iPod Touch 1st Generation Teardown

– Say hello to the iPod Touch!

– Put your iPhone next to this device—spot the resemblance! These two could be twins.

– What’s in the box? Glad you asked! Inside, you’ll find your iPod Touch, a pair of headphones, a handy USB cable, a dock adapter, and a stand that’s just the right amount of plastic. Ready to get started? Let’s dive in!

– The new iPod is a tiny bit shorter—just 0.2 inches (5 mm) less than the older version, making it that much more compact and sleek.

– Oh, and the box? It’s a lot smaller too. Papa Steve claims that smaller packaging is better for the environment. We’re not entirely convinced, but it’s still a cool little change.

– The rear panel shines bright, just like that fresh-out-of-the-box 3rd Gen. iPod Nano.

– Time to get serious—stare down your device like you mean business!

– Great, the stand is working as expected!

– We’re making progress on opening it up. Taking it one step at a time and being careful is key.

– We got it open! We used a metal spudger. There are metal tabs along each side of the iPod that we carefully navigated.

– The iPod Touch doesn’t require a big speaker or microphone, so the battery takes up a lot more space than the iPhone’s battery. It’s all about making room for the essentials!

– The points highlighted are the contacts for the WiFi antenna.

– The battery in this device is soldered directly onto the logic board, just like in the iPhone and many of Apple’s recent iPods. It’s also quite flat and thin, making it a bit tricky to replace. If you need help, you can always schedule a repair.

– The massive touch screen is tucked right under the battery.

– The logic board is hiding beneath the shiny metal shield up top (just below the 2D barcode).

– At the top of the logic board, Apple really packed everything in tight. This view is mostly taken over by the Apple ARM chip and the stacked Toshiba(!) flash chips. Take your time to carefully examine this area as you work through the repair process. If you need help, you can always schedule a repair.

– Gently lift the logic board to uncover the hidden treasures beneath.

– Check out the small antenna connect board—there’s a copper rim around it that makes contact with the antenna.

– Gently flip up the logic board, then use your trusty spudger to lift the PCB hiding underneath. This little board is probably where the magic happens for your touchscreen controls.

– Check out that Foxconn mark on the dock connector—Apple’s been teaming up with Foxconn for lots of their iPods.

– At the bottom of the logic board, you’ll find the display processing board attached, making for an interesting view. The ribbon cables are soldered directly into each board, which means replacing just one isn’t straightforward — they seem to prefer sticking together for life. On the lower-right side of the logic board, you’ll spot the headphone jack—Apple decided to integrate it right into the logic board, so repairs might get a bit trickier. And look for the Foxconn logo on the 30-pin connector—that’s a nod to Apple’s manufacturing partner. If you need a hand along the way, you can always schedule a repair.

– Let’s take a closer look at the top of both circuit boards. Notice the Wolfson chip on the left of the flash—it’s interesting because the original iPod Classic used a Cirrus audio chip, which raised some concerns about sound quality. Luckily, the iPod touch uses the same chip as the iPhone, the WM8758BG, so audio issues should be less of a worry. Moving on, the Toshiba flash chip is labeled TH58NVG5D4CTG20. Since we’re dealing with an 8 GB iPod, each of those memory stacks provides 32 Gb (or 4 GB) of storage. Now, check out the ARM processor—it’s marked 339S0029ARM 8900B 0731, with the stack memory showing K4X1GA53PE-XGC3 YME097N6 731, indicating Samsung manufacturing, just like in the iPhone. Lastly, here’s a quick comparison of the processor markings between the Touch and iPhone: the Touch has 339S0029ARM 8900B and 0731 (manufactured week 31 of 2007), while the iPhone features 339S0030ARM 8900B and 0719 (week 19 of 2007). The last set of characters, like NOKCYY2 and NOD4BZ02, are probably lot IDs, explaining the differences. What does all this tell us? The iPod Touch and iPhone processors are very similar, which is good news for performance and compatibility. If you need more help, you can always schedule a repair.

– Time to detach the display from the front bezel. This process is a little different than what you’d do with an iPhone.

– The iPod display is secured to the front by 16 Phillips #00 screws. But here’s the kicker: the iPhone’s display and front bezel are stuck together with a super strong adhesive, which means you won’t be able to easily separate them like you can with the iPod.

– Here’s the touch-screen LCD chilling on the left, and the display bezel hanging out on the right.

– Take a look inside your iPod touch—it’s a compact masterpiece.

– Apple squeezed a bunch of tech into a single logic board here. This iPod is built from just five main pieces, all cleverly fastened with tabs, adhesive, and 22 little screws.

– On the left: iPod Touch front bezel and LCD. On the right: iPhone LCD and integrated bezel.

– We were curious about the difference in display assemblies between the iPhone and iPod Touch—specifically if the Touch uses a glass front, just like the iPhone. After scouring for an official answer from Apple (and finding nothing), we decided to take matters into our own hands with a scratch test. Armed with a key, we scratched the front of an iPod Video, iPod Touch, and iPhone. Good news! The iPod Touch stayed completely scratch-free, while the iPod Video? Well, it took a big chunk out of its plastic front. Who knew?

– Here we have the Marvell W8686B22. It’s part of the Marvell W8686 series, a WLAN system-on-chip with 802.11a/b/g support. The iPhone uses a W8686B13, which is likely very similar to this one.

– We couldn’t spot the CSR Bluetooth chip that the iPhone typically uses. However, we did come across a few Apple-branded chips that we couldn’t identify, so we’re not completely sure if a Bluetooth chip is hiding out of sight.

– As we were told, the Bluetooth antenna (if there is one) could be tucked into a PCB like this one, making it tricky to spot. The ‘RF1UB’ marking on the back suggests it’s designed for RF use, and probably tested at specific frequencies. While we don’t see direct evidence of a Bluetooth antenna, we can’t completely rule out that it might be there.

– Here’s the communications board. On the right, you’ll spot a smaller board connected by an orange ribbon. That little guy is linked to the antenna on the rear bezel, keeping everything connected and running smoothly.