If the in depth testing and your personal eyes weren’t sufficient proof, we now have definitive proof that the 13-inch MacBook Professional M2 is nothing greater than a recycled M1.
IFixit has carried out its customary tear down of the brand new machine and confirmed what everybody anticipated: the brand new MacBook Professional is merely a 2020 MacBook Professional with a brand new logic board. The brand new machines are so comparable, in actual fact, Apple is reusing the identical A2338 mannequin quantity on each machines. The screws, the elimination course of, even the location of the chips and cables are the identical, although iFixit notes that “among the chips and smaller elements have modified.”
Among the many smaller adjustments iFixit found is the warmth sink on the M1 has barely rounded corners as in comparison with the squared off corners on the M2. iFixit additionally confirmed the slower SSD on account of using a single 256GB chip on the M2 mannequin versus two 128GB chips.
Nonetheless, when you’re hoping to purchase an M2 logic board and easily swap out the M1, you’ll be able to’t. Very similar to Luke Miani found, iFixit realized you’ll be able to’t merely swap out the logic boards. Whereas they had been in a position to get the laptop computer besides, key elements wouldn’t work because of the “baffling” resolution to make the trackpad and keyboard incompatible with the older chip. iFixit notes that the components are an identical, so the difficulty is probably going on account of software program restrictions.
Consequently, iFixit feels the M2 MacBook Professional is a “missed alternative” for Apple to introduce its first upgradable laptop computer in many years and “set the tone for repairability and eco-friendly design,” particularly since Apple is launching a brand new MacBook Air with an M2 chip this month with a brand new design and specs.
