MacBook Neo: Good repairability, keyboard replaceable individually
Almost no glue and no pull-tabs, but many screws: Apple's inexpensive Neo can apparently also be repaired well. The board is very small.
MacBook Neo motherboard: It doesn't need much more space.
(Image: Apple)
Apple's new MacBook Neo is not only the cheapest notebook the company has ever produced, but also one of the easiest to repair – reminiscent of older generations. This is shown by a first teardown performed by a repair service provider, as well as Apple's in-house repair manual for the model, which is already available. According to this, only Torx screwdrivers are needed for disassembly. The use of a hot air device to remove adhesives or the pulling of so-called pull-tabs (adhesive strips) that must be laboriously replaced afterwards are eliminated.
Many components easily removable
The entire disassembly process reportedly took well under ten minutes, reports the company TECH RE-NU from Maidstone near Melbourne. Components such as the extremely small motherboard, the trackpad, the two speakers, or the two USB-C ports can be unscrewed and replaced individually. The battery can also be removed after loosening 18 screws. During the entire teardown, there was only a single, minimally glued flex cable. The screen was removed as a complete component in the video.
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The keyboard was not removed from the top case in the Australian teardown. However, unlike all MacBooks from recent years, it can be replaced individually – and not just together with the aluminum top case. All three components that Apple installs in this area, namely the regular keyboard, the keyboard with Touch ID fingerprint sensor (on the more expensive MacBook Neo), and the top case, will apparently be available as spare parts. However, they are not yet listed in the manufacturer's Self-Service Repair Store. The Neo is not yet listed there.
Positive development at Apple
It will be exciting to see what "Repairability Score" (repairability rating from 0 to 10) the MacBook Neo will receive from the renowned repair service provider iFixIt. The device is likely to rank among the top positions. The extremely small motherboard, as mentioned, on which the A18 Pro SoC with integrated RAM and the NAND flash memory with 256 or 512 GByte are located, probably cannot be disassembled further without chip desoldering skills. Apple's repair manual only shows how to remove and reinstall the motherboard (logic board).
Overall, it is astonishing that Apple has gone to such lengths with the repairability of the MacBook. The device is therefore not only inexpensive but should also last a long time because users can have all important components – including those that tend to break, such as the USB-C ports or the trackpad – replaced. It is by no means a disposable product. TECH RE-NU also praises Apple in the video. They look forward to being able to repair the machine for their customers in the future.
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