iFixit Teardown Confirms AirPods Pro 3 Are Still Unrepairable, Earn 0/10 Score [Video]

iFixit has published its teardown of the new AirPods Pro 3. Unsurprisingly, the earbuds remain as unrepairable as their predecessors, leading to another zero out of ten on iFixit's repairability scale.

As with previous generations, gaining access to the internal components required destroying the earbuds. The teardown shows the familiar process of cutting through the plastic housing, revealing a dense layout of components held together by copious amounts of glue. iFixit notes that this construction makes any kind of non-destructive entry impossible.

The teardown does offer our first look at the new hardware Apple announced earlier this month, including the new heart rate sensor. While it's an impressive feat of engineering to pack the photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor in so tightly, it also highlights how difficult it would be to replace any single component.


The core issue remains the limited lifespan. The teardown confirms the use of a small, non-replaceable button-cell battery. Once that battery wears out, replacement isn't a realistic option for the average user or even most professional repair shops, effectively turning the premium earbuds into disposable electronics.

The redesigned charging case, which features new touch controls in place of the physical pairing button, fared no better. iFixit's disassembly shows it is also sealed with adhesive, making access to its internal battery just as destructive as accessing the batteries in the earbuds themselves.

The new AirPods Pro 3 are currently on sale for $239, a $10 discount from their regular price. You can track the price history of the new AirPods Pro 3 and set up instant price drop alerts with the iClarified AirPods Price Tracker.

You can watch iFixit's full teardown video below. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more teardown videos.