HomePod Teardown Reveals Hidden 14-Pin Connector, 16GB Storage, and Very Low RepairabilityiFixit has completed an
exhaustive teardown of the HomePod and found that, while the speaker appears to have a simple design on the outside, it will likely be extremely difficult for customers to complete do-it-yourself repairs.
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HomePod's mesh has a drawstring</center>
The teardown experts, who admit there might be a better way to open the HomePod that they've yet to learn, were forced to use a variety of tools to gain access to the internal components, including a heat gun, a guitar pick, a knife, and after all else failed, even a hacksaw and an ultrasonic cutter.
Underneath the rubber foot, iFixit found a hidden 14-pin connector that they speculate is probably used to test or program HomePods on pogo pins during assembly in Taiwan. Given the port sits below a layer of strong adhesive, it's unclear if it will be used for any other purpose, such as diagnostic testing.
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HomePod's hidden 14-pin port</center>
Digging further, the team found the HomePod has an Apple A8 chip, as advertised, likely paired with 1GB of RAM layered underneath. There's also a 16GB flash storage chip from Toshiba, although users can't store songs on the speaker directly, as music must be streamed from Apple Music or an AirPlay source.
HomePod also has a two-part power supply, composed of an inner block handling the AC/DC conversion, and an outer ring distributing power to all eight of the speakers. The seven tweeters each have a conductive screw post.
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In the end, the teardown concludes that the HomePod is very durable, but extremely difficult to open. This might explain why Apple is
charging $279 to replace the HomePod entirely if it is damaged, unless only the power cable is damaged, in which case
Apple charges a more reasonable $29 fee to have it repaired.
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There's also
AppleCare+ for HomePod, which adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $39 in the United States, plus the upfront cost of the plan. But even then, it still appears that Apple is simply replacing damaged HomePods outright beyond power cable repairs.
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HomePod</div><div class="linkback">Tags:
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HomePod (Buy Now)</div>
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HomePod Teardown Reveals Hidden 14-Pin Connector, 16GB Storage, and Very Low Repairability
