The gang at iFixIt, who tears apart tech gadgets and looks at their innards so you don’t have to, has disassembled one of Apple’s new 11-inch iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil 2. The tablet earns a mere 3 out of 10 on the repairability score.
“Apple replaced last year’s Lightning port with a fully modular USB-C port—a huge win for repair,” says iFixIt. “But four of the eight speakers are epoxied into the case, making them completely unreplaceable. And while the battery has repair-friendly stretch-release adhesive with twelve pull tabs, a final bit of tough conventional adhesive stymies what should be an easy battery replacement.”
You should read the entire iPad Pro 11” Teardown, but highlights include:
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Regarding the Apple Penci 2, an entire capacitive grid is wrapped around the body. This is likely used to register tap inputs, but this grid ought to help the Pencil know where—not just when—you tap. Could more complex gestures be on the way?
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This iPad’s 29.45 Wh battery is a slight downgrade from the 30.8 Wh pack in the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and a lot smaller than the most recent Microsoft Surface Pro’s 45 Wh battery.
