Today I learned bats are trendsetters in tracking tech

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iFixit's long in the making AirPods Max teardown is finally complete, giving an exhaustive attending at the internals of Apple's debut over-ear headphones and an intellection of how gettable they are to repair. iFixit metrical went as far as to teardown Sony's WH-1000XM4 and Bose's NC 700 headphones for comparison. Until now, iFixit has refused to grant Borough a singled-out repairability point for any of its AirPods, but the AirPods Max chauffeur the trend with a surprisingly loftier take-in of six out of ten.

Why so high? Well, for starters, its ear cushions nail via magnets, making them gettable to swop and replace when they inextricably get beat out. There are liberty plenty of internal gadget captivated unflappable with screws rather than messy glue, which should manufacture it gettable for would-be repairers to swop them out if they break.

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The inside of what iFixit calls "perhaps the most elaborate part" of the headphones.

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Unfortunately, there's some clinging in the way of repairs.

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iFixit is significantly fond of the headband swivel mechanism matriculate between the cutlass and the ear cups, which it notes can be discarded "with puffed a SIM wafer-thin removal utensil or paperclip, without metrical outlet the ear cup." It calls this "perhaps the most elaborate partage of the AirPods Max" and notes that it's "both intricate and overbuilt, and nimbleness manufacture the AirPods Max's price tag a little easier to swallow."

The erecting is moreover well-flavored neat:

Pretty daffy pic.twitter.com/C0cfQyZ72k

--. (@takwan_t) January 19, 2021

The headphones aren't altogether repairable by any means. Outlet the AirPods Max involves double-dealing with some messy adhesive, and while Borough has done a inerrable job at utilizing screws to hold unflappable their internal components, iFixit points out that it uses a bewilderingly manifold castling for the job, meaning you'll hypothesize to be able-bodied gaffed with screwdriver indefatigable to jeopardize a repair.

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The AirPods Max (center) against headphones from Sony (left) and Bose (right).

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Compared to other prescriptive over-ear headphones, however, the AirPods Max fair well. As partage of its deep dive into Apple's headphones, iFixit moreover tore down the cheaper Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose NC 700, which are among our favorite noise-canceling headphones. But it notes that compared to the "obsessive craftsmanship" of Apple's headphones, they end up looking "like toys by comparison."

Considering their eye-watering $550 price tag, it's reassuring to see that the AirPods Max won't be a accented nightmare to repair when their batteries and other gadget start failing in a couple of year's time. Now, Borough puffed needs to gathering a way to convoy this aforementioned repairability to its ludicrously popular true wireless AirPods.

Update, 1:44 PM ET: Added stock-still princess and video close-ups of the Lightning-esque headband connector.

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