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iFixit tears down Apple's iPad 2 Smart Cover

by Steven Sande Mar 14th 2011 at 12:00PM

Tech bloggers love iFixit. The website always purchases and dismantles new devices as soon as they hit the market, primarily for the benefit of people who want to repair equipment or who are curious about the innards of the latest shiny toys. Analysts use their work to determine the manufacturing cost of consumer electronics by finding out what components are being used. The site did a full teardown of the iPad 2 on Friday, and they've followed up with a dissection of the iPad 2 Smart Cover.

I'm using the term "dissection" since once you've cut open a Smart Cover, there's no way to reassemble the ingeniously-designed protective device. What did iFixit find? They used pieces of magnetic viewing film to discern the location of the magnets on both the iPad 2 and the Smart Cover. The 21 magnets on the Smart Cover not only work to align the cover to the iPad 2 in the correct configuration, but they also work with a special steel plate to hold the cover into the triangular shape used to prop up the iPad. One magnet has a special job; turning off the iPad 2 when the cover is closed.

The powerful array of magnets in both the iPad 2 and the Smart Cover complement each other in both shape and polarity so that it's virtually impossible to put the cover on incorrectly. The iFixit analysts noted that they had problems keeping the magnets separated after removing them from the iPad 2 and Smart Cover.

The Smart Cover teardown is a fascinating look into another example of Apple's design ingenuity at work.



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Tech bloggers love iFixit. The website always purchases and dismantles new devices as soon as they hit the market, primarily for the...
 

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CZ

I already sold my Smart Cover. I didn't like it at all. I knew I wasn't going to like it, simply because I want something to protect the front AND the back of the iPad, and the Smart Cover leaves the back totally exposed. Despite Apple's claims, the aluminum DOES get scratched with normal use.

Griffin makes a nice case that is slim, has the proper holes for the camera, and protects the whole iPad. It's the same price as the Smart Cover, and protects twice as much of your iPad. It does the prop-up thing, too.

The Smart Cover is cool, and it's a nifty thing to show off with the iPad... But it's useless as a method of protecting your device. It's one of those Apple "wow factor" devices that gets people to buy it based solely on the origin (Apple) and the marketing ("designed in conjunction with the iPad"). It's not a practical choice, though.

Honestly, I'm disappointed by it. I think Apple could have done better, but then, I'm certain they WANT you to scratch up your iPad 2... That way the used market won't be as competitive when they introduce iPad 3.

March 16 2011 at 2:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Christina

I have purchased this cover for my iPad . I do not like it and will be returning it. The hinges keep falling off and the hinge rod keeps falling off. Ughhh!

March 14 2011 at 8:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
edsondai84

The new iPad 2 has sleeker design, lighter in weight and in size. But that’s it. No additional shocking features other than the speed and memory upsize. This new tablet with Win7 OS will really beat the crap out of apple http://fms.nu/hEFiC4
Cheaper and has a lot of applications to choose from.

March 14 2011 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to edsondai84's comment
rogerruthberg

So, edsondai84, by your own admission, the iPad 2 has

- sleeker design
- lighter weight
- lighter [slimmer] size
- upsized speed
- upsized memory.

And that, as you say, is it. Nothing else. Aside from all that. And apparently, at least one other tablet is cheaper, with "lots of applications" to choose from, the latter definitely being an area where Apple is lagging behind the mighty app stores of its competitors like......who was that again?

What, pray tell, were you expecting from the iPad 2? Stainless steel claws that embedded themselves into your cheeks when you bit into it, a la the "Spring Surprise" confectionary? Your comment is daft, and I'm not about to go follow some link to who knows where.

I think there is a general problem with what people were reasonably expecting for the same price point. Apple hit the mark pretty well, and short of thought control replacing the touch screen, Apple was bound to disappoint some people. But you know what that speaks for? How good the first iPad was. Could the cameras have been better? Yes. Could there have been more storage? Yes. More RAM? Yes. USB port? Yes. Thunderbolt? Yes yes yes.
But not at the same price point.

March 14 2011 at 2:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fessaboy

Any word on how strong the magnets are, and if they could mess up magnetic bits? Back in the day, you could trash a floppy disk with a kitchen magnet,. Things like credit card stripes, hotel room keys, and so on, are pretty sensitive. Most hard disks are shielded pretty well, probably only a concern if the drive is small and high capacity. If I drop an iPad with the magnet cover into my backpack, what sorts of things might get hosed?

I'm sure the Apple guys have been careful with this, and have thought this through. Like with the iPhone4 antenna. Steve knew that I really wanted a bumper, and he was looking out for me on that one.

March 14 2011 at 12:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Fessaboy's comment
mack

Whatever you do - don't try and put the SmartCover on the side of the iPad 2 which houses the floppy disk drive.

March 14 2011 at 1:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tal Rosenblum

LOL! don't forget about the hard drive platter.

March 14 2011 at 1:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Susana

Can anybody tell if the smart cover magnets will scratch the exterior of the iPad 2? Is there some padding? Or is it metal against metal?

March 14 2011 at 12:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Susana's comment
mikehild

The magnets are INSIDE the cover, so all that touches the iPad are the soft surface.

March 14 2011 at 12:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
CZ

Actually, the hinge that attaches to the iPad is metal, and it does touch the aluminum. If it moves around, I could see it scratching the iPad over time.

March 16 2011 at 2:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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