The 2016 MacBook is nearly impossible to repair. That’s according to iFixIt, whose teardown of Apple’s latest laptop resulted in a repairability rating for the device of one (out of ten) — as low as it gets.
One year after relaunching the Macbook line as a super light laptop, Apple is now selling an updated version with the latest processor and more battery life. The 2016 MacBook iFixIt teardown offers a photo tour through the internals of this laptop, complete with a guide identifying all of the major parts.
The team struggled to identify many visual differences between the 2016 MacBook and its predecessor, noting that the only way to identify which model you have is by a number on the case. The battery layout, logic board, and case are all going to look familiar to anyone who checked out last year’s tear-downs, which makes sense considering this is a minor update.
There are at least a few things anyone trying to fix a laptop can be happy about. A number of tri-wing screws, which made repair difficult on last year’s model, have now been replaced with standard Philips screws. That aside, however, this laptop is designed to keep people out. IfixIt’s list of built-in obstacles includes the following:
Also worth noting for anyone hoping to repair one of these laptops: the USB-C hardware is completely different from last year, meaning shops will need to stock different versions.
While the battery layout and size is identical to last year’s model, the battery does offer four percent more capacity this time around. This is probably due to better battery chemistry.
Overall, the teardown reveals what we’ve expected all along: this is a minor upgrade, not an overhaul or re-thinking of Apple’s lightest laptop. And it’s no easier to fix than last year.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.