MacBook Air Teardown Reveals M2 Chip and Single Storage Chip for 256GB Model

[MacRumors]

YouTube channel Max Tech recently shared a video teardown of the new MacBook Air, providing a look inside the redesigned notebook.

Overall, the internal design of the new MacBook Air looks similar to the previous model, but the flatter shell allowed for Apple to fit larger battery cells inside the notebook. The new MacBook Air is equipped with a 52.6-watt‑hour battery, compared to a 49.9‑watt‑hour battery in the previous model, according to Apple's tech specs. However, Apple says both the 2020 and 2022 models of the MacBook Air achieve up to 18 hours of battery life per charge.

The teardown reveals the new MacBook Air's logic board, which includes Apple's new M2 chip. As confirmed by Apple last week, the teardown also shows that the 256GB model of the new MacBook Air is equipped with only a single NAND storage chip, resulting in up to 30% to 50% slower SSD speeds in benchmark testing compared to both higher-capacity MacBook Air models and the previous model with 256GB of storage.

M2 chip (outlined in blue) and empty NAND storage flash chip pad (outlined in red)​

As usual, storage and RAM chips are soldered to the logic board in the new MacBook Air, making it very difficult/unfeasible to upgrade these components after purchase.

Repair website iFixit will likely share a more in-depth teardown of the new MacBook Air eventually.

Article Link: MacBook Air Teardown Reveals M2 Chip and Single Storage Chip for 256GB Model

 

[ChristianSelig]

Hold up Joe you're telling me this thing has an M2 in it??

 

[antiprotest]

"Shhh. It's OK. Most people will never notice."

 

[boak]

So what are the shocking surprises? I can't be bothered to watch the whole video

 

[gpat]

I'm curious to see what they will do to screw up the M2 Pro 14" and 16" refresh.
Their value for money in the lineup is too good right now.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Here we go again.
Low end SSD sucks, there’s no way around it.
But this is like thread 6000 on it, it’s old news at this point.
Why did Apple do it? I still say that it’s because of supply constraints.
If it was truly nothing but penny pinching, it’s a bizarre thing to cheap out on.
I’d think the color matched braided cables that don’t even come with the pro, or the high impedance headphone jack or something like that would’ve been the first thing to go before the fast SSD.
Anyway, I look forward to another 26 page thread about this
🍿

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Sheeeesh! It’s so compact! Impressed by the finest engineering. The internals looks well aligned and beautiful. Talk about attention to detail. Only Apple can do it. 🙌🏻

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

So what are the shocking surprises? I can't be bothered to watch the whole video

Honestly, the most shocking thing to me that I’m surprised the original article doesn’t point out is that this thing seems to have an ultra wide band chip in it like all of the recent iPhones.
Seems like something Apple would list in their tech specs

 

[Joe Rossignol]

So what are the shocking surprises? I can't be bothered to watch the whole video

Just the SSD situation, which Apple has now confirmed in a statement, so it's not even a surprise anymore. This video provides a decent teardown of the MacBook Air so it's honestly unfortunate that YouTubers resort to such clickbait thumbnails. It makes me wish I could avoid embedding the video, but I like to give fair credit.

 

[ScottishDuck]

Wait… there’s an M2 chip?????

 

[OS X Dude]

The heatsink is single-use from what I've seen posted on some forums, so I guess if it goes in for service it'll get replaced. Also, someone posted a pic of it and it's the whole black area at the top going all over the motherboard. I guess the M2 really does chuck out some serious heat.

 

[Eightarmedpet]

I won't watch anything from that full of hot air click bait nonsense channel.
The SSD isn't shocking anyone anymore, and nor is it really that much of a big deal. Jog on.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Just the SSD situation, which Apple has now confirmed in a statement, so it's not even a surprise anymore. This video provides a decent teardown of the MacBook Air so it's honestly unfortunate that YouTubers resort to such clickbait thumbnails. It makes me wish I could avoid embedding the video, but I like to give fair credit.

You should add the hidden UWB chip to the article.
I think that’s a lot more interesting than the SSD.
At around 11:40 in the vid

 

[ProfessionalFan]

"Shhh. It's OK. Most people will never notice."

Yes, most people using the machine will never run into a problem with the SSD being a single chip. Thank you for stating a fact. Good to see more people are picking up on that!

 

[Mr. Dee]

Does MaxTech realize if you keep doing this, you are not gonna get any review units or invites to Apple events? 😄

 

[Larabee119]

I won't watch anything from that full of hot air click bait nonsense channel.
The SSD isn't shocking anyone anymore, and nor is it really that much of a big deal. Jog on.

Same here. They aren't that good.
Real world performance isn't affected much for the intended usage of that machine.

 

[that be me]

So what are the shocking surprises? I can't be bothered to watch the whole video

...or read the article the video is posted in, apparently.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I won't watch anything from that full of hot air click bait nonsense channel.
The SSD isn't shocking anyone anymore, and nor is it really that much of a big deal. Jog on.

iJustine will be happy that you are loyal to her.

 

[Eric8199]

I won't watch anything from that full of hot air click bait nonsense channel.
The SSD isn't shocking anyone anymore, and nor is it really that much of a big deal. Jog on.

Totally agree. This channel is one of the worst for clickbait headlines and terrible content. Is there a way to block a channel on YouTube from showing you recommendations? Because I totally want to block this guy.

 

[antiprotest]

Yes, most people using the machine will never run into a problem with the SSD being a single chip. Thank you for stating a fact. Good to see more people are picking up on that!

Yes. I get it.

 

[doboy]

Here we go again.
Low end SSD sucks, there’s no way around it.
But this is like thread 6000 on it, it’s old news at this point.
Why did Apple do it? I still say that it’s because of supply constraints.
If it was truly nothing but penny pinching, it’s a bizarre thing to cheap out on.
I’d think the color matched braided cables that don’t even come with the pro, or the high impedance headphone jack or something like that would’ve been the first thing to go before the fast SSD.
Anyway, I look forward to another 26 page thread about this
🍿

Let's beat a dead horse.

 

[boak]

...or read the article the video is posted in, apparently.

The article didn't mention any shocking surprises, apparently.

 

[Joe Rossignol]

You should add the hidden UWB chip to the article.
I think that’s a lot more interesting than the SSD.
At around 11:40 in the vid

Max Tech tweeted the following:

"UPDATE: There's a chance that this could just be a regular WiFi module, since if uses the same USI name on the chip. Can't confirm that it's Ultrawideband or not."

I'm not sure what the chip is, so I didn't mention it.

 

[Blackstick]

MacRumors just isn't very representative of the typical client base for this Mac. People like my retired mom or my wife the psychologist, my brother the attorney... normal people, not geeks... they're never going to realize it's slower if you don't option 512GB. It'll be fast enough for their very basic uses of a computer. Those of us who know... probably will spec 512GB or continue on MacBook Pros.

 

[IsaacM]

It's so funny seeing the fanboys defend Apple like this trillion dollar CORPORATION is their family member. ⚰️

The fact is MOST people get base model Macbooks and the new "supercharged" base model should NOT have slower speeds in any aspect than the 2 year old model, especially considering they bumped up the price by $200.

Stop sucking up to a corporation. They care about their shareholders and not you.