iFixit tears down the new MacBook Neo, and likes (a lot of) what it sees

There was a lot of anticipation about what iFixit would find when it opened the MacBook Neo. Here is what it revealed.

‘We haven’t been this excited about a MacBook since 2012’

Over the past few days, there have been many reports that the MacBook Neo is said to be easy to repair, in part due to findings by the DIY community and the right to repair in Apple’s official repair manuals.

Today, iFixit published its own teardown and repairability analysis of the MacBook Neo, and found it to be “the most repairable MacBook in fourteen years.”

Right off the bat, iFixit notes that the small case can be opened by hand (after removing eight pentalobe screws), with no picking or clicking required.

Once that’s done, they see that most of the MacBook Neo’s components are easily visible and accessible:

We have easy access to the battery, speakers, USB-C ports, and trackpad. In most modern laptops, at least one of those components is buried under the other. Here, Apple actually lets us see the things we need.

And speaking of the battery, iFixit notes that, unlike other MacBooks, where the component is attached to the case or held in place with adhesive strips, the battery is simply folded down into the tray. Granted, there are 18 screws, but that’s still good news, even if it’s due to the upcoming EU battery regulations.

As the teardown continues and parts like the USB-C connectors, speakers, and logic board are removed, iFixit seems happy with the modularity and directness of most of the disassembly process.

A few highlights from the video include the similarities between the MacBook Neo and the iPhone 16 Pro logic board, the fact that Apple’s disassembly manual mentions a light sensor cable that the MacBook Neo does not have, and the mechanical design of the trackpad.

Finally, when disassembling the keyboard, iFixit says users need to remove 41 screws to free it, “but at least it’s possible to remove the keyboard” and replace it easily.

When all is said and done, the MacBook Neo scores a 6 out of 10 on iFixit’s repairability scale, being the “most repairable MacBook in fourteen years” on the one hand, while losing a few points for trade-offs like storage and RAM.

As a final take, they note:

For a device aimed at schools and students, that makes a lot of sense. If Apple wants to take a shot at the education market, it can’t just build a cheap MacBook. He must build one that can survive the student’s life and return to it. Cracked screens, dead batteries, damaged ports, sticky keys, these are not edge-of-class cases. They are a job description, and Apple seems to understand that.

Watch iFixit’s full teardown of the MacBook Neo below:

It’s worth checking out on Amazon