by Dan Moren
iFixit tears down the Mac Pro, in a good way
Sure as day follows night, an iFixit teardown follows any new Apple device. But, surprise of surprises, this time around, the repair firm is lauding the subject of its latest piece, the new Mac Pro, awarding it a 9 out of 10 on its repairability scale:
The new Mac Pro is a Fixmas miracle: beautiful, amazingly well put together, and a masterclass in repairability.
We love that a good portion of the modules can be swapped without tools; we love the use of (mostly) standard screws and connectors; we love the step numbers and diagrams for certain repairs right on the device; and most of all, we love the free public repair manuals and videos.
If there’s a quibble, it seems to be that the proprietary SSD is not upgradeable, since it’s tied to Apple’s T2 security chip.
Personally, I had little doubt that Apple has always been able to make a device this modular and repairable–it simply hasn’t prioritized it. That said, it seems clear that this model is aimed at the kind of folks who are buying a professional-level workstation to last many years. So I wouldn’t hold my breath of this kind of modular reparability coming to other Macs anytime soon–or probably ever.
But it does leave one big question about the Mac Pro’s future open: how regularly will the company commit to upgrading this machine? Will we see bumps every year or so to keep up with the pace of the market? Will it offer modules that can be upgraded piecemeal? Or will the computer languish, like its predecessor, the 2013 Mac Pro? We’ve seen Apple commit to producing this high-end, expensive product–now will it go the distance?