iFixit - page 6

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.

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 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.

When people ask why Apple doesn’t make its iPads in America, the usual explanation is that labor costs are so high, there’s no way an iPad could be made in the country for less than $1000. That answer has always lacked weight, as the manual labor of constructing an iPad is actually a very small portion of its overall build cost: building an iPad in America would cut down margins, but not double the price.

No, there’s a better reason why every iPad gets made in China, and you can find it on your local periodic table. Every iPad is made with a sizable number of rare earth metals… all of which can only be mined in China.

In their normal fashion as dissectors and vivisectionists of the gadget world, the fine ladies and gents over at iFixIt — who flew all the way to Australia to get a literal crack at the new iPad early — have just opened Apple’s latest tablet up, as reported by their Twitter feed:

The first legit-purchased, legit-owned iPad 3 is now also the first legit-opened iPad… in the world.

Stay tuned. We’ll let you know what mysteries they find inside.

Tim Cook kind of rushed past the Apple TV update yesterday. On the surface of things, not much changed: 1080p was the only real new feature, as the new iOS-like interface and Netflix sign-up are also available on older Apple TVs via update. But under the hood, the little black box is powered by a custom single-core A5 chip.

Take apart one of Apple’s latest iMacs and inside you’ll find plenty of space for mounting an additional hard drive. Of course, it’s useless if you don’t have the tools for the job, but that’s where iFixit comes in. The teardown specialists have released a new kit that provides you with everything you need for installing an additional hard drive in your new iMac.

If there’s one thing we know for sure about the iPad 3, it’s that the upcoming tablet will have a breathtakingly-awesome screen. After months of building speculation, it’s been repeatedly confirmed that the iPad 3 will follow in the iPhone’s footsteps with a super high-resolution ‘Retina’ display.

In conjunction with MacRumors, iFixit has gone hands-on with an alleged iPad 3 display to reveal the changes and improvements we can expect. Now if only they could get the thing turned on!

What’s better than an iPhone 4S? How about an iPhone 4S with a see-through back! The folks at iFixit have announced their transparent rear glass panel mod for Apple’s latest smartphone, and if you buy now you get a nifty care package to keep your iPhone clean and free of damage.

For $29.95, you can’t beat this deal. The mod is also available for the GSM iPhone 4.

On the iPhone 4S, you can trigger Siri in one of two ways. You can either long press the home button, or you can turn on the “Raise to Speak” option under System Preferences and trigger Siri just by lifting your 4S towards your face.

That might not seem like a big deal, but that little feature led to Apple redesigning the way the iPhone’s IR proximity sensor works in the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4S is going to be officially released tomorrow, but a few lucky people have already gotten the one they ordered. The lucky people at iFixit managed to get their hands on an iPhone 4S that was delivered early. They wasted no time disassembling the latest iteration of the iPhone 4S for your viewing pleasure.

You can check out their video teardown after the break.

Following the release of the seventh-generation iPod nano earlier this week, iFixit performed its customary teardown to discover that Apple isn’t just producing its own processors for the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad — but also the iPod nano, too.

Our favorite friends at iFixIt have taken their rusty bone saws and hacked through the aluminized breastplate of Apple’s new 27-inch Thunderbolt display to find what they find inside

Their conclusion? Considering the fact that there’s no computer inside this thing, the Thunderbolt display sure has a lot of guts!

Following the launch of the new Mac mini earlier this year, the guys over at iFixit performed their customary teardown and revealed that the eradication on the system’s optical drive leaves room for a second hard drive. In order to make installing your own a great deal easier, iFixit has launched an awesome little kit that provides everything you need for the job.

iFixit is famous for its gadget tear-downs and repair guides. Every time Apple releases a new piece of tech, iFixit gets hold of it and pulls it apart for our pleasure. The company is now about to branch out — starting up a new cloud-based service called Dozuki that will provide technical documentation to hardware, appliance and chemical manufacturers.

Apple’s new Mac mini has been available for two days now, and so it’s time for the company’s smallest desktop to get the iFixit teardown treatment. Though little has changed inside its svelte aluminum shell, Apple’s decision to remove the optical drive means there’s plenty of room for to double your storage… or even speed up your Mac mini dramatically.

The boys over at iFixIt have started their teardown of the 2011 13-inch MacBook Air, and while much of the construction is similar to last year’s models, there is some good news for DIY upgraders: contrary to rumors, the SSDs have not been soldered to the board, meaning that you can upgrade your Air’s storage down the line.

Otherwise, iFixIt doesn’t have much to report this time around, except for an explanation of the omission of a FaceTime HD webcam in the Air: the thinness of the display makes it pretty much impossible to put a beefier camera in there at this time. Good to know.

You’d think Apple would be dumping Samsung components from their iPad 2 design as Cupertino tries to reduce their dependence upon the partner who keeps on ripping off all of their best ideas. Instead, though, they’re just tucking deeper into bed with Samsung, despite the international IP lawsuits flinging about.

What’s going on? Well, it might all be about that sexy tablet-sized Retina Display Samsung has floating around.

As if on cue, the first teardowns of Apple’s Thunderbolt cable have hit the Internet, and prepare to be surprised: that $49 retail price isn’t just the usual Apple tax, but a fair asking price for the advanced circuitry within!