Six things we learned from iFixit's iPad Pro 11, Apple Pencil 2 teardowns

Including the tech behind the Apple Pencil 2's touch.

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice

I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.

Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories

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Lori Grunin

Nov. 12, 2018 9:11 a.m. PT

apple-ipad-11-teardown-ifixit-pencil-charger — This is a great shot by iFixit, showing board bits and capacitors flying off during the removal of the Pencil charger shields from the iPad Pro during the teardown.
iFixit

The Apple iPad Pro 11-inch and its new best friend, the Apple Pencil 2, enter the pantheon of iFixit teardowns. Published Monday, the iPad Pro teardown reveals that underneath the new gadgets' slick surfaces lies a tap-happy array of sensors, smaller battery, the usual gluefest and a field of magnets.

apple-pencil-teardown-ifixit — Once you remove the sleek white case and unroll the ribbon cable you can see the capacitive grid that Apple patented in Europe earlier this year.
iFixit

The Pencil 2 offers the most interesting reveal, showing the capacitive touch array that Patently Apple surfaced from a grant earlier this year, and which powers the new tap-to-wake and -pair capability. You can also see the copper coil where it magnetically attaches to the tablet and charger and its mate on the iPad Pro (top photo).

apple-ipad-11-teardown-ifixit-speakers — The new speaker array -- comprised of four tweeters and four woofers -- are responsible for a whole lotta magnets in the iPad Pro, along with those for the new Pencil's attachment for the charger.
iFixit

Other highlights of the teardown:

The speakers can't be replaced and because there are eight -- four woofers and four tweeters -- it adds a lot of magnets.
A slightly lower capacity battery than when it was 10.5 inches: 29.45 Watt-hours, compared to 30.8 Wh. (We haven't finished our battery testing yet, so it's not clear how it affects battery life.)
iFixit points out that dropping the physical home button removes a common point of failure.
The only easily swappable component is the modular USB-C port.
Because Apple fused the LCD and front panel glass, the iPad Pro's easier to open, but the thin bezels and scattered connections make it harder to remove the screen and will make it more expensive to replace.

See the full teardown below.