teardown
Latest
Google explores texting from your browser
Google's Android Messages app could soon get a dramatic makeover with some interesting new features, judging by an APK teardown by XDA Developers and Android Police. Most significantly, it looks like you'll be able to pair your phone with a computer and text directly from a browser like Chrome, Firefox and Safari, much as you can with Google's Allo messaging app.
Take a peek inside the iPhone X
As they tend to do, the folks at iFixit have descended upon Apple's latest creation to pull it apart piece by piece. While we didn't spot any fairie dust spilling out of the iPhone X, they did dig into its TrueDepth camera system (above) that enables all those new recognition features like FaceID and Animoji. Interestingly, Apple decided to rely on a dual-celled battery design to better utilize space behind the nearly-all-screen OLED display. In total, it packs 2,716mAh, which is just a bit larger than the iPhone 8 Plus (2,691mAh) but smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus (2,900mAh) and Galaxy Note 8 (3,300 mAh).
Don't even try to repair the Essential Phone
The Essential PH-1 (aka Essential Phone) is designed to withstand dents and scratches, but what happens if something breaks on the inside? You can forget about fixing it yourself, apparently. The DIY repair crew at iFixit has torn down Essential's handset, and it's obvious that you're not meant to poke around inside. For one thing, iFixit had to freeze the phone (and break the LCD) just to get inside -- and even then, it still had to get past a mid-frame shield. The USB-C port is soldered on to motherboard, and the abundance of adhesives makes it likely that you'll break something if you somehow didn't wreck the screen going in.
iFixit rips out the Galaxy Note Fan Edition's new battery
Now that Samsung has officially relaunched its troubled Galaxy Note 7 as a "Fan Edition," the folks at iFixit couldn't help but dive back in. As you'd guess, Samsung has chosen to deal with the Note 7's unfortunate tendency to explode by going to the root of the problem -- the battery. By swapping in a 12.32 Wh unit instead of the original 13.48Wh unit, it should have enough room to avoid either of the issues observed previously. The only problems now are that these are only available in South Korea, and the Galaxy Note 8 is right around the corner.
Juicero's unnecessary complexity makes it unnecessarily pricey
Juicero came under fire after Bloomberg showed that you don't need its $400 (previously $700) machine to squeeze juice out of its proprietary fruit and vegetable packets. All you need are your hands and a bit of force. But why is the company's WiFi-connected juicer so expensive anyway? Ben Einstein, a product designer and founder of venture capital firm Bolt, has taken a Juicero apart to figure out what's underneath its glossy white plastic exterior and found a machine of "unnecessary complexity."
Recommended Reading: iFixit wants to show you how to repair everything
Meet the $21 Million Company That Thinks a New iPhone Is a Total Waste of Money David Whitford, Inc. We're no stranger to iFixit's in-depth teardowns here at Engadget, but the company has a plan that's much more than ripping apart the latest gadgets to see what's inside. Inc. takes a look at how the the company is helping the masses repair everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances and why they offer guides for doing so free of charge.
How to stop the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con from losing sync
It seems as if your left Nintendo Switch Joy-Con hasn't lost sync with the console yet, it's only a matter of time before that could happen. As we saw in iFixit's teardown of the console, the pair are almost identical save for a few things like antenna placement. And that's where the problem resides according to YouTube user Spawn Wave.
iFixit teardown reveals what's inside a Nintendo Switch
Now that Nintendo's newest console is on store shelves you may be familiar with the outside of it, but what's inside? The crew at iFixit has completed its teardown of the Switch, pulling apart the console and those Joy-Con controllers. Within, they predictably came across its NVIDIA Tegra CPU, a total of 4GB of RAM and a 16Wh battery.
Apple's tiny, totally wireless AirPods get meticulously torn down
After having been delayed for months -- for reasons never publicly confirmed, no less -- Apple's AirPods are finally here. And really, what better to way to celebrate one of the most curious delays in Apple history than by tearing those things apart? The folks at iFixit have done just that (as always), and the end result is a fascinating look at $160 worth of meticulously crafted silicon and audio parts. Spoiler alert: there's more glue in them than you'd think.
The new MacBook Pro is more appliance than PC
It almost goes without saying that modern Apple devices are tough to repair or upgrade, but the Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro might just take the cake. An iFixit teardown of the 13-inch model reveals that there are even fewer replaceable parts than before. The solid-state drive is embedded on the motherboard (even the non-Touch Bar model has a removable card), to begin with -- whatever capacity you choose is what you'll have for the life of the system. The Touch Bar, as you might guess, isn't exactly easy to replace. And while having a fingerprint reader in the power button is very convenient for sign-ins and purchases, that also makes repairs complicated. The button is tied to a chip on the motherboard (since it needs a secure element), so you can't just slip in an aftermarket component and call it a day.
Google Home teardown confirms two mics and Chromecast's chips
See those parts meticulously laid out in the image above? That's what a Google Home looks like after it's been torn down by iFixit. The team known for dismantling the hottest gadgets has opened up Mountain View's Echo competitor to confirm that it has two microphones. Echo has seven, but Google says Home has the capability to differentiate voice patterns from background noise despite having fewer mics. iFixit also had déjà vu while looking at its parts, because the chips on its motherboard (besides a semi-conductor) appeared in the 2015 version of Chromecast.
Ben Heck's PlayStation 4 Slim teardown
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Voiding warranties is what we do best here on The Ben Heck Show, and a new game console gives us the perfect opportunity. Join Ben as he tears down the Sony PlayStation 4 Slim to find out what makes it tick, and how it compares to Microsoft's Xbox One Slim. From creating their own Blu-ray solution (you know, just because they can) to questioning the build quality, Ben guides us through the design decisions Sony made when building the PS4 Slim. The real question you might be wondering, though, is: Can Ben turn it into a portable console? Probably yes, but more importantly, what would you like to see us do with it? let us know at the element14 Community.
Sony's PlayStation VR teardown video is a soothing diversion
Sony's PlayStation VR headset might not have the graphics horsepower of the HTC Vive or the Oculus Rift, but the lower price tag, the widely available PS4 hardware and bigger game selection make it an attractive option for an entry-level VR rig. Of course, none of that matters when you're watching it get slowly and methodically dismantled by Sony Interactive's mechanical design director Takamasa Araki.
iPhone 7 teardown reveals the Intel modem inside
Back in June, Intel mobile exec Navin Shenoy told Engadget that despite cancelling its mobile-focused SoFIA chip, the company is "not done experimenting and looking for opportunities to do something different" and some evidence of that is now available. The iPhone 7 just launched, so naturally the teardown artists at Chipworks pulled a US-bound A1778 model apart only to find an Intel-built modem, RF transceiver and power management chips inside. This confirms an earlier Bloomberg rumor that Intel would replace Qualcomm in some versions of the phone (iFixit found a Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 7 Plus it took apart).
iPhone 7 Plus teardown reveals bigger Taptic Engine (update)
iFixit has given Apple's latest plus-sized flagship phone the same treatment it gave its older siblings. It's currently in the midst of tearing down an iPhone 7 Plus, taking it apart piece by piece to give us a more complete picture of what's going on inside that rose gold facade. The team already tore down the part where the headphone jack used to be, and it looks like Apple really didn't make room for the 3.5mm port. That corner of the phone also contains the Taptic Engine, which looks much, much bigger than the one inside the 6s Plus. Makes sense, since the Home button now makes the phone vibrate when you push it.
Samsung Note 7 teardown reveals waterproof components
iFixit, famous destroyer of gadgets for the good of all humankind, has busted out its arsenal of teardown tools to take apart a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In the team's quest to see every single component inside the phone, they found several sealed components that make the device waterproof. If you'll recall, the phone is rated IP68, which means it can withstand being submerged for up to 30 minutes or five feet underwater. The teardown reveals that the company achieved that rating by protecting the device's headphone jack with a sealing gasket, the speaker with several layers of material and its S Pen chamber with copious amounts of glue, among other measures.
Xbox One S teardown reveals a simpler, speedier design
If you're a console gamer, you've probably been wondering: how did Microsoft manage to shrink the Xbox One S so much compared to its predecessor? And importantly, did it have to make any big sacrifices in the process? iFixit will be more than happy to show you. The DIY repair shop just tore down the Xbox One S, and it's clear that nothing has been lost in the move to a smaller size... in fact, there are a couple of pleasant surprises.
Ben Heck's Nintendo PlayStation prototype teardown, part 1
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){} It was originally thought to be a rumor: a games console that combined Sony and Nintendo hardware. Now Ben Heck proves it does exist. Thanks to Terry and Dan Diebold, who approached The Ben Heck Show team with the console, Ben was able to give you an exclusive teardown of the elusive Super Nintendo / Famicom and Sony PlayStation hybrid console. While taking apart the device, called the SFX-100, Ben guides us through the post-production alterations made to fix the prototype and gives us a tour of all the components on the board, including a custom audio chip and standard Sony integrated circuits. We also compare the system to similar consoles at the time, such as the PC Engine / TurboGRAFX-16 and the Sega MegaCD. The real question is, can we get it working? Let us know what you think of the teardown over at the element14 Community, where you can also interact with The Ben Heck Show team and learn more about Nintendo and Sony's history.
Ben Heck tears down the legendary Nintendo PlayStation
We got a good, close look at the Nintendo PlayStation last year and even talked to Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida about it, but have you ever wondered about everything inside the ill-fated game console? Ben Heckendorn, aka Ben Heck, is happy to show you. The homebrew gadget expert has conducted an extensive teardown of the cancelled system (the same one we saw, even) that shows exactly what it's made of. While it's evident that Sony had the largest role in the machine, this was very much a collaboration -- you'll find a mix of both Nintendo and Sony chips in this prototype, on top of the occasional third-party component.
iFixit tears apart the 9.7-inch iPad Pro
The repair-it-yourself crew at iFixit isn't done prying open Apple's smaller devices. It just finished a teardown of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro that reveals exactly how Cupertino stuffed most of the tablet's larger sibling (plus a bit more) into a more compact frame. As you might have guessed, Apple had to get creative. Where the 12.9-inch model revolved around its four speakers, the 9.7-inch version centers around its 7,306mAh battery (slightly larger than that of the iPad Air 2) and pushes just about everything else to the margins. And there appears to be a good reason for the camera bump -- you're getting the same 12-megapixel optically stabilized camera as in the iPhone 6s Plus, which chews up a lot of internal space.
