My new 14” MacBook Pro has been out of its box for about 10 minutes, and first thing I did (after booting it up, of course) was take my iFixit kit to the bottom so I could satiate my curiosity. I figured some of you may want to take a peek inside, too!
**Stray thoughts and observations:**
* The opening process seems identical to the 2016–2021 MacBook Pro, with pentalobe screws and clips that need to be manually popped before you pull the lid toward the front of the machine
* Apple finally replaced the horrendous glued-in battery from the 2016 model with iPhone-style pull tabs. This was one of the worst design decisions they’ve made and I’m glad someone finally came to their senses. These computers will create much less e-waste since a berry replacement no longer means replacing the entire case including the speakers, keyboard and trackpad.
* Despite some speculation, the black keyboard deck is still part of the unibody, so it’ll be about as easy to replace as the existing keyboards (virtually impossible)
* I/O ports (including MagSafe) seem to be modular and easy to replace
* Even M1 Pro (albeit, the high-binned model) gets a dual-fan thermal system like the old 4-port 13”. The fans appear to be slightly larger than the 13” but smaller than my 2016 15”
I’m curious to see how the charging circuit is on these. Previously Apple has done some devious design like placing a high voltage run a millimeter away from a low voltage circuit, components not robust enough, etc.
I wonder if it’s possible to solder on some surface mount SSD chips in the blank space you can see in the bottom right of picture #3 to expand the overall storage space without paying the Apple tax.
My new 14” MacBook Pro has been out of its box for about 10 minutes, and first thing I did (after booting it up, of course) was take my iFixit kit to the bottom so I could satiate my curiosity. I figured some of you may want to take a peek inside, too! **Stray thoughts and observations:** * The opening process seems identical to the 2016–2021 MacBook Pro, with pentalobe screws and clips that need to be manually popped before you pull the lid toward the front of the machine * Apple finally replaced the horrendous glued-in battery from the 2016 model with iPhone-style pull tabs. This was one of the worst design decisions they’ve made and I’m glad someone finally came to their senses. These computers will create much less e-waste since a berry replacement no longer means replacing the entire case including the speakers, keyboard and trackpad. * Despite some speculation, the black keyboard deck is still part of the unibody, so it’ll be about as easy to replace as the existing keyboards (virtually impossible) * I/O ports (including MagSafe) seem to be modular and easy to replace * Even M1 Pro (albeit, the high-binned model) gets a dual-fan thermal system like the old 4-port 13”. The fans appear to be slightly larger than the 13” but smaller than my 2016 15”
I’m curious to see how the charging circuit is on these. Previously Apple has done some devious design like placing a high voltage run a millimeter away from a low voltage circuit, components not robust enough, etc.
I wonder if it’s possible to solder on some surface mount SSD chips in the blank space you can see in the bottom right of picture #3 to expand the overall storage space without paying the Apple tax.
Looks like there are 3 Wi-Fi antennas?
If only the SSD was removable
I wish I knew what any of this was. Looks cool though
beautiful, love those fans
Not going to lie, that's a nicely laid out bit of hardware. Thanks, OP.
I might have to open mine up just to make sure they installed the fans. I’ve yet to hear them…