iFixit

By MacRumors Staff

iFixit Articles

mac mini teardown 1

2018 Mac mini Teardown: User-Upgradeable RAM, But Soldered Down CPU and Storage

Friday November 9, 2018 4:51 am PST by
The repair experts at iFixit have completed their teardown of the new Mac mini, providing a look inside the portable desktop computer. Disassembly of the new Mac mini remains fairly straightforward. iFixit popped off the plastic bottom cover with its opening tool and then used a Torx screwdriver to unfasten the familiar antenna plate underneath. With access to the inside, iFixit then...
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2018 MacBook Air Teardown Confirms Improving Repairability With Adhesive Pull-Tabs Under Battery and Speakers

Thursday November 8, 2018 4:56 am PST by
The repair experts at iFixit have completed their teardown of the new MacBook Air, providing a closer look inside the notebook. iFixit started by confirming the keyboard on the new MacBook Air has the same silicone membrane under the keycaps as the latest MacBook Pro, as expected since they both use Apple's third-generation butterfly keyboard. Next, they flipped the notebook onto its...
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Enthusiasts Detail RAM Upgrade Process for the 2018 Mac mini

Thursday November 8, 2018 2:10 am PST by
RAM replacement guides for the new 2018 Mac mini have appeared online, detailing what's involved if users choose to go against Apple's advice and upgrade the removable memory modules themselves. Apple's official line is that it doesn't consider the new Space Gray Mac mini to be user-configurable, therefore the company recommends that later memory upgrades be performed by a certified Apple...
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iFixit Gives Us a Peek Inside iPhone XR With New Teardown

Friday October 26, 2018 12:57 pm PDT by
Apple's new lower-cost flagship smartphone, the iPhone XR, launched today, and iFixit picked up one of the new devices to take it apart for one of the site's traditional teardowns that are designed to give us a peek inside Apple hardware. An x-ray provided by Creative Electron offers a look inside the fully assembled iPhone, showing where each component is located. Opening up the iPhone...
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iFixit Indicates Third-Party 2018 MacBook Pro, iMac Pro Repairs Still Possible For Now

Saturday October 6, 2018 1:35 pm PDT by
Earlier this week, MacRumors obtained an internal document from Apple stating that Macs with the Apple T2 chip, including the iMac Pro and 2018 MacBook Pro, must pass Apple diagnostics for certain repairs to be completed. The document states:For Macs with the Apple T2 chip, the repair process is not complete for certain parts replacements until the AST 2 System Configuration suite has been...
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Apple Watch Series 4 Teardown: 20% Less Battery Capacity, Hidden Barometric Sensor, and Streamlined Internals [Updated]

Monday September 24, 2018 5:14 am PDT by
iFixit has completed a teardown of the Apple Watch Series 4, providing a look inside a larger 44mm model with LTE. Image Credit: iFixit The repair experts believe that while the original Apple Watch was awkwardly layered together and used too much glue, the Series 4 lineup feels "much more thoughtfully laid out," likening it to the iPhone 5.Apple pundit John Gruber has compared this to the...
ifixit teardown iphone xs iphone xs max

iFixit: iPhone XS Has 'Notched' Battery and iPhone XS Max Has Apple-Designed Power Management Chip [Updated]

Friday September 21, 2018 5:53 am PDT by
The repair experts at iFixit have shared teardowns of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, providing a look inside the latest models. iPhone XS on left and iPhone XS Max on right via iFixit While the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have improved IP68-rated water resistance, iFixit says it could not find any obvious evidence of increased waterproofing, with the SIM tray gasket and other seals looking...
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Inside the iPhone Repair Ecosystem: Where Do Replacement Parts Come From and Can You Trust Them?

Tuesday August 14, 2018 11:58 am PDT by
There's a thriving market for unofficial, aftermarket iPhone parts, and in China, there are entire massive factories that are dedicated to producing these components for repair shops unable to get ahold of parts that have been produced by Apple. The entire Apple device repair ecosystem is fascinating, complex, and oftentimes confusing to consumers given the disconnect between Apple, Apple...
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iFixit Tests Silicone Membrane on 2018 MacBook Pro Keyboard With Dust Exposure

Thursday July 19, 2018 12:29 pm PDT by
Following the release of the new 2018 MacBook Pro models, iFixit last week tore apart the 13-inch version and discovered the presence of a new silicone membrane underneath the keyboard's butterfly keys that Apple internal documents have since confirmed has been added to prevent dust and other small particulates from causing key failures. To give us a better look at the new third-generation...
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2018 13-Inch MacBook Pro Teardown Finds Larger Battery, Redesigned Power Adapter, Tweaked Top Case and More

Monday July 16, 2018 1:29 pm PDT by
iFixit on Friday started a teardown on the new 2018 MacBook Pro, discovering a new silicone membrane underneath the keyboard keys, which the site believes is an ingress-proofing measure to prevent the keys from seizing up when exposed to small particulates. That was by far the most interesting bit of information about the new MacBook Pro models, but iFixit has now finished a teardown of the...
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Sixth-Generation iPad Teardown Details 'Repair Nightmare' for Education-Focused Tablet

Tuesday April 3, 2018 6:15 am PDT by
iFixit today published its teardown of Apple's sixth-generation, education-focused iPad and found that -- unsurprisingly -- the tablet shares many of the internals of the fifth-gen iPad. The teardown crew also looked at the new iPad's potential for durability and repairability in an education environment by comparing it to competitors in the field. Images via iFixit The new iPad's lack of...
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Samsung Galaxy S9+ Teardown Reveals Components for Dual-Aperture Camera and 'Lower-Tech' AR Emoji

Monday March 12, 2018 5:41 am PDT by
Over the weekend, iFixit shared its latest teardown, this one for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9+ smartphone. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will both launch this Friday, March 16 for around for $720 and $840, respectively, and some initial reviews took to comparing the devices to Apple's iPhone X. iFixit did so as well in the new teardown, starting off by trying to get into the back of the S9+ to look...
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HomePod Teardown Reveals Hidden 14-Pin Connector, 16GB Storage, and Very Low Repairability

Monday February 12, 2018 4:09 am PST by
iFixit has completed an exhaustive teardown of the HomePod and found that, while the speaker appears to have a simple design on the outside, it will likely be extremely difficult for customers to complete do-it-yourself repairs. HomePod's mesh has a drawstring The teardown experts, who admit there might be a better way to open the HomePod that they've yet to learn, were forced to use a...
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iFixit Reduces Price of All DIY iPhone Battery Replacement Kits to $29 or Less

Friday December 29, 2017 4:56 am PST by
Yesterday, Apple responded to customer complaints about how the company handles power management features in older iPhone models and decided to reduce the price for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements from $79 to $29, beginning in late January and lasting through December 2018. In response, iFixit has decided to match that price point and lower the cost of every DIY iPhone battery fix kit ...
iphone x teardown

iPhone X Teardown: TrueDepth Camera System, Stacked Logic Board With 3GB RAM, and 2,716 mAh Battery

Friday November 3, 2017 3:49 am PDT by
iFixit has completed an iPhone X teardown, providing a closer look inside the device, including its new TrueDepth camera system, stacked logic board, L-shaped two-cell battery pack, and Qi-based inductive charging coil. Like every other model since the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone X is a sideways-opening device. A single bracket covers every logic board connector. iFixit said the...
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Apple TV 4K Teardown Reveals 3GB of RAM and Larger Venting System With Replaceable Fan

Tuesday September 26, 2017 4:36 am PDT by
iFixit has shared an Apple TV 4K teardown, providing a closer look at the device's internal design and components. We already know the Apple TV 4K is equipped with Apple's 64-bit A10X Fusion chip, and now the teardown confirms the device has a total of 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM supplied by SK Hynix. That's up from 2GB RAM in the previous Apple TV. 1GB + 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM outlined in yellow for a ...
apple watch series 3 teardown ifixit

Apple Watch Series 3 Teardown Reveals Larger Battery and Air Vent Moved Next to Diagnostic Port

Monday September 25, 2017 4:59 am PDT by
iFixit has completed a teardown of the Apple Watch Series 3, which has a virtually identical form factor as previous models. The display is unchanged from the Series 2, with one key difference being that it now functions as a multifrequency antenna for cellular. Series 3 models support LTE and UMTS, according to Apple's tech specs. The battery in the 38mm model with GPS + Cellular has a ...
iphone 7 battery fix kit

iFixit Launches New iPhone 7/7Plus Fix Kits for At-Home Battery Replacements and Screen Repairs

Wednesday August 16, 2017 8:53 am PDT by
iFixit today released a collection of all-new Fix Kits for iPhone 7 devices that guide users through replacing batteries, cracked screens, and even the front and rear camera modules and sensors on an iPhone. The new battery Fix Kits for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus join previous kits already available for iPhones as far back as the iPhone 4s. iFixit said that these battery replacement kits...
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iFixit Debuts New Fix Kits for At-Home Retina MacBook Pro Battery Replacement

Thursday July 6, 2017 7:18 am PDT by
iFixit today launched six new battery repair kits for Apple's MacBook Pro with a Retina display, allowing users to replace the battery in an older-model MacBook Pro, restoring it to hold a full-day charge and extending its life for 2-3 years, according to iFixit. Each kit "offers all the tools needed" for users to perform the repair at home with a step-by-step guide taking them through the entire ...
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Greenpeace Combats Planned Obsolescence in New Repairability Campaign, iPad and MacBook Score Low

Tuesday June 27, 2017 6:48 am PDT by
A new campaign by Greenpeace today has rated the repairability of six Apple devices against the smartphone, tablet, and laptop market at large, the purpose of which is to highlight planned obsolescence in the technology industry. Greenpeace partnered with iFixit to assess over forty different devices that debuted between 2015 and 2017, with iFixit's teardown repairability scores serving as the...