iFixit tears the AirPods apart, doesn’t like what it finds

Once you open the AirPods, there's really no going back; iFixit had to first apply heat to loosen up the glue and then use a knife and guitar pick to pry the things open.

Both the AirPods themselves and their charging case earned a zero out of 10 on iFixit's repairability scale, indicating that the headphones aren't in any way user-serviceable. Low scores from iFixit are normal for most Apple products, but zeroes are rare—it's usually at least possible to access and replace the batteries in iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks with a little effort.