iFixit Shares AirPods 4 and USB-C AirPods Max Teardown Video

Why bother tearing the max down when they already did one for the original and they are basically the exact same product!!

Because we didn’t know if Apple may have changed anything more internally.

I don't get all the hate for iFixit. To be sure, there's some self-interest in their advocating for repairability -- but they're doing the advocacy nonetheless. They're also offering some really useful guidance along with these teardowns. I managed to open up my old 2014 iMac, replace its HDD with an SSD, and glue the whole thing right back up using their instructions and their tool/parts kit. I got several more useful years out of that thing. Could I have done that by sourcing instructions and parts elsewhere? Maybe. But the fact that it was a one-stop shop took a lot of legwork out of the process. And they have a solid and growing library of documentation for other gear as well.

If you'll notice, Apple has made some progress in making parts, documentation and tools available in the past few years, and even changed some designs to make things like iPhone batteries easier for end-users to replace. I don't think they're doing that out of the goodness of their hearts, they're doing it because of growing pressure to do so, and trying to head off Right To Repair legislation at the pass.

When devices get more repairable, they get longer useful lives in the secondary market in places like the US, and in emerging economies where "unofficial" aftermarket repairs keep devices working. I think it's a right worth advocating for, and if iFixit makes a few bucks selling repair kits I sure don't have a problem with it.

I still dont get why we had to get rid of leather cases but disposable consumable electronics that mostly will end up in a landfill after a few years is OK.

Even as someone who isn't on their high horse about sustainability blah blah, it bothers me about AirPods to a degree.

Why bother tearing the max down when they already did one for the original and they are basically the exact same product!!

In order to know that it's basically the exact same product rather than just assuming it.

I still dont get why we had to get rid of leather cases but disposable consumable electronics that mostly will end up in a landfill after a few years is OK.

Even as someone who isn't on their high horse about sustainability blah blah, it bothers me about AirPods to a degree.

Sustainability is critical, and now, not starting at some point in the future…but the leather issue is, I agree, absurd. Do advocates for this position suppose we’ll kill fewer cows, or eat less meat, because of this? Cowhide leather is an mere byproduct, and when properly tanned, is a responsible use of material that would be wasted otherwise.

Cynically, I think a lot of this is about perception. There are certainly environmental costs associated with tanning leather (even if the animals themselves are already being used for food), and there are environmental costs obviously associated with production of plastic. It certainly sounds good to say you're phasing out leather, though! Would be very interested to see a real world breakdown of those impacts....

Well when it comes to breakdowns, plastic break down to micro plastics, and it’s in everything… our food, our bloodstreams and organs even our brains. And Apple is making more? I’ll take Leather any day, and the leather Apple used was not made with toxic chemicals. PETA is pleased, but honestly we’re all worse off. And don’t give me vegan leather, that’s just another name for plastic. 🤬