iPad 2 Gets the Teardown Treatment from iFixit

By published

The iPad 2 might be a little slimmer and sexier than its older brother, but what’s it got going for it that users of the old iPad might be jealous of? iFixit’s got the usual teardown data for those of us who’ve decided to get hung up on the details.

First thing's first: that LCD. The iPad 1 is thicker than the iPad 2 and we now know that both the LCD and glass of the iPad 1 are thicker too. The first iPad has got LCD and glass thickness measurements of 3.2mm and .85 mm, respectively. The iPad 2’s numbers come in at 2.4 mm and .62 mm. Thinner LCD and glass could spell problems for the accident-prone so be wary that this iPad is potentially a little bit more delicate.

LCDs aside, iFixit found a 3.8V, 25 watt-hour battery (the iPad 1 packs a 24.8 watt-hours), 512 MB of RAM, a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 CPU, Toshiba TH58NVG7D2FLA89 16GB NAND Flash, Broadcom BCM5973KFBGH Microcontroller, Broadcom BCM5974 CKFBGH capacitative touchscreen controller, Texas Instruments CD3240B0 11AZ4JT touchscreen line driver, Broadcom BCM43291HKUBC Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM tuner combo chip, S6T2MLC N33C50V Power Management IC, ST Micro AGD8 2103 gyroscope and an ST Micro LIS331DLH accelerometer.

iFixit also took apart one of Apple’s Smart Covers to see how it magnetically fastens itself onto the front of the iPad. During their disassembly, the team found 10 magnets in the iPad 2, and 21 magnets inside the Smart Cover.

Check out the iPad 2 and Smart Cover disassemblies over on iFixit!

Jane McEntegart
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • philip222
    kool!
    Reply
  • 11796pcs
    Not bad, but I could buy a netbook for half the price, with better specs and a keyboard not to mention a bigger screen and a true operating system that can run flash for half the price. That's the problem with tablets in general. They just don't make sense. Why pay more to recieve less?
    Reply
  • nforce4max
    Another disappointment from Apple, personally I want a tablet with fully featured osx and the ability of having removable storage. Second even my iBook g3 has twice the storage and it has a decent ssd. I don't care if it is as thick as my cisco 2 textbook I just want something that is really great that lasts and can be upgraded over time.
    Reply
  • ericburnby
    I wonder if iFixit can also take apart a Xoom and determine why the iPad 2 has more than double the graphics performance of the Xoom.

    And the Xoom ads on TV talk about the 3D interface and high-performance graphics.
    Reply
  • alidan
    how much does it cost in parts though?
    Reply
  • molo9000
    11796pcsNot bad, but I could buy a netbook for half the price, with better specs and a keyboard not to mention a bigger screen and a true operating system that can run flash for half the price. That's the problem with tablets in general. They just don't make sense. Why pay more to recieve less?
    A tablet doesn't offer u any content u haven't got already, but it offers it in a much more comfortable and intimate way.
    Laptops are not actually designed to be used on your lap. They are designed to be used on a table. Tablets however are designed to be used while sitting on a comfy sofa or lying in bed.

    Remember those tablets in the Star Trek universe? 10 years ago we would have killed for such a device.
    Reply
  • christop
    How about adding usb port to it.
    Reply
  • alidan
    christopHow about adding usb port to it.
    not even a usb port, just a little dongle to add usb connectivity if possible.
    Reply
  • _Cubase_
    nforce4maxAnother disappointment from Apple, personally I want a tablet with fully featured osx and the ability of having removable storage. Second even my iBook g3 has twice the storage and it has a decent ssd. I don't care if it is as thick as my cisco 2 textbook I just want something that is really great that lasts and can be upgraded over time.
    Hahaha... I love how people like you act as if there are hundreds of companies with better products already lined up to raise the bar. But where are they? If they are around what are they waiting for? Hey, why not stop our over-zealous expectations there? I would also like one 32GB of ram on it, and 8-core processor and the ability to play Crysis in 3D. And if it does not do that then it must be CRAP!
    Reply
  • alidan
    _Cubase_Hahaha... I love how people like you act as if there are hundreds of companies with better products already lined up to raise the bar. But where are they? If they are around what are they waiting for? Hey, why not stop our over-zealous expectations there? I would also like one 32GB of ram on it, and 8-core processor and the ability to play Crysis in 3D. And if it does not do that then it must be CRAP!
    well. we had companies makeing real laptops with real tablet like screens, but now that apple came out with the i pad, production of the real tablets with real oses, and real hardware (as in an intel/amd ati/nvidia/intel) all but stopped. i barely see the laptops with reversible screens anymore.

    sadly the common morons spoke with their wallets and wanted the "cool" ipad. i realy hope this tablet market dies and dies soon, before it spreads to real oses too (look at concepts for windows 8... i cringe)
    Reply