Apple's newly redesigned headphones, the EarPods, have been taken apart to reveal a more durable design that is more resistant to water and sweat damage.
The teardown of Apple's new EarPods was published on Tuesday by iFixit. A repairability score was not given to the headphones, as they will come packaged with new iPhones and iPods and are "still of the throw-away kind."
But the EarPods can also be purchased separately for $29, which is how iFixit got their hands on the new accessory before the new iPhone 5 launches on Friday. The solutions provider used a guitar pick to separate the integrated volume controls and microphone on the headphone cord, while the earbuds were taken apart with an X-Acto blade.
"Like most speakers, the EarPod speakers consist of a diaphragm/cone, a voice coil, a permanent magnet, and a cabinet," they explained. "The voice coil is supported by a composite diaphragm made of a paper cone and a polymer surround. This is the first iteration of Apple headphones to use paper cones rather than all plastic."
The switch to paper cones is said to make the speakers more resistant to tearing. That's an improvement from the plastic that Apple previously used.
In their teardown, the repair website found that Apple "had durability in mind" when the company designed the new EarPods. In particular, the redesigned controls include larger cable wrapping on both ends to reduce strain on the wires.
The EarPods are also said to be more resistant to water and sweat damage. This was accomplished by removing the external microphone grate Apple employed on its previous earbuds.
"Unfortunately, these products are still of the throw-away kind," iFixit concluded. "Sourcing parts is next to impossible, and it would be a tough sell to convince someone to take apart their earbuds in stead of buying a new pair. They will never be the same once taken apart."
Apple unveiled its redesigned EarPods at the iPhone 5 media event in San Francisco, Calif., last week. Apple design chief Jony Ive said his company scanned hundreds of ears searching for commonality between them, and the new headphones are designed to fit the geometry of a user's ear without creating a seal.
EarPods feature a directed speaker that points forward into a user's ear canal. A second port on the back aids with mid-level tones, and also maximizes air flow for improved sound quality.
38 Comments
I'd be more interested to hear how an audio site would rate those headphones, as audio quality is the most important feature, in my view. I never did like the sound quality of the old Apple headphones.
Since they call themselves iFixit, I guess that they're a little bit biased against things that aren't easily fixed, but I disagree with them, when they say that it's unfortunate that these products are still of the throw away kind. Why is it unfortunate? Who's going to bother and go fix a pair of $29 headphones? Of course they're disposable.
If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.
I'm anxious to try mine out this Friday, though I'm sure they wont be replacing my Klipsch S4i's.
I'd be more interested to hear how an audio site would rate those headphones, as audio quality is the most important feature, in my view. I never did like the sound quality of the old Apple headphones.
Since they call themselves iFixit, I guess that they're a little bit biased against things that aren't easily fixed, but I disagree with them, when they say that it's unfortunate that these products are still of the throw away kind. Why is it unfortunate? Who's going to bother and go fix a pair of $29 headphones? Of course they're disposable.
If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.
Cnet gave them a "meh" rating. They called them the best included headphones on the market but not worth $30 on their own. Sound is substantially improved from old headphones but fit is slippery.
ifixIt gives these headphones a 0 on the repair-ability scale. No phillips screws, everything is glued together, and no user-replaceable speaker cones. This is a slap in the face to Apple's user base.
If somebody is really interested in good sound quality, then they're already using other, much more expensive headphones to begin with.
I was at the Apple Store over the weekend looking for some good headphones for listening to music during airplane travel. What model do people recommend?
I have the Shure earphone now.
I was looking at: