Teardown

By MacRumors Staff

Teardown Articles

2018 macbook air ifixit 2

2018 MacBook Air Teardown Confirms Improving Repairability With Adhesive Pull-Tabs Under Battery and Speakers

Thursday November 8, 2018 5:56 am PST by
The repair experts at iFixit have completed their teardown of the new MacBook Air, providing a closer look inside the notebook. iFixit started by confirming the keyboard on the new MacBook Air has the same silicone membrane under the keycaps as the latest MacBook Pro, as expected since they both use Apple's third-generation butterfly keyboard. Next, they flipped the notebook onto its...
ifixit apple watch series 4 teardown 1

Apple Watch Series 4 Teardown: 20% Less Battery Capacity, Hidden Barometric Sensor, and Streamlined Internals [Updated]

Monday September 24, 2018 6:14 am PDT by
iFixit has completed a teardown of the Apple Watch Series 4, providing a look inside a larger 44mm model with LTE. Image Credit: iFixit The repair experts believe that while the original Apple Watch was awkwardly layered together and used too much glue, the Series 4 lineup feels "much more thoughtfully laid out," likening it to the iPhone 5.Apple pundit John Gruber has compared this to the...
ifixit teardown iphone xs iphone xs max

iFixit: iPhone XS Has 'Notched' Battery and iPhone XS Max Has Apple-Designed Power Management Chip [Updated]

Friday September 21, 2018 6:53 am PDT by
The repair experts at iFixit have shared teardowns of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, providing a look inside the latest models. iPhone XS on left and iPhone XS Max on right via iFixit While the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have improved IP68-rated water resistance, iFixit says it could not find any obvious evidence of increased waterproofing, with the SIM tray gasket and other seals looking...
iphone x vs iphone xs teardown

iPhone XS Teardown Reveals New Single-Cell L-Shaped Battery

Thursday September 20, 2018 6:17 am PDT by
Dutch repair site FixjeiPhone today shared a teardown of the iPhone XS, providing us with our first look inside the 5.8-inch model. A side-by-side comparison shot with the iPhone X reveals that the internal layout of the iPhone XS has not changed significantly, with the most obvious difference being a new single-cell L-shaped battery with a capacity of 2,658 mAh. The battery was also...
ifixt galaxy s9 teardown 1

Samsung Galaxy S9+ Teardown Reveals Components for Dual-Aperture Camera and 'Lower-Tech' AR Emoji

Monday March 12, 2018 6:41 am PDT by
Over the weekend, iFixit shared its latest teardown, this one for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9+ smartphone. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will both launch this Friday, March 16 for around for $720 and $840, respectively, and some initial reviews took to comparing the devices to Apple's iPhone X. iFixit did so as well in the new teardown, starting off by trying to get into the back of the S9+ to look...
homepod drawstring

HomePod Teardown Reveals Hidden 14-Pin Connector, 16GB Storage, and Very Low Repairability

Monday February 12, 2018 5:09 am PST by
iFixit has completed an exhaustive teardown of the HomePod and found that, while the speaker appears to have a simple design on the outside, it will likely be extremely difficult for customers to complete do-it-yourself repairs. HomePod's mesh has a drawstring The teardown experts, who admit there might be a better way to open the HomePod that they've yet to learn, were forced to use a...
iphone x teardown

iPhone X Teardown: TrueDepth Camera System, Stacked Logic Board With 3GB RAM, and 2,716 mAh Battery

Friday November 3, 2017 4:49 am PDT by
iFixit has completed an iPhone X teardown, providing a closer look inside the device, including its new TrueDepth camera system, stacked logic board, L-shaped two-cell battery pack, and Qi-based inductive charging coil. Like every other model since the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone X is a sideways-opening device. A single bracket covers every logic board connector. iFixit said the...
ifixit apple tv 4k teardown

Apple TV 4K Teardown Reveals 3GB of RAM and Larger Venting System With Replaceable Fan

Tuesday September 26, 2017 5:36 am PDT by
iFixit has shared an Apple TV 4K teardown, providing a closer look at the device's internal design and components. We already know the Apple TV 4K is equipped with Apple's 64-bit A10X Fusion chip, and now the teardown confirms the device has a total of 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM supplied by SK Hynix. That's up from 2GB RAM in the previous Apple TV. 1GB + 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM outlined in yellow for a ...
apple watch series 3 teardown ifixit

Apple Watch Series 3 Teardown Reveals Larger Battery and Air Vent Moved Next to Diagnostic Port

Monday September 25, 2017 5:59 am PDT by
iFixit has completed a teardown of the Apple Watch Series 3, which has a virtually identical form factor as previous models. The display is unchanged from the Series 2, with one key difference being that it now functions as a multifrequency antenna for cellular. Series 3 models support LTE and UMTS, according to Apple's tech specs. The battery in the 38mm model with GPS + Cellular has a ...
iFixit 10 5 inch iPad Pro teardown

iFixit Shares 10.5-Inch iPad Pro Teardown

Wednesday June 14, 2017 6:54 am PDT by
iFixit has published a 10.5-inch iPad Pro teardown that provides a closer look at the tablet's internal design. For the most part, the inside of an 10.5-inch iPad Pro looks similar to the 9.7-inch model it replaced, with only a few minor differences. In the Wi-Fi version, for example, iFixit discovered some mysterious plastic blocks where the LTE antennas might be found in cellular...
ipad 5 vs ipad air 1

New 9.7-Inch iPad Teardown Confirms It's Basically an Original iPad Air

Thursday March 30, 2017 6:32 am PDT by
iFixit has shared a brief teardown of Apple's new 9.7-inch iPad unveiled last week, and unsurprisingly, the tablet looks just as much like an original iPad Air on the inside as it does on the outside. In the side-by-side photo above, iFixit noted the original iPad Air on the left has a slightly larger Wi-Fi module compared to the new 9.7-inch iPad on the right, but otherwise the tablets look ...
15 inch touch bar ifixit

Teardowns Confirm 13-Inch and 15-Inch Touch Bar MacBook Pros Have Non-Removable SSDs

Friday November 18, 2016 6:09 am PST by
iFixit has completed its teardown of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, confirming the notebook is equipped with a non-removable SSD just like the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Only the entry-level 13-inch model with a standard row of function keys has a removable SSD in Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup. 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar The teardown confirms the processor, RAM, ...
apple watch series 2 teardown

Apple Watch Series 2 Teardown Shows Larger Battery and Swimproof Design

Thursday September 15, 2016 11:03 pm PDT by
iFixit has published a work-in-progress Apple Watch Series 2 teardown that reveals a 273 mAh battery in the 38mm model, which is 33% larger than the 205 mAh battery in the original 38mm Apple Watch. However, battery life is equal to Series 1 models, likely because of the additions of a GPS and brighter display. The teardown says the Apple Watch Series 2's adhesive is "much stronger" than...
iphone 7 plus teardown

iPhone 7 Plus Teardown Confirms Longer-Lasting 2,900 mAh Battery and 3GB of RAM

Thursday September 15, 2016 9:19 pm PDT by
iFixit has published a work-in-progress iPhone 7 Plus teardown that provides a closer look at the smartphone's internal components, including the battery, display, cameras, logic board, and Taptic Engine for the new pressure-sensitive Home button. Interestingly, the smartphone now opens to it side rather than to the top. iFixit said the adhesive strip sealing the iPhone 7 Plus is...
iFixit 2016 12 inch MacBook teardown

New 12-Inch MacBook Teardown Reveals Tweaked USB-C Hardware and Tamper-Evident Screws

Monday April 25, 2016 8:31 am PDT by
iFixit has completed an in-depth hardware teardown of the new 12-inch Retina MacBook that reveals only minor under-the-hood changes to Apple's ultra-slim notebook compared to the 2015 model. Specifically, Apple has slightly tweaked the notebook's USB-C hardware by permanently affixing the cable to the USB board. The new arrangement is not compatible with the original 12-inch MacBook....
iFixit iPad Pro

Teardown of 9.7-Inch iPad Pro Examines Speakers and Rear Camera, Finds 'Gobs of Adhesive'

Monday April 4, 2016 7:48 am PDT by
After discovering that a handful of iPhone SE components are interchangeable with those of the iPhone 5 in a teardown last week, iFixit today shifted its sights to the other major release from Apple's "Let Us Loop You In" media event - the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. iFixit surmised that the new iPad Pro is essentially the offspring of the iPad Air 2 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, acquiring the looks of the...
ifixitiphonese

Teardown Finds iPhone SE and iPhone 5s Displays Interchangeable

Thursday March 31, 2016 8:28 pm PDT by
Yesterday, Chipworks' teardown of the iPhone SE confirmed that the new device uses a potpourri of components from several past iPhones, including the iPhone 5s. iFixit has completed its own teardown of the device, and its findings show that the new device includes several components that are interchangeable with iPhone 5s parts. iFixit found that the iPhone SE's speaker, chassis, vibrator,...
Smart Battery Case Teardown

Smart Battery Case Teardown Confirms Battery is Difficult to Replace

Thursday December 10, 2015 7:19 am PST by
iFixit has completed a Smart Battery Case teardown, providing a closer look at the case's brushed aluminum inner shell, rechargeable lithium-ion battery and tiny logic board housing two Lightning connectors. The inner aluminum plate serves as a door for the battery compartment, which houses a 1,877 mAh battery (7.13 Whr) that more than doubles the iPhone 6s battery capacity of 1,715 mAh....
smart keyboard teardown

Teardown Shows Off the Guts of the iPad Pro's Smart Keyboard

Tuesday November 24, 2015 8:04 am PST by
Following teardowns of the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro itself, iFixit today completed a disassembly of Apple's new first party Smart Keyboard accessory. The teardown of the keyboard doesn't provide much in the way of surprising internal revelations, but does give those interested a closer look at the accessory's conductive fabric, dome switches underneath the keys, and underlying circuit board...
Apple Pencil Teardown

Apple Pencil Teardown Reveals Antenna, Battery and Tiny Folded Logic Board

Thursday November 19, 2015 6:56 am PST by
iFixit has completed an Apple Pencil teardown, removing the outer plastic casing to reveal the pencil's inner metal cylinder. The teardown provides a closer look at several Apple Pencil components, including the antenna, battery, pencil nib, Lightning connector and miniature folded logic board. Apple Pencil has two emitters in the tip that enable the iPad Pro to determine the pencil nib's...