iFixit: New iPod Touch Is Way Harder To Repair Than iPhone 5

A brand new iPod touch has ascended from the depths of Apple HQ, and as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, iFixit has torn the thing apart with heat guns and spudgers. If you kindly recall Apple’s iPhone/iPod/iTunes announcement last month, you know that the fifth-gen iPod touch has quite the spec bump, but unfortunately is more difficult to repair than the fourth generation model.

In fact, it’s more difficult to repair than the iPhone 5, by a lot.

iFixit gave the music player a 3 out of 10 on the repairability scale, compared to the iPhone 5’s shocking 7 out of 10. For a little perspective, the fifth generation model scored one point less than the fourth generation model, which got a 4 out of 10.

Apparently dealing with the battery isn’t all that difficult, which is good news considering battery problems are relatively standard.

But iFixit says that Apple soldered many of the components together. And to top that off, there are no external screws on the device, but rather clips and adhesive. It’s a shame considering the iPod update cycle seems generally longer for most users.

Generally speaking, be careful when handling and try to avoid having to repair it altogether.

In related news, Apple recently launched a new iPod TV ad called Bounce, featuring all three updated iPod products, including the touch, nano, and shuffle. Welcome to a world of color.

Techcrunch event

Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025

Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.

Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025

Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.

San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025

[slideshow]

Topics

, , , ,
Loading the next article
Error loading the next article