Apple has finally dragged AirPods repairability above zero.
iFixit gave the new AirPods 5 a 2 out of 10, which is still dreadful by almost any reasonable standard. For AirPods, though, it’s progress. Previous generations spent years pinned at zero thanks to sealed batteries and construction that made repair more destructive than practical.
The change comes from the earbuds themselves. Their batteries can now be accessed and removed without destroying the housing, making AirPods 5 the most repairable model Apple has released so far.
Apple has gone back to a pronged battery design held in place by two removable adhesive strips.
We’ve Given AirPods 0/10 for 10 Years. Until Now. pic.twitter.com/6YlxBoKf9e
Opening the earbuds still takes some care. Too much heat near the stem can damage the plastic, but warming the driver housing at a lower temperature allowed it to separate cleanly.
The bigger surprise is how little equipment the job needs. A household hairdryer on a low setting was enough to soften the adhesive before the battery was removed with a clamp.
There’s still a catch. The left and right batteries aren’t interchangeable because their polarity is reversed and the contact prongs sit differently.
The charging case is where Apple’s repairability progress falls apart.
Getting inside still requires destructive prying and cutting that damages the plastic. Components are also secured with melted plastic welds instead of removable screws, turning what should be a battery replacement into something closer to an autopsy.
That helps explain why the overall repairability score is still just 2 out of 10. The earbuds have taken a meaningful step forward, while the case remains designed around replacement rather than repair.
A 2 out of 10 repairability score is still bad. AirPods 5 also lack official repair manuals and replacement parts, so easier access doesn’t suddenly make them friendly to DIY repairs. That becomes more relevant once their batteries inevitably start losing capacity.
Still, the score breaks a decade-long pattern of complete unrepairability. Battery replacement inside the earbuds is now physically possible without sacrificing the product in the process.
Apple hasn’t exactly joined the right-to-repair revolution here. But after years of zeroes, clearing the lowest possible bar is apparently enough to make AirPods history.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.