This week, Apple started selling the new M3 MacBook Pro models. Praised by the new processor and a space black option, these laptops have a revamped GPU. While users buying the entry-level model will discover several new features compared to the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, the real changes are available in the M3 Max processor, which BGR got a chance to test for our M3 MacBook Pro review.
Even though the new M3 MacBook Pro models are some of the best options in the market, repairability is still a major concern. To see if Apple has made any changes to this laptop, iFixit made its famous teardown so we could see these new machines from the inside.
To start, iFixit praises that the “unpopular and unrepairable” Touch Bar has been gone. But despite the modular design of these machines’ internals, the company still says it’s very hard to repair the new M3 MacBook Pro.
For example, if you choose 8GB of RAM for the M3 MacBook Pro, you won’t be able to upgrade the memory later. The same is worth it for storage. If you choose 512GB, you can’t upgrade it if you need more.
Although some influencers claimed that 8GB of RAM is enough for most users, it’s important to note that Apple does RAM swapping, which uses a part of the SSD as extra memory. Over time, this will ruin your SSD, as it can only be rewritten a certain amount of times.
In addition, iFixit shows that it’s impossible to repair the screen, Touch ID, and lid sensor without the customers going to Apple’s own support. If they choose to repair these parts on their own, they’ll just stop working. Regarding the screen, there’s a weird issue in the top right corner that iFixit says won’t go away if Apple doesn’t repair the display itself.
With that in mind, iFixit gives the M3 MacBook Pro a 4/10 provisional score.