Regardless of whether you look at the new MacBooks with M1 chip from a distance or up close – there are no big differences to the previous Intel models.

Only a globe icon on the fn key of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, with which emojis can be called up faster, reveals that these are brand new devices. There are hardly any differences even in terms of weight, although Apple’s in-house SoCs allow significantly more integration.

MacBook Air without fan A first teardown of the two M1 MacBooks, which the repair service provider iFixIt carried out, now demonstrates how “Intel” still is in terms of the inner workings of the devices. “Something old, something new” is appropriately headed. The biggest change can be found in the MacBook Air. Apple has now omitted the fan for the first time.

A thick aluminum heat spreader should now be solely responsible for removing the waste heat. There are no moving parts. The main board is of course new, the combination of M1 and memory is recognizable. There is no longer a T2 security chip; it is in the SoC. The WLAN Bluetooth module (with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0) does not seem to be from Broadcom, it has an Apple label (USI 339 S 00758). The other hardware structure with battery and more looks very much like the predecessor. Apple installs similar components in both M1 MacBooks. With the Air it should be noted that it runs less with a graphics core.

Even more nailed up With the MacBook Pro, the changes are almost even smaller except for the new, integrated motherboard. Apparently Apple even uses the same fan as in this year’s Intel models. The T2 chip is also missing from the MacBook Pro. Apple’s work in merging all of these functions of course also makes the machines more difficult to repair. If the RAM fails, the entire integrated SoC has to be replaced. The SSDs are of course soldered (which is not new).

The Mac is making the next big change in processor architecture. Instead of Intel processors, Apple has been using in-house ARM-based SoCs (System on a Chip) since the end 2020, starting with the M1. The change had been evident for a long time.

Apple got despite the apparently iFixIt believes that minor changes have been worked intensively on the new interior over the years. And that should only be the beginning. The machines are quiet, fast and interesting. But they are also more difficult to repair, especially outside of Apple’s own workshop network.

(bsc)