Although the new generation 14-inch MacBook Pro carries the same look as the 2021 model, Apple seems to have made some changes inside that go beyond the new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. iFixit published this Friday (27) a disassembly video of the most compact notebook that reveals its hardware details.
The organization of the components is identical at first glance. The company, a popular advocate of the right of access to repair, says this strategy benefits maintenance technicians by eliminating the introduction of new parts and tools, and therefore reducing the cost of services for consumers.
On the other hand, there is one that is imperceptible to the consuming public: the M2 Pro’s heat sink is smaller than the system used in the M1 Pro. Despite sounding like a downgradebelow the engine, the memory architecture of the chipset has also undergone changes.
While its predecessor used two 8GB modules produced by Samsung, iFixit noted that the M2 Pro uses four 4GB LPDDR5 RAM modules from SK Hynix, which reduced the complexity of routing data from memory to chipset, and therefore, decreasing the number of layers of the ABF substrate.
“The ABF was in short supply when Apple made the design choice,” explained Dylan Patel, chief analyst at SemiAnalysis. “By using four smaller modules instead of two larger ones, they can decrease the complexity of routing within the memory substrate to the SoC, leading to the deployment of fewer substrate layers.”
The storage unit has also undergone changes. Apple started using two 256 GB modules, instead of four 128GB modules, to produce the model with the lowest SSD capacity. It is possible to compare the logic board of the generations in the image:
According to Patel, this change was due to the low availability of NAND modules with 128 GB. These components are becoming increasingly rare (and expensive) as the industry now produces larger quantities of units with higher densities. The same should happen in the future with the 256 GB modules.
iFixit rated it 5/10 for repairability for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro. Channel presenter, Shahram Mokhtari used the same repair manual provided by Apple for the 2021 MacBook Pro, and claims that he will reassess this note if big tech creates instructional material aimed at the latest generation model.
