The new detailed images of the first, second, and third generation of the AirPods show how Apple had to make changes to their internal design to include new features.
The main design inspiration for the first- and third-generation AirPods was announced in 2016 The internal battery is the largest component in the first-gen AirPods, taking up the entire space of the long stem. At the bottom of the earpiece, Apple's H1 chip finds its home and a single downfacing microphone.
The internal structure and placement of components had to be completely changed with the first update to the AirPods since their launch. The location of the battery is the most noticeable change highlighted by the scans.
The long-stem design of the Ear Buds was removed by the AirPods Pro. Apple cut the stem to make the whole body shorter, meaning fitting a battery to provide enough charge into the smaller stem was a challenge.
The images are from the Scan of the month.
The battery was put in the head of the AirPods Pro. The head grew in size compared to the first-gen AirPods, and Apple used a printed circuit board to make it smaller. The third microphone placed in the head of the AirPods Pro enabled adaptive EQ, which was included in the AirPods Pro.
The microphones are placed higher in the stem, instead of coming out of the bottom of the stem. The removal of the battery from the stem of the AirPods Pro allowed Apple to include force touch sensors, which allowed users to squeeze the device to pause music, invoke Siri, and more.
The images are from the Scan of the month.
The third-generation AirPods is a mix between the standard AirPods and the AirPods Pro in how it's built, but it is heavy inspiration from the AirPods Pro design. The third-generation AirPods' stem is full of components and a few distributed sensors, similar to the first-gen AirPods, according to the CT scans. The battery is in the head of the AirPods along with new skin-contact sensors.
The next-generation AirPods Pro is expected to have a completely new approach to it. The design and engineering lessons Apple has learned thus far with AirPods, such as being able to fit the battery in the head of the AirPods instead of the stem, are likely to come into greater play with the new AirPods Pro.
The images were provided by "Scan of the Month", a website that takes popular products and puts them under a CT Scan to uncover how they're designed and built. This month's AirPods website is fun and interactive and can be found here.
