The Apple AirPods are impossible to repair

Hate cables and looking for a seamless way to enjoy music on your iPhone? The Apple AirPods are the answer you’re looking for. But they are expensive with a hefty RM849 price tag.

If you lose one AirPod, it will cost as much as US$69 (RM309) and the battery replacement would cost you US$49 (RM219) for each side. Is it possible to repair it yourself? The folks at ifixit had dismantled a full set and it doesn’t look pretty.

With its compact design, both the AirPods and its docking case are mostly glued together. There’s no way you can open the parts without damaging the outer case. During their tear down process, they had to use a sharp knife to cut open the AirPods and the battery case.

The AirPods themselves have a tiny 93 mWh battery which is about 1% of the battery capacity of an iPhone 7. Interestingly, the shiny bits at the end of each Pod are contact points for charging when it is in the case. The docking case gets a 398mAh (1.52Wh) battery which Apple claims to provide 24 hours of battery life for the AirPods. Through their X-ray scans, ifixit also noted subpar soldering quality which could lead to reliability issues.

Overall, the tear down was rather painful and it is impossible to repair the AirPods without slicing the exterior open. As a result, ifixit gave the AirPods an abysmal repairability score of 0/10. Watch the tear down video below:

You can read the full tear down process over at ifixit.