The iFixit repair lawyers have carried out the first partial destruction of the AirPods Max and this is bad news for anyone who might want to get into Apple’s premium noise canceling headphones.
The main problem seems to be that the speaker cover is fixed with adhesive, which means that iFixit could access the 40 mm drivers only by heating the AirPods Max to a melting point of the adhesive. This is despite the presence of screws elsewhere that are relatively easy to remove, so repairing or replacing individual components is probably a pain.
The breakup made some other interesting discoveries, such as how the AirPods Max uses two separate battery cells located in the same headphones. However, there may be problems repairing them, as an x-ray showed that the battery connectors could be stuck, which would make changing the cells more difficult.
“However, we hope for an easy battery replacement procedure,” the report said. “Connectors are not always easy to spot here.”
Although it’s disappointing that the AirPods Max is harder to repair than other noise-canceling headphones – the Bose QC35 II can be disassembled with just a few screwdrivers – it’s not surprising. Apple hardware isn’t always hard to disassemble, but repairing it can be a difficult business: iFixit previously found that the iPhone 12’s camera would repeatedly fail if replaced by a third party instead of Apple technicians.
It seems that if you buy AirPods Max, you will have to deal with Apple’s primary services, at premium prices, if you ever want to repair them. Something to consider when you’ve already spent $ 549 on the new Apple headphones.
If the idea of spending over $ 500 on a pair of headphones makes you feel a little upset, then check out our list of the best headphones because it has a lot of great boxes at more reasonable prices. Our current top image is the Sony WH-1000xM4, which is worth a look.