Overview
- iFixit rated the new 14-inch model 4 out of 10 after seeing only incremental progress on serviceability.
- Apple continues to sell the battery only as part of the top-case chassis, turning a battery swap into a laborious full transplant of internal components.
- The central battery pull tabs are now reachable without removing the trackpad, a small change that could ease future battery-only replacements.
- Apple released official repair guides on day one, which iFixit says make procedures safer and help signal which spare parts will be available.
- The teardown measured a 72.6 Wh battery versus Apple’s 72.4 Wh spec, and noted many repairs still require removing the logic board and, for the display, the antenna bracket secured by tiny P2 screws.