iFixit Teardown Reveals MacBook Pro’s Illuminated Logo, Repair Challenges
iFixit’s teardown of Apple’s MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display shows how four LEDs illuminate its reflective Apple logo. The inspection also found that some repairs still require removing the logic board, while the laptop earned a repairability score of 5 out of 10.
iFixit tore down Apple’s MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, showing how its touchscreen laptop’s illuminated logo works and how difficult some repairs remain. The ifixit tears touchscreen macbook inspection found four LEDs behind the Apple logo and gave the computer a repairability score of 5 out of 10.
The logo uses a strip of four LEDs, a reflective layer and a diffuser to spread light evenly. Its two-way mirror coating looks shiny when the LEDs are off and lets light pass through when they are on.
Getting to the logo damaged the OLED panel, iFixit said. The teardown also examined the display and internal components.
Some repairs still require board removal
Replacing the USB-C ports or fans requires removing the entire logic board, even though both components can be replaced separately. The headphone jack also requires board removal.
The HDMI and SDXC ports, RAM and storage remain soldered to the logic board. That limits how those parts can be replaced independently.
iFixit also swapped logic boards between two MacBooks. The new model recognized the battery, display and Touch ID sensor after the swap, with True Tone, brightness controls and the touchscreen working as expected.
The repair tool also allowed iFixit to enroll a fingerprint with a donor board from another MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. The previous year’s M5 MacBook Pro had failed to complete Touch ID calibration through Apple’s Repair Assistant, iFixit said.
Display and weight changes
The PROLED XDR Display stacks two light-emitting layers, a design that delivers higher brightness than a conventional single-layer OLED. Under a microscope, iFixit found that the blue subpixels were larger than the red and green ones, which it said could reduce strain on the materials and potentially extend display life.
The new MacBook Pro weighs 3 pounds (1.38 kg), down from 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg) for the standard 14-inch model. Apple removed 92 grams from the chassis and 101 grams from the display assembly, despite adding touch and the illuminated logo.
The battery is 2 grams lighter, while a slightly smaller trackpad accounts for another 8 grams in weight savings. iFixit rated the laptop 5 out of 10 for repairability, one point above last year’s M5 MacBook Pro and one point below the cheaper MacBook Neo.
