Apple’s AirPods 5 have made a notable change to the earbuds’ internal design: their batteries can now be accessed and removed without completely destroying the earbuds. A teardown by iFixit found that the new design makes battery replacement more practical than on previous generations, although the AirPods remain difficult to repair overall.
The AirPods 5 use batteries with small pronged connectors rather than soldered leads. After carefully opening the earbuds, iFixit was able to remove the batteries and found that gentle heat, including a hair dryer on a low setting, could help separate the glued housing without destroying it.
However, the batteries in the left and right earbuds have different polarities, meaning they are not interchangeable. Replacement batteries also are not yet widely available, limiting the practicality of the repair for ordinary users.
The biggest problem remains the charging case. iFixit found that reaching its battery still requires damaging the plastic housing, with internal plastic welds making non-destructive access difficult. The teardown ultimately gave the AirPods 5 a 2/10 repairability score, the highest score iFixit has awarded an AirPods model.
The change is still significant compared with earlier AirPods, which have repeatedly scored poorly for repairability because of glued construction and inaccessible batteries. iFixit says the AirPods 5 design gives repair technicians a better chance of replacing worn-out earbud batteries, but the lack of official replacement parts and repair instructions remains a limitation.
