iFixit rips into new technology like a ten-year-old with a stack of birthday presents. Co-founder Luke Soules flew down to Melbourne, Australia to be one of the first people to own the magical device, with the sole purpose of taking it apart at the MacFixit offices in Australia.
The process itself is well underway, as you can see in the gallery of images below.
![iFixit Teardown Of Apple’s New EarPods Reveals More Durable Design [Gallery]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load/images/1x1.trans.gif)
![iFixit Teardown Of Apple’s New EarPods Reveals More Durable Design [Gallery]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/VTNAh1wutKEaqahx.large_.jpg "VTNAh1wutKEaqahx.large")
What makes the EarPods so special? iFixit takes a closer look.
Our own Charlie Sorrel gave Apple’s EarPods a glowing review, and now the fine folks at iFixit have dug deep into the internals of Apple’s latest earbuds to see what they’re made of. It took Apple three years of R&D to design the EarPods, so we’re all hoping they mark a huge improvement over their predecessor.
According to iFixit’s teardown, Apple uses a single-driver setup to power the EarPods, although the Cupertino company claims that the EarPods will perform at the level of higher quality, multi-driver earphones. With a completely redesigned shape that’s been molded to fit the average human ear, iFixit is saying that the EarPods boast “significant improvements in durability.”
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 made its debut last week and has already found its innards spread across a table for all to see. That’s right, I’m talking about the customary iFixit teardown. That’s when a member of the iFixit team dissects a device to expose its parts and determine its level of repairability. You’ll be happy to know the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 scored an 8 out of 10 for ease of repair, completely shaming Apple’s new iPad, which barely scored a 2.
The”leaked” asymmetrical screw we reported on last week has turned out to be a fake, put forth as an experiment by a Swedish design company on how Apple rumors propagate themselves across the internet.
![Apple May Be Working On A Top Secret Asymmetric Screw To Lock You Out Of Your Devices Forever [Updated]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/fkyQS.jpeg "fkyQS")
Forget Pentalobe screws, Apple’s next-gen screw design could lock DIYers out of their Macs once and for all.
Self-repairability is often an aspect of Apple’s modern product design that gets Cupertino blasted by critics, with the Retina MacBook Pro being deemed “the least repairable laptop yet” by repair experts iFixIt. But if the leaked image above of a next-generation assymetric screw Apple is reportedly working on is to be believed, things are about to get a lot worse for Mac and iDevice owners who like to tinker with their devices.
Following its Retina MacBook Pro teardown back in June, iFixit declared Apple’s latest portable “the least repairable laptop” it has ever taken apart. While some components aren’t too difficult to upgrade or replace, others — such as the battery and RAM — are near impossible without professional help. In its new repair guide, published today, iFixit details further repair limitations with the notebook, and estimates that a third-party battery replacement could cost around $500.
The Google Nexus 7 tablet is an easy nut to crack.
The brand-spanking new Google Nexus 7 is arguably the biggest non-Apple tablet announcement since Amazon debuted the Kindle Fire. With a starting price of $200, the Nexus 7 isn’t really intended to be an iPad killer, although Google wouldn’t mind cutting out a piece of Apple’s pie.
The guys at iFixit recently tore down the Google Nexus 7, and their findings revealed that a one millimeter difference in thickness makes Google’s tablet infinitely more repairable than Apple’s iPad.
If you decided not to purchase a new MacBook Pro with Retina display simply because almost nothing inside it can be repaired or upgraded at home, then you’ll be pleased to know that the other new MacBook Pro (the one without a Retina display) is just as repairable as its predecessor, earning a 7/10 repair score from iFixit.
Here’s how it compares to the next-generation model on the inside.
iFixit has described Apple’s new MacBook Pro as the “least repairable laptop” it has ever opened up, and subsequently gave the device a repair score of 1/10. However, just like the MacBook Air, you’ll be pleased to know that it is possible to upgrade the new MacBook Pro’s solid-state storage yourself.
Before the vast majority of us have even had the pleasure of signing for our new MacBook Pro delivery, iFixit has torn the notebook apart to reveal its internals. Although this is undoubtedly Apple’s best portable yet — what with its stunning Retina display, super speedy solid-state storage, and Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processors — iFixit describes it as “the least repairable laptop” they’ve ever taken apart.
“Apple has packed all the things we have into one beautiful little package.” For consumers, this means incredible expensive repair bills, and little to no upgradeability at all.
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