| Cult of Mac

iFixit shows how to add a hole to AirTag

By

Drill an AirTag hole at your own risk.
If you’re willing to risk ruining an AirTag, you can drill a hole in it.
Photo: iFixit

There’s no direct way to attach Apple’s just-released AirTag to a set of keys because the item tracker doesn’t include a hole. But iFixit x-rayed the device and found three places a brave user could drill a hole.

Nixed bilateral charging could have been iPhone 11 Pro exclusive

By

iPhone 11 teardown disassembled
Taking an iPhone 11 to pieces finds no sign of one rumored feature, but hints Apple Tags could still be on the way.
Photo: iFixit

A teardown of the iPhone 11 finds Apple’s less-expensive handset lacks any sign of inverse wireless charging. iFixit did discover hardware possibly related to this rumored feature in the iPhone 11 Pro series, however.

An X-ray of the iPhone 11 does turn up evidence of ultra-wideband support, however. That will prove important if Apple launches the item-tracking tags that also showed up in many rumors.

First iPhone 11 Pro Max teardown shows off gigantic new battery

By

iPhone Pro Max battery life gets an extra 5 hours
A larger battery will contribute to a longer time between charges for the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Screenshot: Apple

A teardown video divulges one of the specs Apple refuses to reveal about the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The new phone includes a 3,969 mAh battery, significantly larger than the one inside the XS Max.

See other internal details of Apple’s new flagship device by watching the teardown video below.

iPhone XS reveals its secrets in first teardown video

By

The first iPhone XS teardown video shows the unusual L-shaped battery.
The first iPhone XS teardown video shows the unusual L-shaped battery.
Photo: FixjeiPhone

The iPhone XS debuts tomorrow, but a video showing this device being disassembled is already available. This not only gives the first look at the internal components but reveals some of the details about this smartphone.

Perhaps the most unusual feature of Apple’s new high-end model is the L-shaped battery.

Apple’s new 4K iMac takes steps toward greater repairability

By

OpqQbulpghQImyZZ.huge
New 21.5-inch iMac features removable RAM and CPU.
Photo: iFixit

Apple’s new 4K 21.5-inch iMac is slightly more repairable than its predecessor, a new teardown by iFixit reveals. But there’s one big surprise buried in the computer’s guts: Both the CPU and the RAM can be swapped out when it’s time to upgrade.

While it’s still not an easily repairable computer, that’s still a change of direction for a company whose products regularly get dinged for lack of upgradeability.

MacBook Pro teardown reveals mystifying speaker grilles

By

clA1FMegMLVjVjCb.huge
Ooh, new speakers! Well, not so fast...
Photo: iFixit

Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have arrived, and our friends at iFixit have already dutifully taken one apart to reveal what’s lurking under the surface.

The most interesting revelation? The laptop’s new speaker grilles don’t house new speakers, but may instead exist purely for design purposes.

You think Apple’s Smart Battery Case is ugly? Wait ’til you see its insides

By

It's what's inside that counts.
It's what's inside that counts.
Photo: iFixit

For the Apple fans disappointed in the Quasimodo look of the new Smart Battery Case, there is probably great satisfaction in seeing it all busted up. Yes, the staff at iFixit wasted no time prying one open to behold the guts of the beast.

iFixit did not defend the case from the “ugly” tag so many people gave it in its’ first 24 hours of public life. The technicians were impressed with the ducting on the case, which turned a downward-facing speaker into one that faces forward. The microphone also faces forward and iFixit wonders if this a preview on future designs.

iPad Mini 4 teardown reveals a miniaturized Air 2

By

iPad Mini 4 teardown by iFixit
The EU wants gadgets that are easier to fix and upgrade.
Photo: iFixit

We’ve gotten our first look at the guts of the latest Apple hardware thanks to an iPad Mini 4 teardown that’s appeared online, and the new tablet from the Cupertino company is looking really familiar. But we don’t mean that in a bad way.

Repair-advise site iFixit has sacrificed one of the devices in the name of science and education, and its findings reveal that at its heart, the iPad Mini 4 is a smaller version of the upper-tier iPad Air 2. Here’s what the carnage revealed.

The new Retina MacBook could be Apple’s least-repairable notebook yet

By

The new MacBook in pieces. Photo: iFixit
The new MacBook in pieces. Photo: iFixit

Apple’s new MacBook may be one “for the future” but it’s already had a teardown from our friends over at iFixit, filling you in on all the ways the next-gen notebook differs from its predecessor.

That includes Apple’s butterfly mechanism keys, its Force Touch trackpad, form-fitting layered battery, and, of course, the thinnest, most energy-efficient Retina display ever seen on a Mac.

It’s not just ports the new notebook is missing, however. It’s also one of Apple’s least-repairable notebooks to date!