Teardown challenge: Apple AirPods 3 vs. Beats Fit Pro

In this dual teardown video (below) iFixit takes a look inside both of Apple’s Apple AirPods 3 and Beats Fit Pro earbuds.

Teardown challenge: Apple AirPods 3 vs. Beats Fit Pro

Taylor Dixon for iFixit:

There’s some good news in here. Check this out.

Under this adhesive — which I can remove by carefully twisting it around a pair of tweezers — I can pry up the battery, which appears to have a complicated connection to the cables underneath it.

But after some careful separating, you’ll see that this button cell has a built-in plug! These two prongs slide into sockets on the flex board underneath the battery like a tiny plug.

This is honestly pretty clever. Round of applause for the design team here, who, even though repairability wasn’t their goal, thought of a foolproof, efficient way to connect a button-cell battery to a circuit without solder. You just… plug it in! It’s so cool. This will at least make recycling these things easier, I hope.

Unfortunately, batteries are pretty much the only things you’ll get to in either of these buds without doing some serious damage.

MacDailyNews Take: We’ve tried the Beats Fit Pro. We prefer the AirPods Pro, thanks.

Interns, never before has you sacred duty meant so much to us: TTK!

TGIF! Prost, everyone! 🍻🍻🍻

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