Sony WF-1000XM6 iFixit Teardown
Here we have the main case PCB. The components are more or less similar and in certain instances, identical to the WF-1000XM5. There is even a small self resetting fuse (red square) beside the USB-C port like in XM5. As mentioned earlier, both the battery and wireless charging coil connections are soldered.
A comparison with the WF-1000XM5 case PCB.
The iFixit video only has brief glimpses of the reverse side of the case PCB, with these 2 photos. Some components appear to differ from the WF-1000XM5.
Sony has decided to move both the charging contacts and notification LED (red arrow) to the secondary SUB PCB.
There are 3 cables going from the CASE SUB board to the third smaller PCB, CASE HALL. I cannot really work out what this extra third PCB is for. From the video, there is definitely some component(s) on the board, so the board has to serve some kind of purpose.
Whatever this is, it seems to be pointing or directed at the space between the earbuds. But nothing is shown in the guide regarding this area of the case. Maybe some kind of sensor? Anyone have any ideas?
Edit, thanks to a comment on the old blog, this PCB is most likely for the Hall effect sensor, which is used to detect the opening and closing of the case. This sensor is also found in the WF-1000XM4 and WF-1000XM5.
Pros
- Easier and simpler opening of earbuds
- Earbud battery no longer soldered
- Charging case easily opened
Cons
- Charging case battery soldered to PCB
- Replacing earbud battery still not a simple procedure
So the iFixit teardown revels some goods news and bad news. The addition of 2 extra PCBs inside the case surprised me, but at least they can be removed rather easily. It will be interesting if the new Zenipower Z55FA battery appears on online marketplaces like Aliepxress in the future. Now we wait for a full teardown from 52Audio.
