potential user upgradeable storage on Mac Studio

[troop231]

Apple already said it’s not user accessible

Technically an iPhone and retina MacBook Pros aren't either by Apple's specs, but alot of folks replace their own batteries regardless.

It may be removable but the original chips are probably tied to the SoC until someone can figure it out, like OWC.

 

[icemantx]

Apple already said it’s not user accessible

Apple has said the same thing about iMacs for years, yet they could be worked on with the proper tools, skills and knowledge. Maybe not the case with the Studio, but I would still like to get someone (iFixit / OWC) to confirm one way or the other and not just take what Apple says at face value before I drop the extra $$$ on extra the SSD storage.

 

[yukari]

Technically an iPhone and retina MacBook Pros aren't either by Apple's specs, but alot of folks replace their own batteries regardless.

It may be removable but the original chips are probably tied to the SoC until someone can figure it out, like OWC.

Batteries are not soldered in like SSDs.

I would presume SSDs in Mac Studio are soldered in permanently making replacing it almost impossible.

Batteries need to be replaced from time to time, so they cannot make that a permanent fixture.

 

[lcubed]

we'll know for sure when the iFixit folks take one apart in the next few days

 

[mikeboss]

we'll know for sure when the iFixit folks take one apart in the next few days

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504880511646416897

 

[spiderpumpkin]

ifixit

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504902503841689604

 

[lcubed]

ifixit?

i wonder what's holding that black ring on that hides the fasteners

 

[spiderpumpkin]

ifixit

i wonder what's holding that black ring on that hides the fasteners

Looks like some kind of black adhesive strips.

 

[hugodrax]

What was in the empty section? Looks like glue holds the black ring.

 

[fisha]

Certainly looks like an m.2 slot in that top left corner. Would be great if it could be upgraded.

Saying not user serviceable doesn’t mean that it isn’t serviceable at all though.

 

[jasoncarle]

My guess would be that's the extent of it. With Apple's T2 security chip, it's unlikely any sort of third party SSD would work. I'd be happy to be wrong.

There is no T2 chip on Macs that have Apple Silicon inside.

 

[hugodrax]

There is no T2 chip on Macs that have Apple Silicon inside.

It’s incorporated into the M series chip. The functionality is still there.

 

[jasoncarle]

It’s incorporated into the M series chip. The functionality is still there.

So you're saying there is no T2 chip...

lol

This is like ultra level pedantry right here.

 

[ixxx69]

There is no T2 chip on Macs that have Apple Silicon inside.

I appreciate the clarification.

It’s incorporated into the M series chip. The functionality is still there.

Indeed, my point still stands (whether the M1 "security" features matter in this case is yet to be determined).

 

[troop231]

Batteries are not soldered in like SSDs.

I would presume SSDs in Mac Studio are soldered in permanently making replacing it almost impossible.

Batteries need to be replaced from time to time, so they cannot make that a permanent fixture.

I've already mentioned in another thread that they're not soldered in.

 

[ufomism]

 

[enricoclaudio]

OMG...What an amazing teardown video!!! That thing is insanely good built. Kudos to Apple!!!

 

[atonaldenim]

MaxTech video summary: yes those do appear to be replaceable SSD modules very similar to the 2019 Mac Pro. They tried installing an SSD module from a 2019 Mac Pro and the connector was almost identical but the pins did not quite match up. Also the Mac Pro SSD was too long to fit in the Studio case. But yes, it seems that the SSD memory modules will be removable/replaceable, with the caveats stated above (not a typical PC off the shelf SSD.)

Seems very promising!

 

[yukari]

Glad I didn’t upgrade storage!

 

[Cloud9]

Unless someone reverse engineers it i doubt you will be able to order parts that the Os will want to play with.

 

[turbineseaplane]

MaxTech video summary: yes those do appear to be replaceable SSD modules very similar to the 2019 Mac Pro. They tried installing an SSD module from a 2019 Mac Pro and the connector was almost identical but the pins did not quite match up. Also the Mac Pro SSD was too long to fit in the Studio case. But yes, it seems that the SSD memory modules will be removable/replaceable, with the caveats stated above (not a typical PC off the shelf SSD.)

Seems very promising!

Put another way… Apple went out of their way to gouge people.

They have socketed SSDs, but made it a weird shape and hard to get at.

This is even worse than soldered down.
Forever people would say that “it was soldered down to the SoC to give max speed”

Nope. It’s socketed in there and Apple just wants to rip us off on upgrade pricing.

Disgusting

 

[jasnw]

Well, that's one way to look at it. I am in no way a fanboi, but after watching that teardown all I need is some independent benchmarking and reports on fan noise and I may just have to buy one of these.

 

[Chancha]

Put another way… Apple went out of their way to gouge people.

They have socketed SSDs, but made it a weird shape and hard to get at.

This is even worse than soldered down.
Forever people would say that “it was soldered down to the SoC to give max speed”

Nope. It’s socketed in there and Apple just wants to rip us off on upgrade pricing.

Disgusting

There is “some” legit technical reason for proprietary SSD. The Apple Silicon SoC has storage controller in it, also some DRAM acting as cache. The way this whole system is structured means these socketed SSDs are unlike the off street NVMe which are modular, and independently having controllers and cache built-in together with some factory firmware. Apple’s route just use these boards as placeholder for the “dumb” NANDS.