iFixit today began disassembling Apple's new AirPods Max headphones for one of its traditional device teardowns, with the aim of determining whether the AirPods Max are repairable to any degree or an "e-waste disaster." The teardown is in progress and will be updated over the course of the next few days.
This is an early, partial disassembly that also includes a quick x-ray look inside the headphones. The x-ray view provides a glimpse at the battery cell in each ear cup, dual-ring speaker driver magnets, alignment magnets, brackets for microphones, and more.
iFixit did not find it easy to get into the AirPods Max and there was quite a bit of glue involved. There are two logic boards inside riddled with chips, which iFixit plans to identify later in more detail.
So far, there are no other details available on the AirPods Max as the teardown is ongoing, but iFixit says that it will be updated over the coming days and there's "lots more to come" including some surprises for headphone fans.
A federal judge has thrown out most of the claims in a proposed class action accusing Apple's AirPods Max of a condensation defect, ruling that the $549 headphones do what they were built for even if they fall short of a buyer's expectations (via Law360).
Filed in April 2025 by two plaintiffs, the suit alleges that condensation builds up inside the AirPods Max ear cups during normal indoor...
Apple today released a third version of the beta firmware it is testing for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, AirPods 4, and AirPods Max 2. The firmware is limited to developers at the current time, and it has a build number of 9A5314b.
In iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate, Apple is adding a new AirPods interface, a slider for Adaptive mode, and support for custom EQ, so the firmware...
Apple is preparing to release a new pair of over-ear Beats headphones that will have a similar design as the AirPods Max, according to teaser images.
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All that space and they didn’t include even a little storage capacity? Imagine the capability of having some playlists/albums stored locally within the headset. That would have been convenient for some.
I agree, and at the same time, I'm not sure there is any over the ears headphone that would get a high score, and, would be interested if fixit has ever done a teardown on any over the ear headphone
What exactly do you mean by as usual? Low repair score in general or low repair score for things that should get a low repair score? I ask because Apple's most popular item -the iPhone- always gets a good repair score. Certain things don't get a good repair score because they aren't meant to be repaired.
Let me guess. It get’s a zero for repairability. Honestly, the clickbait with these guys...
Let me guess. You've never seen an iPhone repairability score. The clickbait. :rolleyes:
It all boils down to whether or not the battery is replaceable and if so, how difficult it is to replace it.
That’s it. That’s 95% of the repairability factor in regards to how long the product can last. The main issue with regular AirPods is that the battery can’t practically be replaced, so the entire headphones die. That’s what I’m hoping to see avoided here.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.