Steps 1–14: Teardown
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Step 9
Removing the internals. There's a single connector that attaches the logic board and battery to the rest of the iPod.
The form factor of this iPod shares more similarities with the original iPod Shuffle than its immediate predecessor.
Step 10
It's in three pieces now. There are not many parts in this iPod.
This is not a surprise, but like all other Shuffles, the battery is soldered to the logic board. Apple does offer a battery replacement service, but $49 is pretty steep considering the entire iPod was only $79.
Step 11
The headphone jack and shuffle switch come out as one unit.
The back of the casing is stamped 09/03/03. If that means March 3rd of 2009, then this Shuffle has been assembled for no more than nine days.
In the third picture, you can see the white translucent piece of plastic to the left of the headphone jack. This serves to transmit the the LED status light to the outside of the iPod.
Step 12
Apple's claimed battery life on this iPod is 10 hours. That's two hours less than the previous Shuffles.
The 3.7 volt lithium-polymer battery lists a capacity of 0.27 watt-hours.
To calculate the capacity in amp-hours, we know P(power) = I(amps)*V(volts), so I = P/V. That yields a capacity of about .073 amp-hours, or 73 mAh. That's definitely record-breakingly small in terms of iPod batteries.
Step 13
The primary (and only) chip, which is a multi-layered stack containing the CPU, RAM, and 4GB of flash memory. According to its markings, the chip was manufactured in week 7 (late February) of 2009.
A quick look at the innards of the earbuds' controls -- nothing too exciting.
Step 14
The complete innards of the shuffle.
We found a dime in our shuffle.
Please don't open your shuffles to look for a dime. There was no dime in our shuffle.
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Anyone know the vendor, part of type of connector welded to the flex and used to join the two halves of the electronics together?
It looks like it might be an Omron (or equivalent) board-to-FPC connector.
It looks like there's some chipping to the anodizing around the edges.. do you think it will be possible to open these without the chipping?
iFixit Staff
It's definitely possible -- but with a careful hand, patience, and advance knowledge of how the rear cover is held in place. For the First Look we had two of three. We had to pry the rear cover a bit more than necessary to figure out what mechanisms are holding it in place.
Any chance of a shot of the included headphones w/remote? I've yet to actually see those anywhere.
perhaps place all three parts together facing up? because im confused of which part is which. Also, i understand that u guys arent complete with this guide yet
thanks (shown in step 14)
That's almost not a battery any more - more like a capacitor! What's really amazing to me is that they get 10 hours of music out of 73 mAh. That's progress.
Any chance we can get a wiring diagram of the earbud control in case we get tired of waiting for an adapter?
Yes, please investigate the headset more if you could, would love a diagram and to see the other side of the button PCB. I have been really wanting to see more details about the remote with mic internals and if there are any chips involved. (not likely given the size)
Wiring schematic would be amazing seeing as there is no place online that provides them as of yet.
Yep, me too! The EFF is claiming that there is DRM in the remote interface, based on very weak evidence: the ilounge people heard some beeping and assumed it was some sort of DRM.
If pictures aren't easy to do, I'd like to know if there is an IC back there, or just a couple of resistors.
Thanks, and awesome work as usual!
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/app...-adds-still-more-drm-ipod-shuffle
When you disassembled the headphone, did you notice any kind of authentication chip? There's a small brouhaha going on sparked by a reviewer on iLounge.com asserting that the an Apple authentication chip is required for the headphones to work with the new shuffle. I find it a little hard to believe that there is such a chip in the headphones, so just wondering if you saw anything unusual. Thanks.
I came especially to ask this question. A lot of people are really interested to know this.
We just cracked it open and took a look. We have chip!
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/03/14...-found-the-chip-in.html
Sorry for the double post. Here's an article that says that the chip is just a control circuit chip. It is not used for DRM. A bit of a tempest in a teapot, eh?
http://www.ipodobserver.com/ipo/article/...
umm, a larger picture and a picture with things flipped to the other sides maybe? i really love seeing this... THANKS.
iFixit Staff
Here are the front and back high resolution shots of the main internals.
Why no shot of the back of the dime?
I agree. Can you retake to include the back of the dime?
Come on guys, it's a first Look. Nice piece of kit anyway, i got an iphone but I'm still tempted to buy a Shuffe!