The iFixit team gathered virtually for the Apple keynote this morning, alive with our usual mixture of curiosity and tempered expectations. Rumors abounded and boy did Apple deliver. Sneak a peek at our notes to get to know the winners, losers, and big questions. Here are our top five takeaways:
1. What is up with that “iMac Air?”
The new iMac is the bizarre cross between a base-model MacBook and an iPad, with none of the portability, potency, and as far as we can tell, even less fixability. Apple wants the computer to disappear—hence the focus on iPad perhaps—but then why bother making an ultra-thin desktop computer? So you can hide plants behind it on your desk? So you can push it too far away for the screen size to be a benefit? Honestly, please tell me what you plan to do with this product. There must be market research to support this? iFixit Product Engineer Andrew Goldheart says, “This was made for my dad. All he wants is to browse the web on a big screen.”
A desktop with soldered RAM and storage, tiny fans, and an off-loaded power supply—at least that’s replaceable—is certainly a choice. For a company struggling to get back to its Mac roots, it’s definitely not the path we’d choose. If nothing else, this product line does seem to imply that the iMac Pro will be sticking around in some form or another.
2. Apple sells magic, because you’re not smart enough for tech.
A goofy Mission Impossible sequence isn’t enough for us to believe the iPad is a “magical sheet of glass.” Even if Tim Cook is able to swap M1 processors with some tweezers and the twist of a screwdriver. iPad is a really cool piece of tech, but it still has a screen, a battery, some silicon. It’s not a mystery. It’s also not very fixable.
Apple brags about how gentle their manufacturing is on the environment, but the true magic is in keeping the device you already have going. Recycled can never compete with repaired in carbon footprint reduction. But part of Apple’s greenwashing campaign is convincing its customers that they are too stupid to fix their own tech. Apple has fought unceasingly to convince its customers that hardware isn’t just hardware—it’s magic, so don’t touch. Don’t let them win this round of psychological warfare. Tech isn’t magic. It’s cool, and costly, and tricky, but should always, always be fixable. Let’s hope Apple’s next iPad is even half as fixable as the fantasy version Tim souped up in the promo video—socketed processors and no glue? Sign us up!
3. Touch ID is in peripherals now—so why are parts logic board-locked again?
Apple announced a new Magic Keyboard with integrated Touch ID. We’ll skip the keyboard jokes we’re sure they’ve figured that out by now. We’re more interested in that built-in “secure processor” that communicates wirelessly with the M1’s secure enclave. Security concerns have long been the main justification for Apple’s frustrating habit of locking or “pairing” original components such that they stop working if replaced. So, what happens when you have a choice of keyboards that can pair with, and unlock, your iMac with that same tech and data? Those repair roadblocks are seeming less like a security issue, and more a control issue. Repair is for everyone, and Apple shouldn’t be allowed an unfettered monopoly.
4. Siri Remote still doesn’t have a replaceable battery.
A new revamp of the universally reviled (and replaced) Siri remote honestly had our engineers dancing in their seats. We love the accessibility of the new buttons, and definitely like the new power button. But having a remote with a built-in battery continues to push our buttons. We always argue that repairability doesn’t have to come at the expense of slim design, but in this case, what’s the harm in making this remote less-losable? I personally have my remote in a giant silicone sleeve so I can stop dropping it into my couch. It’s a little embarrassing that Apple cheers remote features such as “comes in a recycled paper box”, when the biggest impact they could make would be replaceable batteries.
5. AirTag batteries are user-replaceable!
And finally, let’s end on a sweeter note: Apple finally trusts you to replace a battery! Its long-rumored AirTags are here, and while they didn’t make much noise about it during the keynote, the Tags do indeed have user-replaceable batteries. Buried in the product page under battery performance is this gem: “Your iPhone lets you know when itʼs time to pop in a new one.” Much rejoicing was had on the iFixit Slack, I can tell you. Funny that these 29-dollar, inch-and-a-quarter tags have a replaceable battery when the four-times-bigger Siri remote just can’t seem to find the room…
Despite our misgivings, we’re itching to start tearing into these new products. What should we dive into first? And what spicy takes are we missing? Let us—or Apple—know in the comments!
crwdns2944067:014crwdne2944067:0
They care about the environment, sure, but they care about profit more…
Enrico - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Looking at the product pictures of the Apple TV Remote, I did notice two screws next to the Lightning connector, where you should be able to open the remote. It looks wide enough to slide a circuit board and/or a battery in and out. Perhaps the rechargeable battery inside will be replaceable in some way, without destroying the entire remote.
For a close-up, see https://i.imgur.com/qMWErAf.png
Rob - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
All I could think about is how did Tim open those devices so easily? Wouldn’t have been cool if he had a pentalobe screwdriver with the iFixit Blue handle?
BKNJ - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
When will they start making stuff in the USA? My 15” late 2013 2.6 macbook pro is still my goto mac and probably will last forever… Fast enough, thin enough, slick enough and mostly fixable. Plus, the Apple logo lights up to let you know its alive! I refuse to buy anything where the ram, disk et al is soldered to a board unless its built into an airplane or submarine which might justify the engineering.
Ross Elkins - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Wow for a company that makes money off people that like and buy Apple products this sure seems like a lot of bashing not only to Apple but to their customers. Definitely going to rethink where I buy my parts from.
X12335 - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
You can prefer a product to its competitors and still find plenty of room for improvement in it. As a long-time Mac and iPad use and fan, I’m glad to see these complaints aired publicly and prominently. These are the kinds of issues that irk me and that lead me to consider competitors’ products. In fact, in my workplace, despite budgeting for Mac replacements, I’ve been driven to Linux purchases recently because Apple just ignores customer considerations like these.
Thomas Loredo -
I switched from PC and bought a MacBook Pro in 2011 because of it using some PC parts that could be easily replaced. I upgraded the RAM and put a nice SSD on it. With those upgrades it remained nice and fast for years. When they changed to soldered parts on the MacBooks Pros and my MacBook finally died 7 years after I bought it I decided to go back to PC. I refused to pay premium price for something I couldn’t upgrade or replace parts. So yeah just because I loved Apple products in the past I wouldn’t support a company making their stuff more user unfriendly for no reason at all.
walo00 -
I didn’t really see any customer bashing here at all; it’s not like customers can actually control apple or anything.
Samuel Bronson -
Good comments and insight points.
I agree that making the iMac even thinner seems pointless. I mean, the footprint of the base stand has be deep enough to prevent the iMac from falling over, so why must the iMac itself be in a thin as possible case?
I really don’t care if it looks thin from the edge view — who ever decided that a thin desktop computer was somehow better?
And they have taken away even more of the expansion/peripheral ports. The base iMac now has just two multi-purpose data ports that you can use for either Thunderbolt or USB. Which means, if people want to connect more than two of any kind of peripheral, then we must buy yet more dongles and hubs. That is not an eco-minded design.
I have several older Macs and have been using Macs since the Mac Plus back in the 80’s, so I am a long-term customer and tech user, just FYI.
But their green direction, while good re. the company power and energy use, seems to be very focused on certain things and doesn’t really include the whole picture.
Bruce - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Bless you for watching this so I didn’t have to, and also for skipping the bullet point about the new color purple for iPhone 12. Truly a shark-jumping moment in Apple history.
Casey Holford - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Hi,
I hope you will open the new iMac and understand how the datas are transferred between the PSU and the iMac. I guess it is an optical cable with a BOSA on both side. It will be interesting to find which IC manages which protocol used between these 2 devices :)
Guillaume LEFAND - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
I am baffled by the push-back on M1 Macs. The very thing that makes the M1 so powerful is that it has reduced the space between components to tiny fractions of an inch. Processing speed is always limited by the speed of light (okay, electrons in a wire or other conductor), and the amount of heat generated. So integrating everything into one tiny package involves some trade-offs.
I’m sure more powerful Macs with more RAM (okay, unified memory), more cores, etc. will arrive at some point.
The vast majority of the general public is well-served by these information appliances. Apple’s thought that Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 connectivity is the answer to every need that would otherwise have you popping the case and going into the box is annoying, but it does un-complicate the device for most folks.
Computers evolve so rapidly that by the time the thing needs to be replaced, you’ll want the latest model, anyway.
How would you suggest repairing an M1 SOC? How would you enable upgradeable RAM without slowing it down?
burkphoto - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
But computers don’t evolve that much now, and old Macs are functional for what most people want to do - browsing the web, checking email, playing music. Now I’ve been impressed with the M1’s performance as much as everyone else, but I honestly can’t see it being that much of a benefit to the average person, who doesn’t tax the CPU that much. There’s no real technical reason why my 2012 Mac Mini can’t run macOS Big Sur; it’s an artificial restriction put in because Apple realise devices are good enough, last longer, and consequently they aren’t getting as much money. (My heart bleeds for them).
From my decades-long experience of building PCs, the most likely thing to fail is the storage, GPU, and power supply, in that order. My 2008 Mac Pro is on its fourth main drive and third GPU. Even the Raspberry Pi has modular storage and an external power supply, and it’s well-known that solid state storage has a finite life span like any other drive, and if you tax it too often, it will fail.
Ritchie Swann -
Dear ifixit,
Engineers/executives working- please quickly launch AirTags teardown, (It will be destructive) but I want to find out what chip is inside and it’s motherboard.
I’m working on BLE project and want to see how Apple can achieve incredible battery life in such a small package.
Please I fixit you are awesome and hope more people can know about these problems of right to repair and it’s linkage to environment. Reuse comes before recycle.
Maan Gajjar - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0