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MacBook Neo Teardown: Modular Ports, Glue-Less Battery, Zero Tape

The more I think and learn about this laptop the more I like it. But also am excited to see the second generation based on A19 with 12 gigs of ram and whatever tweaks they make.

I really like this in concept. Let’s see how it plays out.
 
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Apple Stores in Dallas have Neo in stock. A blue 512GB Neo replaces a 2016 MacBook Pro. Copies on-battery-only 96GB in two-ish minutes from a Samsung T7 attached to the faster USB C. Keyboard feels very responsive—plus quiet. Primary uses are writing using a text editor, editing photos using GraphicConverter, web development using Nova, light FinalCut Pro now and then. Decided to try this rather than a M5 MacBook Pro, just for fun.

There is no cheap feel. The machine is solid. Neo appears to be a keeper. Apple has a winner.

Why I buy from Apple. 14-day return policy. Building business relationships with specialists, creatives, geniuses. Apple employees usually know the products well.
 
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PBG4 Dude said:
The keyboard has a solid bottom too. I wonder if that helps to keep spilled liquids from getting inside the machine?
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That's an interesting observation. Whether it would meaningfully slow liquid ingress I genuinely don't know. But the combination of a modular keyboard and no adhesive throughout means that even if a spill does damage it, the repair is cheaper than on any previous MacBook. The worst case gets better when the parts are designed to come out.
 
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jarman92 said:
Can you cite a single instance of Apple—spokesperson or senior exec—claiming it's "impossible" to make devices repairable? Literally one single time.

Also notable that this isn't really a "thin device," it's significantly thicker than the Air. It also has far less battery and decidedly less-than-bleeding-edge specs.



Zero evidence this has anything at all to do with the EU. First of all, various US states also passed R2R legislation, which is far more likely to sway Apple. And this device is obviously geared towards education so making it highly repairable is actually smart economically.
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www.indiatoday.in

Apple’s head of hardware engineering explains why iPhones are so hard to repair

In an interview with YouTuber MKBHD, Apple’s Head of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, provided insights into why iPhones are difficult to repair. The discussion, which was posted on X, provides a deeper understanding of Apple's approach to balancing durability and repairability in its phones.
www.indiatoday.in www.indiatoday.in

On your second point, both could be true. There’s no way Apple would have done this otherwise
 
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Mousse said:
Schools aren't going to bite. They want easy to administer; in other words, locked down. Chromebooks are locked down like the Pope's chastity belt. A couple of trained chimps can administer a few hundred Chromebooks.
This is why some offer iPads since iPadOS is easy to lockdown too.
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Meanwhile my son still finds a way to play geometry dash on his school chromebook.
 
Happy_John said:
I said it above, so apologies for repeating myself, but I’ll be interested to see if they keep the form factor of the main board the same and so possible to swop logic boards between a 2026 and 2027 (2028?) Neo. In other words, they standardise the internals of the Neo like they did with last decade’s Mac Minis and MBAs.

That would be a huge benefit to home-repairers and schools.
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I agree it would be awesome but I expect Apple will bork it in some way to prevent the self upgrade path. I hope I'm wrong.
 
turbineseaplane said:
I've been wondering, as an OLED evangelist and lover, which of these will come first?

1. Macbook Air with OLED
2. iPad Pro OLED that can run macOS

I'm increasingly of the mind that #2 might come first.
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iPad with macos will never come.
But we might get closer, as apple will release a touch-macbook in a year or so.
 
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adamjackson said:
Apple is going to sell a metric-ton of these things. Great internet computers for $499 that are repairable and simple with MacOS? I honestly expect these things to finally move Apple's market share needle beyond 15% to 20%+

and as a shareholder, I really don't care about the hardware profit margin because at 256GB, these all be ripe for iCloud attach rates where people are paying apple $5 - $10 a month for storage. $100-$200 a year in services revenue for every single device is where it's at. Buy one of these, pay apple for Apple Music + iCloud and install Chrome + ChatGPT and iWork and you're rocking. Only pros will need more power.

In a year, this things gets the A19 and 12GB of RAM then we're cooking!!!
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Also more importantly - future users. These people that are jumping on macOS for the first time, experiencing the nicer hardware + software and will eventually be buying their next computer in 2-5 years. That one will likely be a higher priced SKU.
 
Jamie0003 said:
Hell yes. Apple has been saying for years that it’s impossible to make these thin devices repairable…..but we all know the real reason $$$

EU is really killing it recently. I hope they go after AirPlay, iCloud and FaceTime next.
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Hum? Apple never thought of its notebook machines as DIY-repair models. Very few Apple users actually self-service their notebooks. The notebooks are designed for users—casual to professional—who want machines easy-to-use, secure, reliable, durable. That the EU sided with the i-fix-it minority is interesting. I do DIY hardware repairs and upgrades on my older MacBooks—not professionally. But self-service-repair means very little to most Mac users.
 
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WarmWinterHat said:
Is it the core duo or core 2 duo model? Curious if Linux can use the 64-bit processing of the C2D...Apple never enabled it in OSX and let it die with the 32-bit deprecation. I had the C2D model and was PISSED.

I still miss the little button and the green battery indicator lights.
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it's a while ago now but i'm pretty sure i've run 64 bit linux on old core2duo macs. however an issue you may have *now* is that linux distros are gradually moving to supporting only AMD64-v3 instruction sets, and I believe *that* may start to leave machines as old as 2008 out in the cold. you'd need to pick your distro accordingly. with that caveat i'd always endorse putting a linux on an old mac, but more than that would be to dive into distro wars. (mint? ugh! 😉) but the v3 stuff may constrain you anyway.

debian's probably a good bet and mint's derived ultimately from there anyway.

(edit: I've run *64 bit* linux on old...)
 
TruthAboveAllElse said:
And where in the law does it require standard T screws and not to use adhesive? Apple’s current repair program likely already met the right to repair requirements.
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Agreed, adhesive, if done right, is not an impediment to repair. As long as your pull-tabs don't snap.

Also - the 9v battery method of freeing the adhesive in some of their phones is pretty neat.

All that said, the way the Neo has been designed to be repaired is better and probably there to encourage the education sector to buy and then easily maintain stock.
 
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Mousse said:
Schools aren't going to bite. They want easy to administer; in other words, locked down. Chromebooks are locked down like the Pope's chastity belt. A couple of trained chimps can administer a few hundred Chromebooks.
This is why some offer iPads since iPadOS is easy to lockdown too.
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yeah, i feel this is much more targeted at college students. that said there *are* fleet management solutions for macs, and there's been some speculation that the lack of touch id on the base model might even be a plus for schools.
 
villagehiker said:
Hum? Apple never thought of its notebook machines as DIY-repair models. Very few Apple users actually self-service their notebooks. The notebooks are designed for users—casual to professional—who want machines easy-to-use, secure, reliable, durable. That the EU sided with the i-fix-it minority is interesting. I do DIY hardware repairs and upgrades on older MacBooks. But self-service-repair means very little to most Mac users.
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Just because you have the right to repair does not mean that you have to repair it yourself. It's about owning your own stuff and allowing competent people do their own repairs. It's about choice.
 
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Jamie0003 said:
AirPlay is not cross compatible. For example, when I have friends over that have Android phones, they can’t AirPlay to my HomePods or Apple TV’s. A version of casting for both platforms is already available called matter casting, but of course neither support it
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You can easily search the web and find android apps that give an Airplay like experience.

When I do, I find a number of results that appear todo what you are asking.
 
abowlby said:
You know we as a people are cooked when folks start lying to themselves about how much something a massive corporation is selling something for...so that they can AstroTurf for said corporation.

<highlighted $599 screenshot>
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To be fair @abowlby students (or any qualified Education customer) can buy this at $499 I don't think it's as dire and insidious as "lying to themselves" nor "astroturfing".

1773332778046.png
 
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villagehiker said:
Hum? Apple never thought of its notebook machines as DIY-repair models. Very few Apple users actually self-service their notebooks. The notebooks are designed for users—casual to professional—who want machines easy-to-use, secure, reliable, durable. That the EU sided with the i-fix-it minority is interesting. I do DIY hardware repairs and upgrades on my older MacBooks—not professionally. But self-service-repair means very little to most Mac users.
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I’m not sure why anyone would be against right to repair though, even if you don’t care personally?

I mean I do, a great deal. I had the original 12 inch MacBook, and ended up breaking the damn thing trying to replace the battery. I won’t be buying another Mac laptop if it isn’t trivial to replace the battery.

I’m not saying it’s easy to make these things repairable, but it’s absolutely possible, as this very machine (MacBook neo) proves
 
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