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Posted by GeekyBear 2 hours ago

Apple's MacBook Neo makes repairs easier and cheaper than other MacBooks(arstechnica.com)
103 points | 52 comments
Someone1234 2 hours ago|
I just want to link this teardown; it is a suitable companion to this article:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k7Lv7f-5CQ

On a rational level it isn't surprising that the "compute" part is so small, given its origins, but for some reason it still caught me by surprised seeing something barely larger than a Raspberry Pi.

But, yeah, this thing is crazy modular. I particularly want to call out how trivial it is to replace the ports, given how common of a failure point they are. With the keyboard/monitor being more involved, but absolutely still approachable.

I believe he finds just a single piece of light adhesive keeping a cable in place, everything else (inc. the battery) is screws only.

ggreer 1 hour ago||
It looks like it's still bigger than the logic board on the 12" MacBook from 2015.[1]

I really wish Apple would resurrect that form factor, as every other MacBook since has seemed bulky in comparison. Thanks to OpenCore Legacy Patcher[2], I still haven't gotten a newer mac. With a modern M series chip, it wouldn't have such rough tradeoffs in battery life and performance. I'd definitely buy it.

1. See step 11 on https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Retina+MacBook+2015+Teardown...

2. https://github.com/dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher

simonh 53 minutes ago|||
The Neo actually has similar dimensions to the 12” overall, though not as tapered. That’s possible because it has a much slimmer bezel. The Neo is about a third heavier though.
Eric_WVGG 30 minutes ago||||
I just helped a friend replace her eleven year old 11" Macbook Air with a new M4 Air.

her review: “this thing is HUGE :( :P ”

46493168 55 minutes ago|||
What version of MacOS are you running on yours? I have a 2017, 16GB, 1.7ghz and it's DOG slow on Ventura, even with reduce motion and reduce transparency. I have considered downgrading just to see if there's improvement.
ggreer 35 minutes ago||
I'm on Sequoia (v15.7.4). I have the original 2015 model (1.1Ghz Core M-5Y31, 8GB of RAM). It's a little slow, but fine for what I use it for (web browser, syncing music/photos to/from my phone, simple coding tasks). My main gripe is the battery only has 60% of its original capacity. Apple won't replace the battery, and doing it yourself is pretty tricky. At some point it'll break or no longer get security updates, and then I'll probably get a MacBook Air.

If you're using OpenCore Patcher, it's important to install the root patches to enable graphics acceleration. Otherwise it'll be ridiculously slow.

jeffbee 56 minutes ago||
It seems like a normal-sized motherboard? For comparison here is the ifixit teardown of a PixelBook Go (happens to be the laptop I am using right now). https://guide-images.cdn.ifixit.com/igi/LT6YEIeE1Svh4WCk.hug...
wvenable 3 minutes ago||
The teardown is impressive. The next question is whether anyone other than Apple will be able to get parts.
cwoolfe 1 hour ago||
Repairability and cost are key for the education market. Apple sold iPads into this space for awhile but there's been pushback and talk of going to chromebooks. Seems like they are positioning Neo for this segment as well.
intrasight 53 minutes ago|
I am WAY out of school and I still care about repairability and cost ;)
drooopy 1 hour ago||
This is probably going to be my new laptop next year if it gets the A19 Pro with 12 GB of RAM.
etchalon 1 hour ago||
I'd bet these things are going to be on a two-year upgrade cycle, instead of yearly. Will be super happy to be proven wrong.
ErneX 51 minutes ago||
They released the 17e a year after 16e so there’s hope.
cocoto 23 minutes ago||
The new naming of iPhones makes sense for a yearly update, not so much for the Neo.
intrasight 51 minutes ago||
This one will be my new laptop this year, and I'll then see what happens next year.
vablings 21 minutes ago||
Would I be a little crazy to buy one of these and make an SBC adaptor board. Also getting IOS to run on these devices might not be astronomically difficult considering we have seen quite a few M series iPad running MacOS
alex7o 19 minutes ago|
This is the same chip as the iphone, the only thing that need to be done is make something like m1n1 work with iOS and circumvent all the security measures
0xDEFACED 2 hours ago||
i sure hope so if apple intends to sell these things to school divisions. the levels of abuse i witnessed students dishing out to their chromebooks when i was a teacher was shocking to say the least
ajay-b 40 minutes ago||
This is really good to read. I hung on to my 2012 MBP for the replaceable battery, hard drive, and memory far longer than I wanted to. It's great having a thinner machine, but repairability - really extending its longevity - will always be a huge selling point for me. I have bitterly disliked the idea of "disposable technology."
needSomeCoffee 1 hour ago||
Wow. Beautiful engineering. Please, please Apple use this ethos for all future major laptop re-designs e.g. MBA & MBP.
euroderf 50 minutes ago||
Is the Neo in a price range where it could be attached to a robot chassis as its processsor and UI ? Connectivity, video, audio, status display, even a Max Headroom. USB-C plug-n-go.
edhelas 46 minutes ago|
So basically they are trying to reach what Lenovo and others are doing for years.

Nice Apple. That's good :)

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