The Vision Pro was the first in the world to be dismantled, and it was quickly released in 36 hours!
智东西（公众号：zhidxcom）
Author | Yun Peng, Xu Shan
Edit | Yun Peng
Less than 36 hours after the release of Apple's Vision Pro, the world's first demolition has come!
"Lift your hijab and let me see your beauty. ”
That's right, the Vision Pro, which costs $3499, has been disassembled to every circuit board, every screw, every camera, and all the secrets of Apple's ultimate move have been unreservedly exposed to everyone for the first time.
▲Vision Pro零部件全家福,来源:iFixit
Zhidong reported on February 4 that just now, iFixit, a major global professional dismantling company, officially released the world's first Apple Vision Pro teardown video.
iFixit also took a 360-degree X-ray of the Vision Pro's whole body that was so handsome that he didn't have any friends, which was so cool!
▲Vision Pro的360度X光照片,来源:iFixit
What does a $700 Sony's Micro OLED screen look like with a global limited edition of 1 million pieces?
▲Vision Pro的屏幕和光学模块,来源:iFixit
In order to let you see the 3D face, the optical technology used in the large outer screen of EyeSight is beyond your imagination!
▲Vision Pro外屏内部,来源:iFixit
The motherboard inlaid with Apple M2 and R1 chips adopts a unique flexible design, and the dense arrangement of electronic components on it brings the ultimate visual enjoyment.
▲Vision Pro主板,来源:iFixit
Apple's external battery has "three batteries" hidden inside, which add up to "double" the power of the iPhone 15 Pro.
▲The internal structure of the Vision Pro battery, source: iFixit
Of course, there are also various details of the Apple Vision Pro's interior design that are presented so intuitively for the first time.
Vision Pro may not be the most difficult technology product in history, but it can still rank among the top few.
iFixit says that they didn't break anything in the process of dismantling! I have to say that it's still quite strong (in fact, it still broke the "billions of points").
From the outer screen to the inner screen, from the battery to the R1 chip, Apple's Vision Pro is the world's first dismantling, not much to say, let's take a look.
1. The outer screen of 800 US dollars is dismantled first!
Seeing the heating link of the heat gun, we couldn't help but smile, sure enough, whether it is a mobile phone or a headset, the disassembly must start from the "heating and opening the cover" link.
When using the dismantling piece to cut the edge of the cover glass of the outer screen, iFixit complained that the adhesive was too much and too strong, and it took a lot of time for the heat gun to heat up, but in the end they managed to remove it without damage.
iFixit also doesn't forget to humor here, saying that Apple's repair crew may be quicker, but they will charge you $799 (about the same as the price of a standard American version of Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S24).
According to Apple's official website in the United States, the Apple Vision Pro itself currently has a 90-day warranty, and its Apple Care+ price is $24.99 per month, or $499. Among them, the accidental damage repair fee for the Apple Vision Pro itself is $299. The repair cost of the power supply and data cable is $29.
Don't underestimate this glass cover, it is a whole piece of full-curved glass made by 3D molding, lamination, etc., and its exclusive supplier is Lens Technology, one of the domestic fruit chain giants.
The cover glass weighs about 34 grams.
Some foreign blogger Sam Kohl did a violent test, he tried to drop the Apple Vision Pro from a height of about 3 meters, the front screen of the Apple Vision Pro was broken, but it did not burst out of pieces. When the user tears off the glass screen, the Apple Vision Pro can still be used normally, or even clearer. It seems that Apple has added a layer of "tempered film" to the outer layer of the Vision Pro.
Oh yes, there's also a little easter egg, the disassembled heating pad used by iFixit, which is Made in China.
▲ Heating pads used in the disassembly of iFixit
2. Why does EyeSight show "Uncanny Valley"? The answer has finally been found!
After disassembling the glass case, the internal structure of the EyeSight display, which has been complained about a lot, is presented in front of you, and in general it has three layers: the expansion layer, the lens layer and the OLED screen itself.
Why the faces displayed by EyeSight look strange, iFixit analyzes them from the level of display principles.
First, Vision Pro will generate your face through the internal camera and sensors, then VisionOS will "slice and interpolate" the face, and then render it on the EyeSight display, and the image will pass through a layer of lenses and then a layer of lenses, and finally achieve the visual effect of a 3D face image.
▲EyeSight imaging & display principle, source: iFixit
If you want to see a 3D image, you need to see a slightly different image with each eye, and Vision Pro solves this problem with a lens, and Apple has added a layer of lenses to the surface of the OLED screen.
▲Vision Pro screen and the lens layer on it, source: iFixit
VisionOS divides the face image slice into A and B, A is received by the left eye from one angle, and B is received by the right eye from the other angle, so that people outside can see your face in 3D.
The implication is that when others see the virtual face on the screen from the outside, it is a naked-eye 3D presentation.
As you can see from the slice photographs of the lens layers, the structure of this layer of lenses is very fine, and the width of each lens is less than 0.5 mm.
▲透镜层切片,来源:iFixit
▲Pixels emit light through a microlens structure, source: iFixit
Of course, this practice also has drawbacks, it will significantly reduce the horizontal resolution of the screen, because it is about the same as the horizontal pixels are split in two, and the horizontal pixels are reduced to half of the original, which is one of the reasons why EyeSight images feel "mushy".
Also, Apple may have broken down more than two images.
On top of the lens layer on the surface of the screen, there is also a layer of lenses, which is used to stretch and magnify the image displayed on the screen to fill the entire Vision Pro.
If the people at iFixit try to remove this layer, they will find that the image of the face will be very strange, and the two eyes will "squeeze" in the middle.
At the same time, this layer of lenses also restricts the viewing angle, a bit like a "privacy screen". The disadvantage is that the image has passed through another layer of lenses, the image is more blurry, and the brightness is further attenuated.
Third, I finally saw the Sony Micro OLED screen entity!M2 and R1 circuit boards are super precise
After studying the outer screen, let's look at the body, iFixit first starts with the knitted fabric wrap, which is held in place by plastic buckles.
The next step is the optical and display module part, including the screen, lens and related mechanical slide structure.
The slide rail structure of the lens is compact and precise.
▲Vision Pro镜片滑轨结构,来源:iFixit
This part involves the removal of a large number of screws, the processing of a large number of cables and interfaces, in short, all kinds of twisting, twisting, pulling and pulling.
It's still easy to detach the screen and lens module from the slide rails.
Disassembling the screen module itself is another frenzied screwing.
This is Sony's exclusive Micro OLED screen, which is rumored to be supplied with only 1 million units this year, and the optical structure on it.
The size of this screen is indeed as Apple said,Like a postage stamp,On this "stamp",Densely arranged11.5 million pixels,More than the number of pixels of a 4K big TV,Two are 23 million pixels。
▲Sony's custom screen used by Vision Pro, source: iFixit
As you can see from the teardown, the screen itself is very thin, and the thickness of the module is mainly concentrated on the optical module. It is said that the supplier of the 3P Pancake optical solution is Yujingguang, a major optical manufacturer in Taiwan, China.
Back to the Vision Pro body, there is still the core "motherboard" part that has not been disassembled.
After cutting the adhesive on the outer screen with the dismantling piece, the core part of the Vision Pro was exposed to us.
By the way, the two active cooling fans behind the motherboard are still quite small in size. The fan is located between the motherboard and the screen.
In the teardown, we can see that some of the cameras and sensors are fixed to the same structure.
During the disassembly process, it is necessary to pick out a large number of cable interfaces, tear off a large number of stickers, heat dissipation films, and unscrew a large number of screws.
Despite the fact that the price is already as high as $3,500, the Vision Pro is still full of sporadic "flying wires" inside.
Finally, the motherboard body is finally presented to us!
In addition to the dense number of components, the huge M2 and R1 chips are undoubtedly the most eye-catching, located on the motherboard on the left and right sides of the eye, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that both motherboards use a flexible PCB design, and the middle is also connected by a flexible PCB.
Two huge Apple logo silkscreens are placed on the chip.
In addition, it is more obvious that you can see some memory chips, communication chips and wireless connection related chips.
During the teardown process, iFixit approached Creative Electron to take an X-ray view of the Vision Pro, which is said to cost $3,500 (about the same as a brand new Vision Pro).
▲X-ray of the front of the Vision Pro, source: iFixit
In the X-ray film, we can see all kinds of cameras, sensors, some chips and electronic components on the circuit board.
Oh yes, and Creative Electron also took a 360-degree rotating X-ray of the Vision Pro, which isn't too cool!
Fourth, the battery is heavier than a folding screen phone!
Next, let's take a look at what is the difference with this external battery of Apple Vision Pro.
Judging from the screenshots, its manufacturers and manufacturers are well-known Huizhou Desay batteries, and they are also old Apple battery suppliers, and many domestic Android flagship batteries are supplied by Desay Batteries and Sunwoda.
▲Close-up of the inside of the Vision Pro's external battery, source: iFixit
After the battery is removed, the weight of the three battery packs inside alone is 353 grams, each battery is about the size of a standard version of an iPhone, each battery has a capacity of 3166mAh, and can provide a total of 35.9Wh of power, which is about the same power as two iPhone 15 Pro batteries (17.3Wh).
The overall weight of the entire battery is 362 grams. At present, the weight of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 folding screen phone is only 253g, which is equivalent to carrying 1.5 folding screen phones in your pocket at all times when using Vision Pro.
iFixit mentioned that the weight of the Vision Pro headset body plus battery has exceeded 1 kg, which is far more than the 722 grams of the Meta Quest Pro and the 515 grams of the Quest 3.
▲Vision Pro与Quest Pro重量对比,来源:iFixit
Why does Apple use external batteries, iFixit mentions a point that many people have not noticed: in the future, the EU will implement new battery-related regulations, and all electronic products will use replaceable batteries before 2027!
One of the biggest "contrary to ancestors" decision that Apple has made in the past 16 years is to open up "sideloading" in Europe, and Apple really has no temper with European regulations. Of course, the design of external batteries must be more due to more factors such as weight, portability, charging experience, etc., but this policy factor is indeed worth noting.
It is worth mentioning that Apple has applied for a patent for the rear of the battery very early, which is actually to put the original external battery in a "card slot" at the back. While this can balance the weight of the headset to a certain extent, it's exciting to put a kilogram on your head and think about it.
The Vision Pro does weigh a bit forward at the moment, with people who have worn the iFixit saying, "It's like someone pushing your head forward." ”
Fifth, the headband speaker is easy to disassemble, and the "oversized Lightning" interface is bad!
iFixit also disassembled the headband of the Vision Pro, it is worth mentioning that the speaker and the headband are one, the two speakers are placed on the two headbands, and the headband and the headset body are connected through a row of contacts at the end of the headband to transmit electricity and data.
iFixit directly violently dismantled the speaker, allowing us to see the internal structure of the speaker, and there is supply chain information showing that the acoustic components of Vision Pro are supplied by Goertek, a domestic fruit chain giant.
Judging from the disassembly, the shape of the sound unit inside the speaker is relatively unique.
There is a rotating magnetic clip at the end of the headband that can be connected to the battery cable, but the end of the battery cable that connects to the battery uses a dedicated "large Lightning" connector, which has received "bad reviews" from iFixit.
iFixit put a photo of the three ports on the Vision Pro with the caption: What a cute family photo!
Interestingly, in the past 2023, Apple has only fully entered the Type-C era in response to the strong request of the European Union. Today, Apple still insists on using a Lightning cable on the Apple Vision Pro. I don't know if it's Apple's last wave of "clearance processing", or if the Lightning charging method still has technical advantages that we don't know about.
By the way, whether it is the unplugging of the battery power cord or the unplugging of various headbands, you need to use the SIM card pin to insert the fixed hole, which is still more convenient to disassemble.
Insert the SIM card thimble into the small port next to the Vision Pro power supply, and the oversized Lightning cable of the Apple Vision Pro will pop out directly. Unlike the eight-pin Lightning cable commonly used in iPhones, the Vision Pro power supply has 12 pins and the speaker Lightning connector has 10 pins.
iFixit has also disassembled the mask that is close to the side of the face when wearing the Vision Pro, and it is worth mentioning that after removing various knitted surface pads, Apple used a material similar to "elastic plastic film" to fill the gaps in the knitted fabric, which can well prevent particles from entering the inside of the device.
This mask looks a lot like a "superhero" outfit.
Conclusion: A feast of "scientific and technological aesthetics", Apple Vision Pro has created another industrial miracle
In the more than 30 hours after the release of Apple's Vision Pro, there have been many "strange species" on the streets around the world, walking on the streets with cool headsets.
Apple Vision Pro, it's really coming!
Today, through the dismantling of foreign media, we have seen more design details and technical thinking of Apple's Vision Pro, and its internal precision and complexity are far from all previous similar products on the market. At the same time, the whole interior looks like it follows Apple's "technological aesthetics" as always, which can be said to be fruity.
As Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of marketing, puts it, "Apple has pretty much stuffed technology that could fit into that small form factor." ”
Apple's Vision Pro may have had some shortcomings as the original product, but in the history of technological development, Cook has undoubtedly brought another product with the potential to "change the world".
Apple's innovation continues.