The second part of iFixit’s detailed teardown and review of Apple’s newest product, Apple Vision Pro glasses, has arrived. iFixit, which took a comprehensive look at the internal structure of the device for the first time last week, this time discussed the structure, technical features and repairability of the headset in more detail.
Internal structure and technical features of Apple Vision Pro
Vision Pro attracts attention with its microOLED display panels. Although they don’t technically have 4K resolution, these displays have incredible pixel density. More than 50 Vision Pro pixels can be fitted into the area of an iPhone 15 Pro pixel. While this density is not 4K by traditional standards, it delivers a rich visual experience that exceeds the pixel count of a 4K TV.
The Vision Pro’s main board houses the M2 chip and R1 coprocessor, designed to manage real-time data from the device’s many sensors. These sensors include outward-facing cameras, TrueDepth sensors, LiDAR sensors, IR illuminators and IR cameras.
On the other hand, iFixit also gave details about the battery design of Vision Pro. The “highly engineered” battery design, which is difficult to open without damaging it, includes several hardware features such as temperature sensors and an accelerometer. The custom “mega Lightning” cable delivers more voltage than a standard USB-C package to meet the processing demands of the Vision Pro. iFixit designed its own battery pack to overcome the limitations of Apple’s design, and it provides twice the battery life of the included pack.
The Vision Pro is relatively free of the parts matching practice common in Apple products. This means components can be swapped between glasses without triggering “unrecognized part” warnings. This offers a significant advantage for repair enthusiasts and professionals.
The repairability of the Apple Vision Pro presents a complex picture. The battery has a modular structure and the parts in contact with the user’s skin can be easily replaced. Lens attachments and light seals connect with magnets, simplifying the assembly process. However, the front glass of the glasses poses a significant point of weakness. The brittleness of glass causes even fully functional sensors to be rendered useless by a screen crack, affecting the overall durability and user experience of the headset. Comparatively, Meta’s competing virtual reality headsets have a much more robust design, thanks to plastic outer covers and embedded cameras protected by a separate notch. As a result, iFixit gives the Apple Vision Pro a provisional repairability score of 4 out of 10.