Apple has launched the new MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR touchscreen, a redesigned chassis, and an illuminated logo.
Experts at iFixit disassembled the device to reveal a structural overhaul and a repairability score of 5 out of 10.
The glowing logo uses four LED bulbs and reflective layers for uniform brightness. This is the first illuminated logo on a MacBook Pro casing in 10 years. A two-way mirror coating makes the logo look metallic when the display is off. Accessing this part for repairs is difficult. During the teardown, the team damaged a screen assembly when the glass layer separated from the panel, which made the OLED display inoperable.
The laptop features a modified hinge to support touchscreen use. It resembles the hinge in the M6-chip MacBook Pro. However, it is stiffer to hold the screen steady during touch inputs at the top edge of the display.
Weight reduction is evident across the device. The bottom case weighs 364 grams, down from 456 grams in the M6 model. This change came from removing parts of the aluminum structure. The display assembly is 101 grams lighter, and the battery is 2 grams lighter. The trackpad is also smaller than the M6 version.
Internal components show a mix of modular and fixed designs:
- Modular: Thunderbolt/USB-C ports and cooling fans can be replaced if the logic board is removed first.
- Fixed: HDMI ports, SDXC card slots, SSD storage, and RAM are soldered directly to the logic board.
The system’s Repair Assistant allowed hardware to function after the team swapped logic boards between two units. According to Flashfly Dot Net, the touchscreen and Touch ID sensors worked without extra pairing procedures after the swap.
The iFixit findings show the engineering trade-offs in the new model. The touchscreen and glowing logo required internal adjustments. Swapping logic boards without triggering pairing issues suggests flexibility in the component ecosystem. This repairability score matches the 5 out of 10 rating given to the previous M6 model.
