Unlike the first HomePod, the new model isn't a nightmare to open

Opening the new HomePod is much easier than opening the previous model. I fix it

The HomePod's woofer is something to behold; you can see it in action in the video. I fix it

iFixit found a big heatsink. I fix it

iFixit has posted a short video of a teardown of the new second-generation HomePod which launched on February 3 for $299. There may not be as much to see as there is in an iPhone or Mac teardown, but the important thing is that this is relatively good news for repair shops or users looking to go for repair by DIY.

When iFixit did its first teardown of the original HomePod, it was an ugly sight - plastic parts stuck together required prying, and parts had to be destroyed to get in at all. The original video was a little comical to watch how extreme the process was - Apple clearly had no intention of anyone other than its own technicians opening the device.

People eventually found better ways to do it, but it was never simple or easy. The discontinuation of this first HomePod was certainly good news for many repairers.

Fortunately, the story is much rosier with the second-generation HomePod that launched a week ago. Turns out this time, you just need to remove a few screws and pry - Apple has ditched the adhesive-heavy approach seen in the first HomePod. It's still something only experienced repairers should do, but it's a huge improvement over the previous model.

[embedded content] iFixit HomePod teardown

Once inside, iFixit found a huge heat sink and postulated that it was there to prevent the high temperatures from distorting the sound. iFixit also located the humidity sensor and determined that it was the same sensor in the HomePod mini.

All in all, iFixit found it much easier to maintain than the first HomePod, but noted that there's still some testing to be done regarding any software locks that make things more complicated than they should be. be.

Image of listing by iFixit