First teardown shows complex insides of Apple Vision Pro

A teardown of Apple's latest hardware release is a typical event in the launch cycle, and there's no difference for the Apple Vision Pro. Apple's mixed-reality head-mounted hardware has been systematically taken apart, giving a good look at the inside of the company's spatial computing platform.

The customary video and article from repair outfit iFixit isn't a complete examination of the Apple Vision Pro, but that is apparently still ongoing. While there isn't a "repairability" score at this time, it is certainly demonstrated that the headset is a highly sophisticated piece of equipment.

The teardown of "Apple's most complex piece of hardware yet" started with the removal of the front glass using heat, and was taken off with minimal damage. The speaker stems were pulled off using a SIM card removal tool, and while the use of modular parts is welcomed complete with connectors on the end, the speaker units themselves were easily broken.

Apple's use of a proprietary battery cable connection makes sense to the firm since it can't easily be yanked out. However, the plug at the other end is "unforgivable" for terminating with a non-standard oversized Lightning connector.

After removing the Light Seal and its magnetic seals, a permanent seal was found wrapped in a knit fabric, which was followed by a thin stretchy sheet of plastic.

EyeSight wonkiness

The teardown did seemingly answer problems with the low resolution and dim images it displays, as brought up in some reviews. Rather than displaying one set of eyes, the EyeSight display actually shows multiple videos, with the use of widening and lenticular layers alongside OLED.

The technique was used so that different videos could be shown from different angles creating a form of stereoscopic 3D effect for observers.

Other elements explored in the teardown include the automatic interpupillary distance adjustment system, the layering of displays and hardware, and the wide array of sensors.

Praising the Vision Pro as "insanely ambitious" with some flaws, such as weight and the tethered battery, the repair team stops short of providing an actual "repairability" score, but admits "it's not great, but on the plus side, some of the connections are quite delightful." The teardown team was apparently excited with the revelation about the SIM-removal tool's use on the side arms.