ifixit took apart new AirPods Pro in a teardown of Apple. Not surprisingly: the AirPods Pro are ready for the garbage after two years.
You can find all the pictures here at ifixit.
As usual Apple has glued the case completely. The included button cell is soldered into the rest of the electronics. With a lot of effort it might be possible to change it but the bottom line is that it will be uneconomical. Apple continues to position the high-tech product as a continuous item, which after two years is forced to end up on the garbage, which is quite disappointing.
Some current MacBook keyboards have a similar durability. Their mechanics should become more durable again in the next generation, so that they last longer. Perhaps Apple will also introduce a more sustainable hardware design for earphones.
The comparison with the Sony WF-1000XM3 shows that the choice of design and the planned obsolescence are fully intentional: The Sonys can be opened non-destructively and after loosening two screws the button cell battery can be replaced directly. So if you want to limit the production of electrical waste even on a small scale, you can choose the excellent Sonys.
