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Released in November 2020, the 13" MacBook Pro features Apple's Arm-based M1 SoC with both an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. (Model A2338 / EMC 3578 with two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

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Reuse a screen from A1932 Apple MacBook Air in A2338 Apple MacBookPro

I have two laptops with issues:⏎
A2338 Apple MacBookPro M1 (13 inch, M1, 2020) - bad screen⏎
A1932 Apple MacBook Air (13 inch, late 2018; bad battery and maybe other issues but good screen!

Both same color, both with a 2560x1600 retina display.

I don't care about the 2nd laptop since it's old but the first one is still pretty modern and in great shape, except for the monitor.

Can I use the screen of the Air laptop and install it on the M1 Pro? The screens seem to be exactly the same except for the "MacBook Air" vs "MacBook Pro" label (which I don't care about).

But I am afraid they might have some cable or interfaces that are different?

I'm not afraid to do it by myself perhaps following these guides:

MacBook Pro 13" (A2338) Display Assembly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnxByU1J...

But before I get my hands dirty and discover it's not doable perhaps someone with experience can tell me it's a bad idea? Alternatively I can purchase a replacement screen for about $200 (according the links from the YouTube video) but I'd rather reuse than purchase.

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MacBook Pro 13" (A2338) Display Assembly

$539.99

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Square peg, round hole problem! Sorry the displays are very different!

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Ha, I was hoping for a more technical answer but this at least gives me the bottom line. Thank you!

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@pequ - The interface connections are not at the same alignment physically which is the primary reason. I doubt anyone has tried forcing things as it’s too expensive a risk.

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Judging by how Apple is, I am sure that this isn't possible. You should also take into account that the ways that the displays mount onto the chassis are different, meaning that the display from a MacBook Air wouldn't really be able to attach properly to a MacBook Pro.

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Thank you!

And, I found this comment as well: Screen compatibility between A2179 and A2337 models

"We’ve now learned Apple has serialize the display to the logic board as such you are being forced to use Apples parts as you need access to their calibration tool which is likewise linked to the displays S/N that Apple shipped to you. Basically closing down reuse of used parts!"

I'm not a HW guy to fully understand what this means but it sounds like there's a deliberate incompatibility introduced by Apple.

I am still curious to learn how exactly this is this done technically, just my curiosity. Other than that it's pretty clear my idea won't work.

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@pequ - Well almost! Since that posting we discovered it’s a bit more complex! A virgin display from the display maker won’t have the secret sauce! In this case the FaceTime camera firmware. Within the final assembly process the display gets its firmware downloaded to the camera unit with a S/N then the camera S/N is linked to the Systems firmware. So without the display having its firmware you don’t have a working display! Now if you use a used display the firmware will be present! At which point the FaceTime camera will work. But! The TrueTone service won’t. To get everything working you currently need access to Apples paywalled calibration tool and to gain access to it you need to buy the Apple supplied display.

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@danj thanks (and I now see that the previous comment I cited was also yours!)

Does this mean that if you have all functionality you need to buy the part from Apple?

Or are there other Apple-authorized vendors that offer calibrated displays?

For example, iFixit sells a display for $499

MacBook Pro 13" (A2338) Display Assembly

Certainly the vendors that the YouTube video I shared above links to don't look great - people reporting issues, including with the camera.

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@pequ - If you want full functionality you would need to get the Apple supplied screen, if TrueTone is not important to you a Used Display will do with a M1 version system.

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@danj to be clear: by "Apple supplied screen", do you mean buy it from Apple? Or are there any vendors that sell Apple-supplied screens?

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