iFixit Starts Tearing Down AirPods Max

iFixit today began disassembling Apple's new AirPods Max headphones for one of its traditional device teardowns, with the aim of determining whether the ‌AirPods Max‌ are repairable to any degree or an "e-waste disaster." The teardown is in progress and will be updated over the course of the next few days.

ifixit airpods max xray
This is an early, partial disassembly that also includes a quick x-ray look inside the headphones. The x-ray view provides a glimpse at the battery cell in each ear cup, dual-ring speaker driver magnets, alignment magnets, brackets for microphones, and more.

iFixit did not find it easy to get into the ‌AirPods Max‌ and there was quite a bit of glue involved. There are two logic boards inside riddled with chips, which iFixit plans to identify later in more detail.

ifixit airpods max teardown
So far, there are no other details available on the ‌AirPods Max‌ as the teardown is ongoing, but iFixit says that it will be updated over the coming days and there's "lots more to come" including some surprises for headphone fans.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...

Top Rated Comments

macsrcool1234 Avatar
62 months ago
it's ok guys, it doesn't matter that 99% of their products are unrepairable.

apple is saving the environment by screwing customers out of chargers.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
62 months ago

I predict a low repair score as usual with Apple.
I agree, and at the same time, I'm not sure there is any over the ears headphone that would get a high score, and, would be interested if fixit has ever done a teardown on any over the ear headphone
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MDF314159265 Avatar
62 months ago
All that space and they didn’t include even a little storage capacity? Imagine the capability of having some playlists/albums stored locally within the headset. That would have been convenient for some.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
62 months ago
I predict a low repair score as usual with Apple.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
62 months ago

I predict a low repair score as usual with Apple.
What exactly do you mean by as usual? Low repair score in general or low repair score for things that should get a low repair score? I ask because Apple's most popular item -the iPhone- always gets a good repair score. Certain things don't get a good repair score because they aren't meant to be repaired.

Let me guess. It get’s a zero for repairability. Honestly, the clickbait with these guys...
Let me guess. You've never seen an iPhone repairability score. The clickbait. :rolleyes:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RedTheReader Avatar
62 months ago
It all boils down to whether or not the battery is replaceable and if so, how difficult it is to replace it.

That’s it. That’s 95% of the repairability factor in regards to how long the product can last. The main issue with regular AirPods is that the battery can’t practically be replaced, so the entire headphones die. That’s what I’m hoping to see avoided here.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)