods instead of the stem, are likely to come into greater play with the new AirPods Pro destined for launch in 2022.

The CT scan images were provided by "Scan of the Month," a website that takes popular products and puts them under a CT scan to uncover how they're designed and built. This month's AirPods website is a fun and interactive experience for those interested and can be found here.

Article Link: Take a Unique Peek into How AirPods Have Evolved With Every Generation

 

[44267547]

The CT Scan is really fascinating look into how much technology is in such a small, compact device. You have to give these engineers the necessary credit who make these devices possible to live in a wireless world for our convenience.

I wear these almost every day in the gym, and probably is my second favorite Apple device, next to the Apple Watch.

 

[DMG35]

I know they aren't a great fit for everyone, but for me the new Airpods are the absolute best Airpods I've ever worn from a fit and sound standpoint.

 

[HappyDude20]

I know they aren't a great fit for everyone, but for me the new Airpods are the absolute best Airpods I've ever worn from a fit and sound standpoint.

After years of not being interested in AirPods I’m finally interested in the latest third Gen edition.

 

[DMG35]

After years of not being interested in AirPods I’m finally interested in the latest third Gen edition.

If they fit you’ll absolutely love them.

 

[tridley68]

Still ugly poor sounding Q Tips.

 

[Shirasaki]

It’s amazing they can pack so much into so little, but that doesn’t negate my bad experience with AirPods Pro after just a year of using it.

Maybe they should rethink what should be done inside AirPods and what should be done on iPhone iPad and Mac. Making a product too complicated can backfire sometimes.

 

[AirunJae]

Interesting stuff. I hope they fix the issue with the Pros where after 8-12 months they'll just make a loud thrumming sort of noise. I am glad that they stood behind them and have replaced them each time it's happened to me, but would love to not have the issue at all.

 

[vtrautia]

There is less than 20$ worth of parts in air pods.

 

[iDento]

There is less than 20$ worth of parts in air pods.

Even if it costs them 0$, they'll still be priced the same, because that's how business works.

 

[svish]

Very interesting to see the internals of Airpods

 

[dirtyteddy]

An ecological disaster, how hypocritical of apple to pretend to care about the environment and then go on to release a product with an 18 months useful life, zero repairability while FORCING users to either buy airpods or have 2 pairs of headphones (lightning and 3.5) by taking away the headphone jack on the iphone. BUT HEY ITS ALL GOOD CAUSE APPLE IS MAKING BILLIONS OVER IT. Capitalism will corrupt even the best companies. Shame on you apple.

 

[Christoffee]

I remember when the Amiga A600 was a small computer!

 

[needsomecoffee]

An ecological disaster, how hypocritical of apple to pretend to care about the environment and then go on to release a product with an 18 months useful life, zero repairability while FORCING users to either buy airpods or have 2 pairs of headphones (lightning and 3.5) by taking away the headphone jack on the iphone. BUT HEY ITS ALL GOOD CAUSE APPLE IS MAKING BILLIONS OVER IT. Capitalism will corrupt even the best companies. Shame on you apple.

Agree completely. Luckily wired is coming back with young celebrities touting the fashion and look. Strange that few if any at the influencer level talk about the waste of such limited-life, highly manufactured devices. Ironic I thought when I recently saw Apple's new ad for Airpods which is very similar to the first iPod ad using blackened dancer silhouettes with the white Airpod showing. The original ad featured the white cord. (Love the new ad.) Hopefully at some point when the C-Level execs are finally rich enough (can that happen), Apple may start to think about offering an option "environmental" line with an iPhone built like the FairPhone where "sexy and shiny" are traded off for true environmentally-responsible design. Can't do it now of course because it would underscore the hypocrisy of Apple's current message and the disposable culture the in effect Apple created and leads. All C-Level execs will use the "hit against next quarter's profits" as the reason not to do something like this, but I truly believe that shareholders who want long-term value would be best served by this real act of "courage" as people realize how important that courage was re: saving Mother Earth, and the additional shine for the Apple Halo would propel the stock higher than the current path.

 

[DeftwillP]

"And if you look closely at this scan, you can see where we've engineered the ANC to work less and less efficiently with every update"

 

[pi=e=3]

Would be nice if Apple ditched the single dynamic driver and went for a hybrid or an all BA design. Better isolation.

 

[JoshuaBru]

If they fit you’ll absolutely love them.

They’ve never fit me and I’m constantly disappointed. I want a pair so badly but they legit just tumble out of my stupid ears

 

[alpi123]

There is less than 20$ worth of parts in air pods.

So the work of all the engineers and everyone involved in this is not worth a single cent?

Apple doesn't just buy ready parts and then sell the device...

 

[_Spinn_]

Very cool! I'm impressed they can cram so much into such a small space and still have decent battery life.

 

[AppleFan1998]

I remember when the Amiga A600 was a small computer!

What’s that?! 😂jk, 20 years from now AirPods will be invisible.

 

[darcyf]

I know they aren't a great fit for everyone, but for me the new Airpods are the absolute best Airpods I've ever worn from a fit and sound standpoint.

They’re the first ear/airpod design that actually stays in my ears and I absolutely love them. The difference between always falling out and staying in even when running and jumping while barely feeling like anything is there is astonishing.

 

[kingtj1971]

An ecological disaster, how hypocritical of apple to pretend to care about the environment and then go on to release a product with an 18 months useful life, zero repairability while FORCING users to either buy airpods or have 2 pairs of headphones (lightning and 3.5) by taking away the headphone jack on the iphone. BUT HEY ITS ALL GOOD CAUSE APPLE IS MAKING BILLIONS OVER IT. Capitalism will corrupt even the best companies. Shame on you apple.

To be honest, how is this really that different than pretty much ALL the cheap earbud type headsets out there? I see people endlessly buying those $5-20 "throw away" earbuds to use with their phones or music players and then tossing them in the trash when one of the wires frays or shorts out, or an earbud tears off of one of them. (They often only last a few months before having these issues.)

 

[SactoGuy18]

It's going to be VERY interesting to see what Apple will attempt to do with the AirPods Pro 2. Remember, they now have time to look at all the serious competitors (particularly the Sony WF-1000XM4) and could come up with an excellent model. I could see a radical departure from current AirPods Pro.

 

[justperry]

New detailed CT scan images of the first-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and third-generation AirPods have revealed in detail what internal design changes Apple had to accomplish to include new features in every generation while continuing to miniaturize internal components.

The first-generation AirPods, announced in 2016, serve as the main design inspiration for the AirPods Pro and third-generation AirPods. The CT scan shows that the internal battery is the largest component in the first-gen AirPods, taking up the entire space of the long stem. In the earpiece, Apple's H1 chip finds its home and, at the bottom, a single downfacing microphone.

With the AirPods Pro, Apple's first update to the AirPods since their launch, the company had to completely rethink the internal structure and placement of components. Perhaps the most striking and noticeable change highlighted by the scans is the location of the battery.

The AirPods Pro nixed the long-stem design from the AirPods and Apple's classical EarBuds. Instead, Apple cut the stem to make the entire body shorter, meaning fitting a battery to provide sufficient charge into the smaller stem proved a challenge.

CT scan images by Scan of the Month​

To counter this, Apple placed the battery in the head of the AirPods Pro. In the head, which grew in size compared to the first-gen AirPods, Apple also miniaturized different components into a single PCB, or printed circuit board, to allow for a smaller footprint. The AirPods Pro also included Adaptive EQ, which was enabled thanks to a third, new microphone placed in the head of AirPods Pro in front of the speaker.

In the stem, Apple also repositioned the microphones compared to the initial AirPods, now placing them higher and not directly coming out of the bottom of the stem. The removal of the battery from the stem of AirPods Pro allowed Apple to include force touch sensors, allowing users to squeeze the AirPods Pro to pause music, invoke Siri, and more.

CT scan images by Scan of the Month​

The third-generation AirPods announced this past fall takes heavy inspiration from the AirPods Pro design but is a mix between the standard AirPods and the AirPods Pro in how it's internally built. Unlike the AirPods Pro, which features a primarily bare stem, the CT scan shows the third-generation AirPods' stem full of components and a few distributed sensors, similar to the first-gen AirPods. Like the AirPods Pro, the battery remains in the head of the AirPods alongside new skin-contact sensors.

Moving forward, Apple is expected to adopt an entirely new approach with the next-generation AirPods Pro, which will dispense with a stem altogether. The design and engineering lessons Apple has learned thus far with AirPods, such as being able to fit the battery in the head of the AirPods instead of the stem, are likely to come into greater play with the new AirPods Pro destined for launch in 2022.

The CT scan images were provided by "Scan of the Month," a website that takes popular products and puts them under a CT scan to uncover how they're designed and built. This month's AirPods website is a fun and interactive experience for those interested and can be found here.

Article Link: Take a Unique Peek into How AirPods Have Evolved With Every Generation

Amazing images.


Oh wow, the rotating scans in the link are even better.

Scan of the Month: AirPods Evolution

 

[SFjohn]

An ecological disaster, how hypocritical of apple to pretend to care about the environment and then go on to release a product with an 18 months useful life, zero repairability while FORCING users to either buy airpods or have 2 pairs of headphones (lightning and 3.5) by taking away the headphone jack on the iphone. BUT HEY ITS ALL GOOD CAUSE APPLE IS MAKING BILLIONS OVER IT. Capitalism will corrupt even the best companies. Shame on you apple.

It’s only an ecological disaster if you personally throw them in a landfill. Return them to Apple for recycling if you care about the environment. I’ve never tossed an Apple device into the garbage, I donate it back to my local Apple store.