iFixit Teardown of New MacBook Air Reveals ‘Straightforward to Access’Parts, but Repairability Score Remains Low

iFixit tears down the new MacBook Air

The fine folks over at iFixit have wrapped up their full teardown of the brand new 13.3-inch MacBook Air with Retina display, revealing all the nuts and bolts (and adhesive) putting together Apple’s newest laptop.

As is par for the course, the tear down process is not a guide to actually repair the device, even though a repair-ability score is provided by the end. Still, if you are curious how everything underneath the hood is put together, and whether or not you’ll have an easier job repairing the device yourself, these tear downs can be a fantastic resource. 

Some good news to start: Early reports that the battery can be replaced individually in the new MacBook Air are indeed true!

iFixit’s teardown reveals that many of the parts in the new MacBook Air are modular and pretty “straightforward to access”, which includes the speakers, the fan, and ports. As for that battery, the teardown revealed that it “is secured with a combination of screws and repair-friendly stretch-release adhesive”, but that the logic board and the speakers still need to be removed to access it. The logic board will also have to be removed if the Force Touch trackpad needs to be repaired or replaced, too:

“Unlike the newer MacBooks Pro, which have first-step replaceable trackpads, this trackpad shares a cable with the keyboard, which is pinned under the logic board.”

The new third-generation butterfly keyboard is integrated into the top case, which means there needs to be a full replacement if a repair is necessary. The RAM and built-in storage options are also soldered into place and non-serviceable. Whether or not that’s a deal breaker at this point, even for a laptop that starts at $1,200, will be wholly based on the individual’s preferences.

At the end of the day, the publication gave the new MacBook Air with Retina display a repairability score of 3 out of 10, with 10 being the easiest to repair. So, while Apple did make some changes to make things a bit easier, it’s still not a great score.

The full teardown can be found through the source link below, and, as usual, it’s definitely worth a look.

Are you planning on picking up the new MacBook Air? If you do, be sure to let us know in the comments what you think of the brand new laptop.

[via iFixit]

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