In a recent teardown, popular repair site iFixit rated the new AirPods Pro 3 a 0 out of 10 for repairability. This means that the repair process is so difficult that most consumers and repair technicians will not be able to fix or replace internal components without permanently damaging the buds.
The new AirPods Pro 3 can be stellar in terms of sound quality, but it fails in one regard to consumers. Popular repair site iFixit, which has given the new TWS earbuds by Apple a 0 out of 10 in repairability, said so. This is largely owed to extremely challenging task of removing and replacing batteries.
When iFixit disassembled the AirPods Pro 3 in its recent teardown, the team completely destroyed the buds in the process of accessing the battery, causing disastrous results to the buds. The charging case did not fair better as it was also doomed to the same unrecoverable destiny.
The challenge with battery replacement is mainly the fact that Apple has been gluing the cells that power both the buds and charging case, so they are practically impossible to remove.
According to iFixit, this is a continuation of the in-ear wireless earbuds made by Apple. The 1/0 rating was also given to the original AirPods and, as of today, to every base model or Pro of the AirPods. It follows that when the cells in the buds or charging case surrender the ghost, what consumers can do is to hurl them in the bin and purchase another.
It must be mentioned that strictly speaking the AirPods Pro 3 are not completely unrepairable, but that is kind of saying you are technically never in a position to be hit by lightning; the process itself is so tricky that even a professional repairman would run the risk of permanently destroying them when doing so (this is why the score is 0/10).
If repairability isn’t a concern for you, you can buy the AirPods Pro 3 from Amazon for $249.
