iPod Classic Teardown

Apple ships two new iPods on the same day, and we take apart two new iPods on the same day (well, the same shift).

We title this picture, "rising to the challenge."

In the box:

A larger manual for a larger iPod.

A USB to iPod cable.

Headphones.

A dock insert, to adjust for different thicknesses between the 80 GB and 160 GB models.

A sleek, silver iPod Classic.

The 80 GB Classic and 30 GB Video side-by-side. They have the same footprint, but the Classic manages to be thinner while holding more.

The front is anodized aluminum, and is slightly beveled in contrast to the Video's flat, plastic top.

Yep. Everything looks the same in here.

Those of you keeping score will notice that we took awhile to get into this one. Why, you ask? As with its faceplate, the Classic exchanged plastic tabs for metal ones. The new tabs catch much more effectively, making the case harder to open up.

The battery takes up most of the Nano's space, but in the Classic, the hard drive is king.

The entry level Classic hard drive is 80 GB, which is nothing new in an iPod, but whereas the Video's 80 GB hard drive is 8 mm thick, the Classic's is 5 mm.

Thank you, Toshiba.

We were surprised to find a new metal plate backing the display. Perhaps it was put there to support the display, making a break less likely?

Here are all the bits and pieces. A few things to note:

The battery is exactly the same as the 30 GB Video's.

The logic board is now secured to the metal framework by two screws (as opposed to none in the Video).

The new display is quite a bit thinner than the Video's (about seventy percent as thick).

A view of the top of the logic board.

A (prettier) view of the bottom of the logic board.