If you're thinking about picking up a set of the new AirPods Pro 3, then you'd better make sure you look after them properly. As the latest iFixit teardown reveals, the new Apple earbuds suffer the same limitations as older models: the fact that they are nigh impossible to actually repair.
One of the biggest problems is that there's no real way to actually open the AirPods Pro 3. Getting inside requires a lot of heat before you can even attempt to pry the buds open, due to the sheer amount of glue inside. But you have to be careful not to melt the plastic buds in the process.
This is all starting to sound like my worst nightmare. Especially since iFixit wasn't able to actually pry open the buds without causing some cosmetic damage to the outside.
Inside the AirPods Pro 3
While we don't like to hear bad news, the battery isn't that difficult to remove once you're inside. In fact, iFixit claims that this is the easiest battery replacement of any set of AirPods — not that it's a particularly high bar to surpass. You would need specialized equipment to actually get to this stage, though, and resealing the buds would pose its own problems once the swap has been carried out.
The rest of the teardown doesn't go that well. Removing components from the driver side of the buds leads to torn ribbon cables, broken plastic and the conclusion that none of this stuff is going to be removable or repairable.
The stem is the same problem, with more glue holding everything together, and it got to the point where iFixit simply turned up the heat to melt the plastic and force their way in. The buds were already ruined at this point, so why not? It's not like it was actually going to be reassembled.
The case didn't fare much better on the repairability scale, and iFixit realized partway through that there was no getting past the glue holding it together. Apple sure does love glue, and in the end, the AirPods Pro 3 case was put through a CT scanner to see what was going on inside.
The main change inside is that there's a single battery, rather than a pair of cells, and there are fewer rare-earth magnets inside. Sadly, all the parts that may wear down over time and need replacing are buried under layers of plastic, which means they appear to be pretty much inaccessible.
What does this mean for repairs?
All of these problems mean iFixit gave the AirPods Pro 3 a repairability score of zero. Essentially, this means that should your new AirPods break or stop working, your only option is to throw them away and buy a brand new pair. Which isn't very in line with Apple's sustainability promises.
So what do you do? Well, the most important thing to remember is that you'll need to take great care with the buds. Don't let them fall in the garbage disposal, or anywhere near your destructive pets. Because that's going to land you with a hefty bill for replacement.
It might be worth coughing up for an AppleCare Plus plan, which costs $20 a year or $2 a month. That plan offers "unlimited repairs" for accidental damage, and "Express Replacement Service," which has a new pair of buds shipped out, so you don't have to wait for a repair." Though after watching this teardown, it feels as though this is just a band-aid covering the fact that these buds can't actually be repaired.
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