Despite improved repairability scores for Apple's latest iPhone and Mac Mini, the iFixit team says it was left underwhelmed after tearing into the new

M4 MacBook Pro shows Apple is still glued to the idea of unfixable laptops

submited by
Style Pass
2024-11-25 23:30:07

Despite improved repairability scores for Apple's latest iPhone and Mac Mini, the iFixit team says it was left underwhelmed after tearing into the new M4 MacBook Pro.

The reassuringly expensive brand is hardly alone in building hardware deemed hard to mend, and in the pursurt of slimmer and lighter devices, the company's engineers have - at times - been a little too liberal with the glue and difficult-to-find screws.

Yet Apple has recently taken strides to undo its bad reputation for repairability and upgradeability and things seemed to be changing.

The iPhone 16, for example, received plaudits for featuring adhesive that debonded when an electrical current was passed through it – useful for switching out the battery. Similarly, the recent M4 Mac Mini featured storage and a CMOS battery that could be changed without a soldering iron or logic board replacement.

Hopes were therefore high for Apple's M4 MacBook Pro – before being dashed. Sure, MacRumors spotted a reference to repair parts for speakers, but replacing the battery on an M4 MacBook Pro appears to be just as tricky a repair as on the previous generation. Storage is also unhelpfully soldered to the logic board.

Leave a Comment