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Comment by skyyler | Hacker News Reader

That doesn't differ from their other offerings...

Their laptops and phones do not have replaceable batteries, why would their headphones?

The batteries in the other items are replaceable, it’s just not easy. In my understanding, the AirPods batteries simply aren’t replaceable at all.

Then it’s just a matter of what you think is easy enough to be called replaceable. I would wager for most consumers a MacBook battery is not in that category.

There are repair shops for 'most consumers'. They do great work, but even they can't fix an Airpod.

That most consumers will come to Apple with their laptop for a service and Genius will replace the battery. Will genius replace the battery for their AirPods?

Yes (though in practice, they're probably just swapping the unit and sending the original back to be refurbished). https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service

When they “replaced the battery” on my dads iPad Pro they just sent him a new one. I don’t know if that holds for MacBooks as well, it might depend on the model: the 12” MacBook’s layered battery might be pretty hard to replace.

No, not really.

Practically, an iPhone battery is replaceable in you average mall tech shop in a mid sized town. In the 5/6 era, it was a 30 minute job if you’re being slow and careful. (I’ve got 3 screen replacements and 2 battery swaps under my belt from that era).

My understanding of the AirPods is that the complexity level is more akin to component level fixes for a main phone board. I’d expect that there are people who can do it, but they’re rare, and they’ve got specialized equipment, and it’s probably not worth it for an earphone battery.

Those batteries are replaceable, just not by you (officially anyway).

And for $49 each, Apple will replace the batteries in your airpods. (they probably just replace them)

If they aren't replaceable by you, they aren't replaceable.

You can buy a third-party battery an install it in other products with a bit of work. You cannot do this for AirPods.

If that's true, it actually sounds like a good deal.

https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service

It is true, and it is indeed a pretty decent deal. $49 over the course of a few years is imo a reasonable price I am willing to pay for this. They also have a similar reasonably-priced battery replacement program for iPhones as well.

The batteries are not replaceable, at all.

> An update to Monday’s report: Apple has confirmed that the new AirPods Pro are no more repairable than previous versions of the wireless earbuds. The pods are made partly with recyclable materials but due to size and build process (i.e glue) it doesn’t repair. Just replace.

https://twitter.com/LaurenGoode/status/1189663651214450688

I believe they were referring to the batteries in their other products, not the airpods.

That’s false. I’ve had the battery in my Apple laptops and phones replaced many times. They even monitor its health and tell you when to replace it.

> Their laptops and phones do not have replaceable batteries, why would their headphones?

That's like comparing a car to wheels. Laptops/phones have infinitely more use cases to them. Headphones are accessories.

Except their laptops and phones totally do...

What are you talking about?

Every iPhone since the 8 has had a strip of glue holding the battery down. They aren't intended to be serviced, especially not by users.

They're basically 3M Command Strips. They even have a pull tab. Calling it glue is being totally disingenuous.

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