Watch the 12.9-inch iPad Pro teardown reveal Apple's secrets

Yesterday, iFixit published a teardown of the 11-inch 2018 iPad Pro and the results were less than stellar. Unlike some other recent Apple devices – specifically the Mac mini and the new MacBook Air – the 11-inch iPad Pro turned out to be something of a DIYer's nightmare, with gobs of glue holding everything down and making repair troublesome. Today, iFixit is taking a look inside the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and if you were hoping for a different outcome, we're sorry to say that you're probably going to be disappointed.

iFixit's teardown of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro actually comes in video form, which you can see embedded below. It seems that the break down process is pretty much the same as it is with the 11-inch model, which means that getting the display off isn't exactly a walk in the park.

After the display has been completely removed, there's plenty of glue to contend with as well. Once again, Apple has decided to secure the battery in place with adhesive pull tabs (good!) and a separate heaping of glue (bad!). In other words, don't expect battery replacement to be an easy process, despite what the presence of those pull tabs might suggest.

In the end, the 12-inch iPad Pro teardown is almost exactly the same as the 11-inch model. The fact that this teardown is documented on video, however, gives us a new appreciation for just how difficult getting setting some of these components free can be.

Given the similarities between the two teardowns, it probably won't come as a shock to hear that both iPads have received the same exact repairability score: 3 out of 10. Just like the 11-inch iPad Pro, the 12-inch model earns points for its modular USB-C port, but loses a significant amount for all the glue. Here's hoping that things get better for repair enthusiasts in the future, because it seems they aren't going to have much fun trying to fix this new line of iPads.