Bad news for ecology, the all-new MacBook Pro presented by Apple are even less repairable than previous models. The manufacturer locks down its hardware and software a little more.
The M3 14-inch MacBook Pros are improvements over last year’s models in almost every way… except one. iFixit has carried out its proper disassembly of Apple’s new machines and the conclusions are not exactly glorious. At the same time, the French repairability index tells approximately the same story, lowering the score from 6.6/10 for the M2 models to 6.3/10 for the M3 models.
RAM and SSD soldered
If the dismantling of the machine itself is not terribly complicated, thanks in particular to the new transparency that Apple is showing on the process of dismantling its devices, the technical choices made by Apple are questionable according to iFixit. The base model of the MacBook M3 is equipped with only 8 GB of RAM, which may already seem light for certain uses. When we add that to the fact that the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and that it is therefore impossible to change it or add more easily, it makes one cringe.
But that’s not all, because, as iFixit explains, once the RAM memory is filled, the computer will use the “swap” memory, that is to say a piece of the SSD as an ersatz of RAM. Unfortunately, as with all storage spaces, the number of read and write cycles tolerated by the disk is limited. Frequent use of swap memory therefore risks prematurely damaging the SSD… which is also soldered to the motherboard.
Limited scalability
In the event of a breakdown in the RAM memory or SSD, repairs could therefore be very expensive. Especially since it is not recommended to have your computer repaired anywhere other than Apple. Indeed, the brand continues its questionable policy of “serialization” of parts, as on its iPhones. Many parts will therefore need to be installed and validated by Apple before they can be used correctly, which reduces the scope for repair by third-party sellers.
Add to that the fact that, according to the calculation of the French repairability index, the disassembly of certain parts is more complicated than on previous models and you obtain a machine whose repair is increasingly blocked by Apple. The MacBook Pro M3 receives a lower rating than the M2 on disassembly and availability of spare parts on the French grid.
The sustainability index, which will arrive once France has reached an agreement with the European Commission, should not be kind to these machines either since it will take into account the scalability of the devices in addition to all the stay.
Source: iFixit
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