iPad 7 Teardown
Duration: 45 minutes
Steps: 8 Steps
Hey there! Apple's 7th-generation iPad is here, bringing a fresh 10.2” screen and some cool extras. But let's be real—it's the entry-level model in their family, borrowing a lot from the higher-end versions. Curious about what's been reused? We'll break it down in this teardown. For all things repair, feel free to hop on our site for more tips.
Step 1
This iPad has a fresh model number now, A2200, and it's looking sleek. The iconic iPad branding is still proudly displayed on the back, staying true to its roots, even though those hip new iPhones have set a different trend.
- Before diving into repairs, we like to get familiar with the specs. It’s like prepping for a fun challenge, and this year we’ve got a nice combo of the tried and true and some fresh upgrades:
- Apple A10 Fusion processor, paired with the M10 motion coprocessor (perfect for those beach runs with your iPad)
- 10.2-inch multi-touch Retina display with a crisp 2160 × 1620 pixel resolution (264 ppi), because who doesn't love a sharp screen?
- Choice of 32 GB or 128 GB of internal storage to hold all your memories, music, and apps
- 8 MP rear-facing camera with 1080p video and a 1.2 MP front-facing FaceTime HD camera for those perfectly framed selfies
- 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.2 to keep you connected no matter where you are
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor + 3-axis gyro + accelerometer + barometer + ambient light sensor to keep things smooth and responsive
Step 2
Maybe it's just to give that Smart Keyboard some extra breathing room?
- Creative Electron's been putting in the hours this week, and when we asked them to take a peek inside this iPad, they pulled a few more electrons from their toolkit to give us a look.
- Take a look at the iPad’s sleek design. If you look closely at the edges, you’ll notice the magnets' pattern is a bit different from last year’s model.
- Now, check out how the Smart Connector cable is routed around the battery. It might take a bit of a winding path, but it's a huge improvement compared to past designs that had the cable trapped under a battery glued down tight.
Step 3
Big size brings big responsibilities – the new iPad now includes Apple's Smart Connector for keyboard compatibility. Time to boost that productivity!
We've likely stepped up our game from the last iPad teardown.
- Hey, no fancy bezel-shrinking tricks—this 10.2-inch iPad is just straight-up bigger than last year's 9.7-inch model.
- Let's skip the delays—we've got a ton of components to remove, so we're diving right into our trusted heat-and-suction method for opening it up.
- Not sure if we're just adapting to these sticky setups, but this iPad feels almost easier to pry apart. Could it be?
Step 4
Swapping out the iPad 7's cracked glass might take a bit of elbow grease, but the silver lining? The parts are budget-friendly! Unlike those fancy iPads with LOCA-laminated displays where you have to ditch the whole screen, here you just replace the glass and keep on rolling.
- Slicing through all this glue? Not the most exciting part of the job, but hey, we’ve got it covered.
- Good news: just like before, the glass comes off nice and clean, leaving the display behind. It’s a pleasant surprise, and we’ll take it!
- After dealing with all that sticky mess, we’re pretty pleased to see a good ol’ Phillips screw—much easier than those pesky tri-points we tackled last week.
- This time, the Battery Blocker only fits into the terminal after a quick trim with some scissors, but it’s worth the little effort to safely power down the device before we get to the LCD extraction.
Tools Used
Step 5
Apple's worked some magic on this battery—still claiming those same 10 hours of power as the iPad 6, even with the larger screen!
- Let's check out this year's 10.2-inch digitizer panel (top) next to last year's 9.7-inch one (bottom).
- The battery is labeled A1484 and rated for 32.9 Wh—the exact same as last year and the year before, even with the extra space in the larger case. We were hoping for a bigger upgrade after that iPhone battery boost, but it's unchanged.
- Meanwhile, here's a great close-up of the solid 1.2-megapixel front camera. Nice detail!
- The home button looks pretty much the same, which means screen swaps might still be a bit tricky, just like last year's wasn't the easiest.
- This new panel simplifies things with fewer cables! We used to have to watch out for three when opening, but now two are neatly overlapped, so one less thing to dodge. Smart move.
Step 6
Hey, eyeing a budget iPad but hesitant because you want to pair it with a Smart Keyboard? No worries—Apple made it happen.
Folks speculate it's for corrosion protection, tamper-resistant design, or maybe just a friendly shoutout to the adhesive crowd.
- Check out that fresh Smart Connector, all secured with glue.
- No moving pieces here, so a Smart Connector swap is unlikely. But if it ever happens, it's surprisingly easy to reach by iPad standards.
- Over on the logic board, spot these gooey antenna cable sockets. What's the deal with this new adhesive?
- With the cables handled, we apply heat once more to loosen this glued-down logic board.
- Glued logic boards, why the stickiness? They sure know how to complicate things.
Step 7
- Hey, we've got a solid hunch on what's in here, but let's zoom in and confirm:
- The Apple A10 Fusion APL1W24 SoC sitting atop Micron D9WQC (MT53B384M64D4TP-062 XT:E) 3 GB LPDDR4 SDRAM—hey, that's a 50% RAM boost from last year!
- SanDisk SDMRSEFJ2 032G 32 GB flash memory
- Broadcom BCM15900B0 touch screen controller
- NXP Semiconductor 100VB27 NFC controller
- Cirrus Logic CS42L83A low power audio codec
- Apple 343S00314-A0 (PMIC) paired with Murata 339S00445 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module
- Skyworks 850946, 203153033561852, and 13790697311912
Step 8
With all the updates this year, take a wild guess—what do you think the repairability score will be?
- And there it is, the 10.2" iPad 6 and iPad 7 after facing a full teardown. Not too shabby!
- Turns out, it's a pretty light upgrade—just a bump in size, a new Smart Connector, and an extra GB of RAM. Nothing too wild, but still worth noting.
- Despite adding some Pro-like features, the display and digitizer aren't fused together yet, which we're totally happy to see. Nice to keep things simple, right?
