iFixit teardown: Apple’s AirPods are “disappointingly disposable”

Well this is pointless. I get that they need to keep relevance and clicks going but the entire earphone/headphone industry is disposable outside of a few pro grade (usually including custom fittings) products that make up a tiny and incredibly expensive segment of that market that Apple is not targeting.

Why attempt to hold Apple to a higher standard than, say, Sennheiser, Sony, Bose etc

The article also links to an iFixit teardown of the Galaxy Buds, which got a much better repairability score. They’re very similar products, I think that’s a fair comparison.

Is it technically possible to design an Airpod where the bottom part (which contains the battery), can be screwed on and off to replace or recharge the battery?

Sure, if you want million of people to lose their batteries every other week.

I bet Apple said to their engineers something like “if you can improve performance by gluing components and other non-repairable things please do”. It hurts their business having the upgrade cycle being every 30 months rather than every 18 months.