Apple AirPods 4 are available in Standard Edition and ANC Edition – the main difference being that the latter offers semi-in-ear Active Noise Cancellation, adaptive audio, transparency mode and conversation awareness. The charging case also supports Qi wireless charging and has a built-in speaker that supports independent finding.
Both adopt a new acoustic architecture, equipped with Apple low-distortion driver units and high dynamic range amplifiers. The upgraded SiP H2 chip supports spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, providing a more three-dimensional sound effect. They supports voice highlighting function to provide clear calls. It supports Siri smart dialogue and head control. The single battery life is up to 5 hours, and the total battery life is about 30 hours.
We have previously disassembled Apple products including: Apple AirPods 4 ANC, Apple AirPods Pro 2, Apple AirPods Pro, Apple AirPods 3, Apple AirPods 2, Apple AirPods, Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Buds, Beats Powerbeats PRO, Apple AirPods Max, Apple HomePod Mini and Apple HomePod, etc.
01/ Apple AirPods 4 Charging Case Teardown
Disassemble the charging case and take out the charging bin. There are 5 magnets at the bottom of the charging bin to fix the earbuds and the charging case.
The metal dome connector for charging the earbuds.
The internal structure of the cavity, all components are fixed by the bracket.
The top of the bracket is connected to the Hall element through the FPC to detect the status of the charging case lid.
Cut the shell. The internal motherboard structure of the charging case is fixed by a metal pressure plate and a hot melt column.
Take out the bracket inside the cavity.
There is a groove on the back of the bracket to fix the battery.
The Type-C charging seat is fixed by screws at the bottom of the bracket.
Remove the fixing plate and separate the battery.
The charging case has a built-in lithium-ion battery pack, nominal voltage: 3.852V⎓345mAh, rated energy: 1.329Wh, model: PWGL4, made in China, charging limit voltage: 4.45V.
The battery FPC is connected to the motherboard through the BTB connector.
Lift the connector and remove the FPC.
The FPC circuit has a Hall element on one end.
The other end has a BTB connector that connects to the motherboard.
Remove the screws and remove the motherboard unit.
The circuit on one side of the charging case motherboard.
The circuit on the other side of the charging case motherboard.
IC with silkscreen 47DI.
IC with silkscreen 47820I.
TI BQ25118B charger.
IC with silkscreen +MAX20348A and power management chip peripheral power inductor.
IC with silkscreen 16C and BTB connector for connecting battery wires.
IC with silkscreen 1DH A4G.
ST STM32L496WGY6P microcontroller. The STM32L496xx series is based on the high-performance Arm Cortex-M4 32-bit RISC core, operating at up to 80MHz. The Cortex-M4 core has a floating point unit (FPU) single precision and supports all Arm single-precision data processing instructions and data types. It also implements a complete set of DSP instructions and a memory protection unit (MPU) to enhance application security.
The crystal oscillator of laser engraved TBq02 is used to provide the clock.
BTB connector connected to FPC.
02/ Apple AirPods 4 Earbuds Teardown
Disassemble the earbud head, and the steel shell button battery is fixed by a bracket inside the front cavity (right). The FPC inside the rear cavity (left) is connected to the internal components of the earbud stem.
Remove the earbud battery. The model of the steel shell button battery built into the earbud is: A3087, rated capacity: 32.1mAh/123mWh, nominal voltage: 3.83V, charging limit voltage: 4.35V, from SDI Samsung.
Remove the transparent bracket. The bracket is matched with the shell, and it is also a tuning device to improve the audio effect.
Remove the speaker, and there is also an inward-facing microphone and in-ear detection sensor at the bottom of the front cavity.
Cut open the earbud stem shell and remove the internal FPC and components.
The charging contacts and call microphone are connected at the end of the FPC.
Remove the FPC inside the tail plug. The overall circuit of the FPC inside the earbud.
The MEMS microphone of the laser engraving S340 is used to pick up sound for the voice call function.
The second MEMS microphone of the laser engraving S 340 is used to pick up external environmental noise for the call noise cancellation function.
The LDS laser antenna printed on the bracket.
Remove the antenna bracket, and the SiP (System in Package) H2 chip is below.
The force sensor is used to realize the pinch operation control. The IC with the silk-screen QR code is presumed to be the detection chip of the force sensor.
The diaphragm on the front of the speaker, according to the official introduction, is a low-distortion driver unit designed for Apple, which can provide rich audio details.
After actual measurement, the diameter of the speaker is about 11.80mm.
The ambient light sensor is used for the in-ear detection function to realize the automatic pause of the earbud when taking off the earbud and the automatic resumption of the playback after wearing.
All components of the Apple AirPods 4 Standard true wireless earphones.
03/ Summary
Apple AirPods 4 Standard Edition adopts the same appearance design as ANC Edition. The charging case adopts the family-style smooth and rounded texture design, and the overall weight is only 40.6g, which is very light and portable. The earbuds adopt a long-stem semi-in-ear design, which further optimizes the comfort and brings a better wearing fit.
The internal structure is the same as AirPods 4 ANC, with exquisite workmanship and a lot of glue to seal the protection. The charging case has a built-in 345mAh lithium battery, using TI BQ25118B charger and ST STM32L496WGY6P microcontroller. The earbuds are equipped with a low-distortion drive unit and three built-in MEMS microphones for sound pickup. Built-in 32.1mAh steel shell button battery. The H2 chip adopts SiP packaging, which has the advantages of high integration, high performance and high reliability.
PS: Translated from 52audio
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