If there has been one constant criticism of today’s gadgets and electronics, is that for the most part they are not easy to repair. This is a contribution of many factors, such as to dissuade third-party repairs, encouraging customers to upgrade instead of repairing, and also a desire to slim everything down, which complicates the removal process of components.
Apple’s products have never been particularly easy to repair, but according to the teardown of the company’s 2020 MacBook Air, it seems that Apple has made some improvements to the internal design of the laptop that will make it a slightly easier process. While it still won’t be easy to repair, the changes should make it less challenging.
According to the teardown conducted by iFixit, they cite changes to the internal design that have made the laptop easier to repair than its predecessor. One of the changes includes a re-routed trackpad cable which makes trackpad and battery replacements more accessible. They also cite the modularity of components like the fan, speakers, and ports, which makes it easier to replace them individually, while also being easier to access.
Overall, the new MacBook Air scored a 4 out 10 in terms of repairability, which is still pretty low, but as iFixit notes, it is an improvement over the previous model. We imagine that Apple will still very much prefer if customers took their laptops into their stores for repairs, but these changes should help make it easier for third-party repair shops to fix your laptop.
Filed in . Read more about Laptops and Macbook Air. Source: ifixit