
Simply days after its initial availability in few developed markets, DIY restore authority iFixit has managed to get the HomePod for an in depth teardown. The iFixit teardown, which includes 19 steps, highlights the main challenges in repairing the newest sensible speaker by Apple. It additionally reveals what makes the HomePod a definite providing in comparison with the Amazon Echo and Google Home audio system. The HomePod went on sale within the US, UK, and Australia final week with a price ticket of $349 (roughly Rs. 22,400).
The iFixit workforce says that the HomePod is “constructed like a tank” with an enhanced sturdy design that’s not straightforward to destroy. The strong construct of the HomePod is roofed with a 3D acoustic mesh that protects the interior elements from mud and particles. Dismantling the tank-like construct isn’t troublesome, and the iFixit people thus used a warmth gun to peel panels off from the highest, and a knife helped to chop by way of the wire mesh. There’s a drawstring all alongside the mesh to supply a non-destructive option to get into the HomePod, although. The mesh is discovered to have a net-like layer on the highest and backside with some tiny wiry coils in between, permitting sound waves to journey by way of cloth with minimal reflection. After slicing the mesh, iFixit mentions the presence of a secondary, inner cloth sleeve that protects internals.
As soon as the mesh was eliminated, the iFixit workforce used a small hacksaw to launch the woofer from the highest. The woofer includes a board on its high that features a Texas Devices-made LED driver and a Cypress programmable SoC that work in tandem with Siri and presents a cloudy look. Additional, the principle logic board that [has the Apple A8 chip, which is prone to be coupled with 1GB of RAM, and consists of 16GB NAND flash sits simply above of the woofer compartment.
Photograph Credit score: iFixit
The iFixit workforce notes that Apple has elevated the journey of the voice coil so as to add a large magnet that leads to high quality bass notes. After analyzing the woofer, the iFixit workforce managed to get deeper into the HomePod and noticed varied elements, together with a horn-loaded tweeter that’s aimed to extend a speaker’s effectivity and management the course of its sound – simply as a gramophone. There are vents on the facet of the voice coil bobbin on the tweeter that the iFixit workforce believes to assist stop air stress from build up behind the tweeter to finally restrict audio distortion.
Whereas Apple has used customary screws on the HomePod, iFixit states that some “very robust adhesives” safe a lot of the construct, together with the contact enter cowl, microphone array, and rubber foot. All this makes it fairly troublesome to restore the Apple speaker – even at an expert lab just like the one owned by the iFixit people. Thus, the HomePod has obtained a repairability rating of 1 out of 10 on iFixit’s meter.