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Look inside the AirPods Pro: Teardown shows how hard repairing them would be

Unsurprising verdict: If your Apple AirPods Pro earbuds break, you'll probably just want to buy a new pair.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
Expertise 5G, mobile networks, wireless carriers, phones, tablets, streaming devices, streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming
Eli Blumenthal
AirPods Pro broken down

A look inside the AirPods Pro. 

iFixit

Apple's new AirPods Pro are here, and with their arrival comes new active noise cancellation (it works even in Penn Station!), adjustable ear tips and improved sound quality. We went hands-on for 24 hours and came away with seven main impressions. What has not changed in the $249 earbuds, however, is how easy the new headphones are to repair on your own. In its teardown of Apple's latest audio product, iFixit found that some parts such as the battery in the buds could theoretically be a bit more user-replaceable compared to earlier AirPods. But it would take so much effort that if your Pros do break you're going to want to go buy a new pair instead (which Apple recommends). 

The site, which ranks a device's ability to be repaired on a scale of 0 to 10, gave the AirPods Pro the same score as prior versions: 0. 

AirPods Pro battery

The circular battery inside the AirPods Pro. 

iFixit

There were, however, a few "surprises" the site found in its teardown, including the use of a similar button cell battery in each bud to what is found in Samsung's Galaxy Buds . The AirPods also let out "a tiny scream -- a little awooo, if you will" when separating a cable inside the bud. 

"It's likely that something we're doing during disassembly is momentarily overloading the speaker driver somehow," the site wrote. "Rational thoughts aside though, these things are haunted," especially when publishing their breakdown on Halloween. 

Watch this: AirPods Pro first impressions: Should you upgrade?

Apple AirPods Pro have a new design

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