Galaxy Buds Pro Teardown: Two Steps Back

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds team has blown us away with their wireless earbud design over the last few years. There was a time not too long ago we didn’t think any wireless earbuds would be repairable. Samsung has proven that it's not only possible, but they make it look easy, and don’t even bother to mention it as a selling point!

Because of that, each new pair of Galaxy Buds that comes out piques our interest: the latest, the Buds Pro, especially calls our attention. Will this be the pair that ends the Galaxy Buds' repairable streak? Or, like the Buds Live before them, will they set a new record for bud repairability? Today, we find out.

We used the Pro Tech Toolkit to disassemble it!

:00 Intro
:32 Opening Buds Pro
:44 Separating Halfs
:51 Chip ID
1:05 Battery Removal
2:03 Opening Buds Pro Case
2:18 Removing Battery
2:33 Motherboard Removal
2:41 Final Thoughts and Score

#GalaxyBudsPro, #Samsung, #Teardown, #iFixit
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[Andriushel]

PLEASE SHOW US THE DUAL DRIVERS !!! IT IS INCREDIBLE YOU STOPPED AT THE DRIVERS !!!

[MeowThingy]

On one hand I feel like the repairability score should be a little higher. You can still non-destructively get inside both them and the case to make repairs. However on the other hand I feel they got what they deserve, because if you accept that the batteries in the buds are soldered on then you're priming yourself to accept these backwards steps in repairability because it's only a small change and everyone else does it anyway. If you don't push back against it then it just keeps on going. Next the battery in the charging case will be soldered in place, and you'll brush that off too for the same reasons. Everyone else does it, it's only a small change, and everything else is accessible and fine. Then next thing you know the screws are proprietary, and you brush it off because it's only a minor inconvenience to have to get a special driver. Next the battery will be attached to the wireless charging coil in such a way that they can't be separated without destroying the coil. So you'll need a new wireless charging coil every time you want to replace the battery that's soldered to the main board anyway. And that'll be brushed off because it's just a minor detail.

I don't think any company would be bold enough to try that last one, but you get the point. Compare that final product to the repairability of the originals and it's a night and day difference. All those little changes you brushed off because they were only small steps backward for repairability compounded into one big slap in the face of hoping to fix anything in the device, and now basically nothing in the device can be repaired. You can't allow yourself to be primed to accept these user-unfriendly changes to devices just because they're small. You'll just end up accepting another, and another, and another, and then you're left with something that resembles the airpods in terms of repairability and you're sitting there asking yourself how it got to that point. So in conclusion then, sure everything else is still accessible and repairable. But in my opinion they do deserve the big hit in their repairability score anyway, especially because their other products have proven that they are capable of producing good earbuds that are also repairable. There's no reason to solder the battery to the board. This isn't their first pair of earbuds. They are well aware that they can produce them without soldering the batteries in place.

Anyway, this post has gone on long enough. You get the point.

[eng]

I like how you've organize the parts at the end.

[Dailyblazer]

Bro I just busted the case on the floor at work and the whole shell, motherboard, and battery popped out hanging by their respective ribbons. It literally broke apart on the ground... and your video helped me put it back together! GG!!!

[zckom]

I think you should have mentioned that it is IPx7 as compared to IPx2 in the previous Buds series. This could make a difference in the design and causing it to be tougher for repair.

[jason]

I'm taking apart my charging case after accidentally putting it through the laundry, and although this video was super helpful, I just love the part where the TOP of the case just magically disappears so he can remove the circuit board.

[pablomorales]

Thanks for this!
My case stopped charging my buds overnight, case had full battery but buds were at 30%, think I dropped the case the day before, figured the case was needing a 'reset' since it was detected but not charging the buds.
This helped me out in opening the buds pro case and re-seating that ribbon did the trick!

[giangabrielboyero]

they didnt go all the way to the speaker. I was curious to see how their new 2 way speaker looks

[johnblaws]

It's amazing what they're capable of putting in such a small unit. I own the beans and saw your video on that so I wanted to see if they have improved on the beans. Thanks

[gt]

I honestly think that a soldered battery is no big deal, well maybe because I have a soldering iron and the necessary skills. But I feel like alot of people who would repair their earbuds would also have the means to solder stuff.

[eldrmisanthropy]

This video saved me a lot of money. Thank you!

[jetw]

Wow, that's so cool! I like to see how you dissect them, Seems like so much fun, I want to put my hands on it too.

[MindTechCEO]

Would've loved for you to have mentioned how fragile the flex cable is on top of the soldering point. Bricked mine while trying to desolder, and I've repaired many electronic items in the past. 1/10 for repairability.

[FerencSzaboHu]

Hi Guys,
I have a pair of Buds Pro. I have dropped them down many times the case unfortunatelly. Since the last time the case stopped feedbacking the charging statuses / battery levels of buds.
Opening the chase, nothing happens regarding to the LEDs.
What could have happened?
(When I plug in the charger cable directly, the LED on the case works as we waited, but the buds state LED lighst one times with amber and goes off immediately.)
Is it a mechanical problem or other ...?

Last, but not least. Thank you for your professional videos.

[SJ_M]

I was also expecting the tweeter and the woofer Samsung boasted about!!

[thanzeelpatel]

Please show us the dual driver section,

[unknown-x-]

I hope they get on board with repairability and offer battery replacement

[kartal]

Its good that you can repair them, but their aren't any replacementparts

[shachar]

I've never considered repairing any Bluetooth headphones. My wife got mad at one point and broke a pair of mine, the base stopped making contact with one of the pair of the headphones.
I tried opening, couldn't open it all the time and tried to force it when smoke came out of the case. That's when I simply dropped it (was afraid it was going to explode in my hands) and later simply discarded it.

I might be willing to pay a few to repair a gadget or two down the line but it's not an option I know of or never heard of

[모댕-ku]

Sad, wish they cold do a bit better on buds pro 2
but still its seems reparable