MacBook Teardown - Apple Packed A Lot In That Tiny Frame

A feat of engineering on many levels, Apple's new MacBook is also a computer you won't be repairing yourself. According to iFixit, there might be no hope if something goes south on your new MacBook. In running the MacBook through their teardown process, the team at iFixit was befuddled by MacBook's solid construction. Sounds counterintuitive, but when you're using a bunch of adhesive and proprietary screws, that's bound to be the case. Also, that tiny logic board has no hope for swapping components.

Giving the new MacBook a score of one out of ten (ten being the easiest repair, while one is pretty much unrepairable), iFixit had plenty to say about how difficult it really was to take the MacBook apart. Those pentalobe screws Apple likes to use are holding the shell in place, and a new cable routing scheme only makes things a bit trickier than iFixit thinks it should be.

Those tiered batteries? Glued to the lower case. That slim Retina display is also a fused unit with no hope of separating it; bust the glass, and you replace the entire thing. That'll set you back a few bucks.

On the logic board — which is delightfully small — you'll find the RAM, processor, and flash memory all soldered to the board. If you think you'll need more RAM or a more powerful processor, that has to be decided at purchase. Can't go back and switch it up on the MacBook.

Perhaps the most confusing part of the teardown is the USB Type C port, which iFixit notes is "secured by tri-wing screws, and buried under the display brackets". The team rightfully acknowledges that being the lone port on the machine, it'll see more wear and tear than typical, and replacing it might be in order for many owners. It's not impossible, but definitely not easy for Apple to repair.

The good news? The MacBook is still the coolest computer around, and the Touchpad isn't too difficult a repair. The keyboard also looks fairly simple to get at.

Source: iFixit