Apple products don’t necessarily have a reputation for being particularly easy to maintain or repair. However, you have to look at this in a much more differentiated way. While there are disposable items such as defective AirPods, replacing batteries or displays in Macs, iPads and iPhones is usually quite easy – although usually not without special tools, a lot of patience and manual skills. But what about the MacBook Neo? A first repair service provider has now ventured into the inner workings of the cheapest notebook and has drawn a conclusion. Screws – and more screws
As with the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the aluminum housing is opened using eight screws on the bottom. Inside there is a very compact motherboard, embedded in an overall reduced and cleanly organized layout. What is striking is the clear cable routing, the lack of additional hinge covers and the consistent use of conventional Torx screws in sizes T3, T5 and T8.
The storage of the battery is also worth mentioning: This is also attached with screws and can then be removed immediately. Apple has apparently completely dispensed with the pull tabs or flat adhesive connections that are common in many modern devices. This used to be an often-voiced criticism of Apple’s design, but with the MacBook Neo, Apple pretty much chose the path that repair specialists have always demanded.
Extremely modular design
Several other components are also designed as independent modules. These include the two USB-C ports, speakers and the headphone jack. These can be replaced separately without having to replace larger components – the speakers, for example, are each fixed with just four screws and are also not glued. If a new keyboard is required, this does not require replacing the top case at the same time. This is another point that has almost traditionally caused trouble with Apple notebooks.
A first conclusion
Apple has obviously paid particular attention to modularity and ease of maintenance. All components can be reached within minutes and removed with comparatively little effort. This wasn’t necessarily to be expected, as Apple used to rely particularly heavily on permanently installed or glued elements, especially for compact or cheaper devices. There is no disassembly report including a “repairability score” from iFixit yet – although in the case of the MacBook Neo, a pretty good grade can be expected soon.
