Teardown

iFixit finds smaller battery, reworked internals in iPad Air 2 teardown

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As the new iPads begin arriving in stores and on doorsteps, iFixit has gotten its hands on an iPad Air 2 and performed its usual teardown ritual. Upon popping the tablet open, the team discovered a more powerful processor, 2GB of RAM, and a smaller battery.

The processor is of course the new A8X, which is similar to the A8 in the iPhone 6 but with improved graphics. The RAM is comprised of two 1GB Elpida F8164A3MD sticks placed on either side of the A8X, and the battery is of the 27.62 Whr; 7,340 mAh variety.

New iPhones use two accelerometers for better power management

Cody Lee ∙ September 27, 2014

Apple is using two accelerometers in both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Chipworks has discovered in its extensive teardowns of the two handsets. The first is the three-axis BMA280 accelerometer, made by Bosch, and the second is believed to be InvenSense's six-axis MPU-6700.

Why two? Interestingly enough, Chipworks believes that Apple decided to go with two accelerometers to improve power management and overall user experience. The InvenSense is more sensitive, and can do more things, than the Bosch, but it also draws a lot more power.

iPhone 6 Plus teardown reveals 1GB of RAM, high-capacity battery

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

We've still got a good 8 hours or so before the iPhone goes on sale here in the US, but it's already begun flying off the shelves in Australia. And as usual, the folks over at iFixit were on hand at the launch to grab one of the new iPhone 6 Plus models for their customary teardown.

After popping the handset open, the team discovers what it says is a very similar layout to the iPhone 5s, albeit a much bigger battery. In line with the rumors, the battery is rated at 3.82 V and 11.1 Wh of energy, for a total of 2915 mAh—nearly double the capacity of last year's 5s.

Google using Apple’s PrimeSense in ‘Project Tango’ smartphone, beating Apple to the punch

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Google has beat Apple to the punch by using PrimeSense's Capri PS1200 3D imaging system-on-a-chip in the Project Tango smartphone, before Apple could in its iPhone line-up, the teardown specialists over at iFixit found.

PrimeSense is the 3D technology sensing company Apple acquired for $350 million late-November 2013, and its chips weren't expected to be found in Google's Project Tango smartphone given the fierce competition between the two companies. Only Movidius Myriad 1 3D-sensing chips were expected, but Apple's PrimeSense showed up as well...

iFixit performs the ultimate teardown, rips apart the original 128k Macintosh

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2014

Repair wizards over at iFixit have decided to do something insanely great in honor of the 30th Macintosh anniversary - they tore apart the vintage 128K Macintosh, the original Mac system that jumpstarted the personal computer revolution.

Back then (in 1984), the Mac had an 8MHz (that's megahertz, not gigahertz like today's processors) 68000 CPU from Motorola and a nine-inch black and white CRT display sporting a very non-Retina resolution of 512-by-342 pixels, just thirteen percent more pixels than the original 2007 iPhone.

The operating system and applications purred along happily using just 128KB of DRAM. 1,024 kilobytes is one megabyte and to give you some context - 128KB is less RAM than the iDownloadBlog logo image.

Its then revolutionary Sony-made 3.5-inch floppy disk provided 400 kilobytes of total storage. Jump past the fold for a remarkable blast from the past...

Retina iPad mini teardown: LG Display Retina panel, larger battery, A7 and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Yesterday, I wondered on Twitter what was taking the repair magicians over at iFixit so long to do their ritual teardown of Apple's stealthily-released iPad mini with Retina display. My prayers have been listened to as iFixit has torn apart the device, revealing its guts and components for the whole world to see. As you could imagine, they found an Apple-designed A7 chip inside, slightly underclocked versus the iPad Air.

On top of that, there are usual suspects in terms of wireless and supporting chips. As for the titular update to this iPad mini - the Retina display - the teardown analysis has identified an LG Display-supplied 7.9-inch in-plane switching LCD with a 2,048-by-1,536 screen resolution.

While the resolution is the same as the iPad 3/4/Air, the images are crisper at 326 pixels per inch (264 ppi on the iPad Air) due to a shrunken form factor, as noted MacStories editor Federico Viticci noted in his hands-on article.

Other tidbits follow...

iFixit gives iPad Air the teardown treatment

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The iPad Air launched online and in retail stores around the globe this morning, and like clockwork, the folks over at iFixit have already ripped it apart. The teardown gives us a closeup look at the components inside the tablet.

And this is particularly interesting this year, as Apple has completely redesigned the 5th gen iPad to be thinner, lighter and more powerful than its predecessor. You'll find photos of its A7 chip, 5mp camera and more after the fold...

iFixIt tears apart the iPhone 5c

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 20, 2013

Just a few hours ahead of the iPhone 5s/5c launch in the United States and an additional ten major international markets, the repair wizards over at iFixIt gave the flagship iPhone 5s its usual teardown treatment. But wait, these guys are really quick - they've also posted their ritual teardown of another new iPhone, the gorgeous plastic iPhone 5c. I've included the most interesting tidbits and a nice video right after the break...

iFixit gives the iPhone 5s the teardown treatment

Cody Lee ∙ September 19, 2013

Though we’ve still got a good 10 hours or so before the iPhone 5s officially goes on sale here in the US, the handset has already landed in Australia and other countries. And from what we're hearing , stock is extremely limited.

But wouldn't you know it, the folks over at iFixit managed to snag one, and have already started their teardown ritual. And you know what that means: hi-res photos of the new A7 chip, Touch ID sensor and more coming up...

The new AirPort Extreme can house SATA hard drive, teardown reveals

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2013

Apple at Monday’s WWDC 2013 keynote briefly mentioned its refreshed AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule wireless appliances which now support Gigabit Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11ac, for three times throughput of 802.11an. In unveiling the sixth-generation AirPort Extreme, Apple's marketing honcho Phil Schiller somewhat cryptically alluded that the redesigned base station might accept internal storage.

“There’s also room in there for a hard drive,” he quipped. Sure enough, teardown wizards over at iFixit bought a brand spanking new unit and tore it apart, finding 3.5 inches of empty space inside...

Teardown of 16GB iPod touch reveals few internal changes

Cody Lee ∙ June 1, 2013

Earlier this week, Apple released a new version of its fifth generation iPod touch. It features 16GB of storage space, and no rear iSight camera or lanyard hook. But other than that, and a few minor cosmetic details, it looks fairly similar to its larger siblings.

And it turns out, the new touch looks familiar on the inside as well. The repair experts over at iFixit just finished up their usual new device teardown ritual, and found very few notable internal changes...

Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that - rumor mongering - Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)...