iFixit has posted a short teardown video of the new second-generation HomePod, which was released on February 3rd and is priced at $299. There may not be much to see in an iPhone or Mac teardown, but the important thing is that this is relatively good news for repair shops or users who want to go the DIY repair route.
Over time, people have come up with better ways to do this, but it has never been simple or easy. The discontinuation of this first HomePod was certainly welcome news for many repairers.
Fortunately, the story with the second generation HomePod, released a week ago, has become much rosier. It turns out that this time you just need to unscrew a few screws and pry – Apple has abandoned the glue-heavy approach that was in the first HomePod. It’s still something that only experienced repairmen should do, but it’s a huge improvement over the previous model.
Once inside, iFixit discovered a huge heatsink and suggested that it was needed so that high temperatures did not distort the sound. iFixit also detected the humidity sensor and determined it to be the same one found in HomePod mini.
Overall, iFixit thought it was much easier to maintain than the first HomePod, but noted that it has yet to test any possible software locks that complicate matters.
Listing image by iFixit