Apple's latest incarnation of the Shuffle bears little resemblance to its immediate predecessor.

Although the Shuffle features "new, smaller packaging," it doesn't feature a similarly resized shipping box. Apple could have shipped 30 iPod Shuffles in this box. Literally.

Its Apple model number is A1373, updated from the previous Shuffle's A1271 designation.

The 4th Gen Shuffle is priced at a paltry $49.99! The original iPod shuffle cost $99, and had only 512 MB of storage.

There's a button just for VoiceOver: push once for artist and song, twice for battery status, and hold for playlist menu.

Apple admitted that people actually like buttons and brought them back for this generation.

Pshhh! Those of us with 3rd Gen Shuffles just printed out this convenient chart and carried it around for reference.

Here's the full lineup.

There seems to be pattern here: skinny, fat, skinny, fat. It seems like Apple can't decide what shape they like best.

iPod Shuffle 4th Generation:

Height: 1.14"

Width: 1.24"

Depth: 0.34"

Weight: 0.44 oz.

A bank was robbed last week in Ba Sing Se. Witnesses were given this lineup to identify the perpetrator.

Although this step makes it look super-simple to open the Shuffle, it's not. It took us a good half hour of prying and heat-gunning to open the little guy.

The exposed internals.

The logic board is stuffed alongside the battery in the outer case.

Notice the glue residue along the edges of the opening.

Apple press-fit and glued the back clip onto the body. No wonder it was such a doozy to open!

Even the seemingly simple task of disconnecting the control pad ribbon cable turns out to be quite a chore when the connector is 1/8" wide.

We have a feeling that as technology advances, we'll need smaller and smaller tools to take devices apart. You won't be able to see our hands in pictures, just little pointy tweezers.

We already have a microscope ready and waiting in the back room for when that time comes -- but we're not there quite yet (thankfully).

Our huge #00 screwdriver makes short work of the logic board screw.

A plastic opening tool is needed to lift the battery off the light adhesive holding it to the case.

After the battery is out, a small plastic logic board retainer must be removed with none other than a dental pick.

We remove the logic board and battery together from the iPod, because Apple once again chose to solder the battery to the logic board.

The loss of user-serviceability is the price we pay for small, sleek design.

Removing the last four screws in the iPod Shuffle, which secure the control pad to the front of the iPod.

The button and control pads pop out together with a gentle push.

The control pad comes out of the front case without any additional trouble.

With a listed capacity of .19 Whr, this small 3.7V lithium-ion battery pumps out 15 hours of audio playback.

To calculate the capacity in amp-hours, we know P(power) = I(amps)*V(volts), so I = P/V. That yields a capacity of about .051 amp-hours, or 51 mAh. To say the least, that's diminutive in the world of batteries.

It's remarkable how long a battery lasts when it doesn't have to power a backlight.

APPLE 338S0860 C0AN1021 TWN

339S0128 / K9GA608U0E BC80 / FDEF26QV 1025 / 8443 ARM / N2N63MQ1 1031

Unsurprisingly, the date codes on this package indicate die manufacture dates in late June (1025) and early August 2010 (1031).

"K9GA6" indicates Samsung 16Gb flash, unlike the Nano and touch which use Toshiba flash.

iPod Shuffle 4th Generation Repairability: 2 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

Good: The control pad is attached to the logic board via a connector, allowing it to be easily separated.

Good: The lack of a screen eliminates a large weak point of other devices, making the Shuffle more resilient to falls. Just don't flush it down the toilet.

Bad: You essentially have to break it to open it.

Bad: The battery is soldered to the logic board, making replacement that much more difficult.

Bad: Apple keeps shrinking connectors. These super-small cable connectors are increasingly difficult to open without breaking them.