MacBook Air 13" Retina 2018 Teardown!

Apple may have taken forever to update their beloved MacBook Air, but this throwback was worth the wait. Under that eco-friendly (but still only pre-consumer) recycled aluminum, this Air rocks modular ports, and not one but ten pull-to-remove adhesive tabs securing its battery and speakers. After years of declining repairability, this is a refreshing change for Apple notebooks.
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[@cionheart]

After watching the disassembly I expected a higher rating tbh. It doesn't look that bad for such a compact laptop.

[@stephen_l1474]

fluxx compared to something like surface laptop then definitely yes, not sure how they compare between phones, tablets and laptops but imo MacBook Air is more repairable than an iPhone and iPad since it doesn’t need to break adhesive in order to open it (opening an iPhone might affect the water proofing so I don’t really want to open it up)

[@jeyendeoso]

theres not much to teardown since ram and storage is soldered into one single board and the keyboard is integrated into the chassis. this is still a repair score, not just an "easy to disassemble" score.

[@wiryantirta]

yeah I mean seeing how its mostly batteries in volumetric space, and the fact that the chassis tapers off into a wedge like that, iFixit how do you still have the audacity to call for "removable" RAM and storage XD

[@wiryantirta]

@@jeyendeoso repair score and upgradability score should be different too at this point that being said, how much does the Macbook Air's new logic board cost...?

[@Di-Ferr]

There is space in there for an M.2 SSD, especially if you get rid of that useless T2 security chip which the average consumer of this market will never have any use for.

[@michaelmcmillon5933]

The hell is the point of that fan it’s not even connected to anything 😭😭😭😭

[@Hoa....]

Michael Mcmillon just watched Louis’s video and immediately turn on this video

[@Marc83Aus]

@@Hoa.... And so will every 2018 or 2019 macbook retina video soon enough I would assume.

[@handikawahyu5538]

@@Hoa.... Same

[@Makko_]

It's called apple, it cools down the table of course

[@Duomatic84]

Same here, were wondering if it was some kind of prank from Louis.. This is F..kn ridiculous!!! Talk about planed failure..

[@Pfahli94]

Pulling out the strips beneath the battery is the most soothing part to watch

[@conyo985]

I just watched the louis rossman video. That fan is inadequate in cooling the cpu.

[@BluStarGalaxy]

Is this an issue on the 2019 air also?

[@z-junlai3804]

@@BluStarGalaxy They have the same A1932 model number. So yes, it would.

[@BluStarGalaxy]

@@z-junlai3804 thanks for the reply. Would it be better to get the Macbook pro then? How is the cooling on that one?

[@leonardodepinto7912]

Dood the fan is not inadequate, that fan isn't even cooling it only make noise

[@timserious7678]

@@leonardodepinto7912 people are saying that fan pulls air through heatsink , so it's like passive cooling ..... But where tf air comes from it's almost sealed from everywhere and even a single small copper heatpipe would be enough .. Even thinner laptops comes with them

[@KREGuitars]

At first the 3/10 surprised me, but I realized that the upgradability/repairability doesn’t matter much if you can’t do anything if your RAM or SSD dies. It’s great you can probably do aftermarket repairs on other components, but if your SSD or RAM bites the dust, you’re screwed.

[@tipoomaster]

Interestingly the fan doesn't directly exhaust through a heat pipes fins in this design, but rather just pushes air out and creates negative pressure, ambiently cooling the whole chassis. Probably didn't need direct airflow on the heatsink for the 7W chip.

[@lhk7006]

There is a heatsink (I think) on the chip. No heat pipes tho.

[@tipoomaster]

@@lhk7006 Right, just no direct airflow over it from the fan, just ambiently gets to it via negative pressure.

[@mohammadrezahendiani6923]

When will you teardown the ipad pro?

[@kelseaweber3636]

Soon! Promise.

[@Methnerjacob]

It has a repair ability score of 1/10... calling it now.

[@mohammadrezahendiani6923]

@@Methnerjacob I'm thinking it will be more like a 2

[@Methnerjacob]

NARUTO UZUMAKI nah with that design everything is probably glued in. It is incredibly thin.

[@the7311]

Kelsea Weber could you guys go over all the magnets and how they managed to align them.

[@edi772427]

A 3? Come on you even made a Twitter post that you liked the fact that the ports are modular and now you don't even mention it??

[@francescocarrettivandelli5646]

this is an extremely sinthetic video

[@niter43]

1:54 I guess you have to check your vision/hearing.

[@edi772427]

@@niter43 I meant, that these modular parts are all listed as one point, not as separate

[@gr3if]

No ram, no ssd replacement, 1 would be fair

[@XxMsrSzprzxX]

I’m guessing the fan just circulates air being taken in from the right side then expels it from the left where the fan is after it’s passed over that passive heat sink and the rest of the components?

[@vacationviking]

Nice to see that its at least possible to repair it... Microsoft take notes

[@malcolmholmes509]

_Microsoft writing down notes_ _Add more Alcantara_

[@sush2142]

128gb on a $1200 laptop is just an insult to the consumer. Like wow. Also DDR3 memory in 2018? Jesus

[@sgttootypants5238]

Thinking the same thing

[@Andrew_001]

I cannot excuse the obnoxious pricing, but the dell xps 9370 also has lpddr3

[@osmanmohamed8638]

Thank you

[@sush2142]

Octavius I did not know that. I just assumed that all laptops now come with ddr4. They should tbh.

[@mnunavarro]

And don't forget the Intel Y series renamed to Core i5, for this price it's a joke.

[@CarbLoaders]

Don't worry all the chips are soldiered onto the board for your convenience and easy upgrading. Want to upgrade? Just buy a new one!

[@soggygreenbean9]

No hassle!

[@galihmukti]

same with microsoft surface laptop, right? I hate that big companies do that, I mean, they already have huge profit from selling their products anyway,

[@Di-Ferr]

At least with the Surface you can save your data if your SSD dies, as that component is replaceable.

[@annr4306]

@@galihmukti it's kinda the point of the product, to be as light and small as possible. Not as practicable.

[@nateb3454]

not gonna lie, as annoying as it is, i can care less personally about the fact that its not upgradable considering the fact that macbooks have great resale value making it cheap to sell and get a new one as long as you take care of yours

[@ssyntheticc]

Was expecting a pretty high score for an apple product seeing how easy and straightforward working on this looks

[@Di-Ferr]

You can't upgrade anything on it.

[@Di-Ferr]

@Matthew De Vuono Oh, of course, the Apple magic. My bad. I completely forgot. 🙄

[@Di-Ferr]

Simon K Which is an idiotic design choice. No one needs their laptop to be 2mm thinner than the rest.

[@chanveasna920]

where is the heat Pipe.... Apple ? lol

[@skypeon1]

thanks for the teardown. The screen has the ribbon cable that the macbook pros have, and it's probably susceptible to the same "flexgate" issue that the macbook pros have.

[@rickyb8636]

Good observation. I agree.

[@RUokLiebe]

Can you tell me on what version 2018 ? 2017 ? this issue happens ? Thx

[@skypeon1]

@@RUokLiebe all of the newer models.

[@RUokLiebe]

PaaPs Well that’s a shame for a computer with this price tag, hope i won’t regret buying it

[@unikvlogz]

Sad to see storage is non upgradable

[@DwightCastillo]

At least you can change the battery, which is my concern with my actual 2015 mbp with 375 cycles already

[@shouryaparashar6920]

You guys underrated the repairability score.

[@bauermarinus]

For what is the fan? Because it doesn`t cool the procesor so...

[@annr4306]

It does, it just doesn't use a heatpipe. It's to prevent the throttling issues of the 2015 MacBook.

[@thorc4167]

No glued in battery? Wow, that is actually something good.

[@cllgscreative]

Super easy to fix! Wow! Good job Apple!

[@ErigaPangidoanHsb]

Always love how ifixit straight forward explanation video

[@georgepaul3658]

But do you think it will be touched by flexgate one day? I mean, I'm interested in buying a mac (my first one) but really fear that after two years or more display will crash 😕

[@JMRabil675]

@Quanta 44 Well, Apple fixed flexgate in the 2018 Pro models, and also added the membrane to the keyboards in the Pro, and fixed the keyboard in the 2018 Air too. So I assume they also put in the longer, thicker flex display cable in the new Air but I dont know. Apple actually put in the better cable in the Pro's in mid or late 2017, so it would of been profoundly stupid to not put it in the Air too. Also, the Air isn't on any of the lists saying the affected devices of flexgate floating around the internet... AND I read somewhere that the regular 2018 Macbook does not have the flexgate issue.

[@tamarockstar09]

iPad Pro 11” has been out half a week and ifixit still hasn’t torn it down

[@botingsten4440]

The fan doesn't do anything but producing noice! There's no connection between the CPU and the fan! How is this supposed to work and function? What genius at Apple designed this? And how did the ifixit team miss this serious cooling flaw in the teardown???

[@booooooooooooooooooooooo]

The chip is designed to work without a fan. The fact there’s one in there is better than nothing

[@gustavomercado1599]

as you can see near the hinge, the computer is top sealed. the fan sucks air from the right and pushes it out, at the end the same amount of air will flow through the heatsink, with the added benefit of the air acting as a thermal insulator, so the computer will be cooler to the touch. So in theory is not a bad design, but the programming of the fan speed isn't good either

[@bennet615]

money money money money money moeyn moony mean MONEY!!!!!!!

[@ayaanharyani4516]

That haptic trackpad takes alot of space and that space could be utilized for like a bigger battery. The haptic motor in the middle disrupts the whole space beneath the trackpad and something useful could be put underneath the trackpad which generic laptops have.

[@crispyshaman4937]

So true what a waste of space

[@MrThebigcheese123]

Just a bit of advice for future tear down videos. Tell people where the case screws go.

[@LensOfWisdom]

You guys should do the new 2020 ones

[@thei3925]

I like how your videos are terse and to the point.

[@slayerdude10]

Mac mini teardown soon?

[@user-bb3km1pl4u]

Apple it's the time to fix the Flexgate.

[@mystic316]

This is better than I expected from an apple laptop.

[@adil9771]

I was still waiting for this video

[@mahmudkarim1694]

Me too

[@jaxsonzatech7527]

Feel,like a 3 was a bit low like sure you can’t upgrade processor stuff but basic stuff could be done easily especially with the new magic keyboard ones

[@erikscholten1786]

my Touch ID doesn't work anymore after In replaced the battery. It is supposedly due to the T2 chip and apple preventing third parties to repair. Resetting the SMC doesn't do the trick. I tried a new Touch ID sensor as well.. but same problem.

[@wiryantirta]

Those T2 chips are huge compared to the processors and storage

[@ruedimeier9249]

Why is this description sooo hectic.The speaker speaks like being on too much coffee or whatever?

[@VMiXEZ]

been waiting for this

[@TheMaan2008]

There is no way to upgrade RAM? Or anything in particular??

[@ihendrawijaya]

I thought the new mba could be reliable, untill watch rossman video about the fan. Why ifixit does not realise about the fan issue?

[@DJBla2e01]

I still have a mid-2013 13" baseline MacBook Air, which was my first Mac, and it will also be my last. They're getting too overpriced at this point

[@spiritcxz]

Dylan Byrne also getting non replaceable components

[@dengkezhang5709]

What about Apple's keyboard replace program? Will they replace the keyboard with the 3rd gen keyboard?

[@CarbLoaders]

There is only about $20 cost to Apple for the soldered 128gb storage in this $1200 machine.

[@BoredGeese]

Hey iFixIt is the display long enough to prevent #FlexGate?

[@timolson8495]

Yeaaaaah. You are incredibly fast.

[@MegaUkev]

Hi if I need to upgrade my flash storage does that mean I need to get a new motherboard as well?

[@Flavian3]

Hmm so the led apple fruit from the back is coming in the box, right?

[@adrcardoso]

That's why I love my MacBook 13" Aluminun Late 2008. This year I upgrade the memory to 16GB and I exchange the HD to an SSD of 500GB, took off the DVD drive and put on the space an extra HD of 1TB, it's working like a charm. Also I can run the Mojave on it using the MacOS Mojave Patcher by dosdude1.com.

[@Alga-team]

cool! but retina display really top notch!

[@biduloag]

My iPhone 7 is dead service center rejected the phone they told me that u'r phone can't b repaired throw it away...Help me any one how can I get my phone back

[@tranminhhieu9492]

The fan is just.. there. To make sound....or not.

[@FormulaManuel]

Maybe a newbie question but can you just change the storage card? I mean, wouldn't it be cheaper just buying the lower model, getting a higher memory chip and just put it in?

[@annr4306]

No, as they said in the video, the RAM and storage are soldered onto the logic board.

[@centro77]

you did not show how screen came off

[@germanopolito5294]

For me they need to put a way to upgrade the memory (ssd) or put on the minimum of storage is 256gb for me for a 1200+ mac 128gb are few

[@abbylx]

i feel the rating is a bit too low. It is easy to open, the battery is better than my MBPr 2012 to remove. i need to use a solvent and still pry it out risking to damage the battery risking fire. this is way better. if you think about it. there is noting in a laptop that you would need to service. there is no CD drive, no ports no power port too. Thank God we still have speaker and a keyboard and a track pad. Believe the motherboard is so amazing, its so small. we have gotten used to the fact that the RAM and storage is now soldered on the motherboard.

[@maxml3302]

The storage is soldered on. You will lose all your data if anything goes wrong with the computer. This is unheard of outside tablets and smart phones, but at least those are sealed from the elements. The macbook has no serious protection from spills. If you are a millionaire, you can afford to throw a 2K laptop in the garbage every couple years, but you presumably still want to hold on to your personal data, no?

[@chigoziea.991]

@@maxml3302 Thats why we have backups via time machine. No one really switches the ssd from their old computer to their new one.

[@maxml3302]

@@chigoziea.991 Yeah but people UPGRADE their drives all the time. And not everybody backs up all their data all the time. There is no reason for apple to do what they are doing except rip you off. Thinness is no excuse - their competitors offer LIGHTER packages with more features without glueing everything in.

[@ksytsma4realyo]

No active cooling on the processor? That seems pretty last century.

[@arunspillai8508]

The exhaust fan is not actually mounted on any of cards! So how does this help with the thermals?

[@annr4306]

Convection

[@____Myth]

thank god it has a headphone jack

[@ORIOLESFan02]

The T2 Chip is worthless since if your SSD goes bad, then you can’t get your data back

[@VincenzoSims]

Not much to disassemble...

[@alekzzisrec]

Very nice !! do you think 2019 will have some differences inside ??

[@togoxo]

no

[@rezidentura]

Too fast where is the main battery connection?

[@Yus3f]

Please tear down the Tab S4.

[@anshuldogra7]

Seriously ddr3 ram on such a expensive laptop

[@Nova-du5on]

Gruzdev Victorovich decent software does not good hardware make

[@lucashonda1228]

sure it does bud@@Nova-du5on

[@emalov98]

So sad, we're not able to upgrade storage :(

[@JayaveluMirshalVarma]

Mac Mini 2018 Teardown. Begging you pleaseee!!!

[@indrayanisawargaonka]

what is the fan connected too

[@gurdeepsingh8548]

Can the SSD be upgrade on this?

[@CzolgistAA]

Anybody could explain to me why is Apple using DDR3 RAM on this thing, not DDR4?

[@akilaniroshan4655]

What is the size of the pentalobe screws

[@macaronivirus5913]

I thought i could upgrade ssd disk later, but now I see I can't. 2 days of use and there is already 36gb left out of 128gb, and I haven't installed half of the software I need. Well, I guess I'll sell this macbook soon and buy another one with 256gb storage or some windows laptop.

[@crispyshaman4937]

Get a Windows laptop. You can get a gaming laptop for the price of a macbook

[@joyceliam4000]

how to people get the money to buy these and just tear them up lol

[@paintywig1159]

It still uses DDR3 RAM :/

[@syroboi3524]

It's got 128 Gb only

[@chigoziea.991]

MacBook Pro 13 still uses ddr3 ram so does the Matebook x pro. Ddr4 isn't really necessary.

[@18PregnantAndProud]

are there any thermal paste under the heatsink ?

[@ademar_9251]

It looks inside better then outside.

[@shaunborg9149]

Is the screen cable removable?

[@hsvr]

These videos always end with a comment about it’s not upgradable. You’ve been doing breakdowns for years now you shouldn’t be acting surprised anymore it’s quite annoying

[@-_vh_-]

I came here to see the purpose of the fan Is it really connected to nothing ???? Holy sh*t

[@Phaios95]

What about the new iPad Pro?

[@Muldoonite]

Nice teardown! So I'm guessing it's still too early to tell if the 3rd gen butterfly keyboard has fixed the dust/stuck key issue? Can the keycaps be easily removed without breaking?

[@ilpatongi]

Muldoonite Yes No

[@Ed31003]

ordering tools from ifixit is a crap shoot as i have NOT even seen it shipped

[@LJHC125634]

So... I cant upgrade the storage. :c

[@leondroidgeeks]

Expected a way better score. Sure RAM and storage isn't upgradable but tell me where this is possible these days on any laptop. Apart from this all components seem very reachable AND repairable.

[@ArjunKelaiya]

Almost all expect apple?

[@Di-Ferr]

Pretty much any decent laptop on the market today is upgradable.

[@kirubashankar7249]

IMO this laptop should have upgradeable Ram and SSD storage. Just shows how much Apple is getting Greedy.

[@jlu]

Arjun Kelaiya Upgradeable storage, sure, but there are very few 13" ultrabooks with upgradeable ram

[@leondroidgeeks]

@@kirubashankar7249 Just tell me where on this little tiny logic board you could place upgradable RAM and storage. And as Josh said, RAM can be upgraded very rare.

[@jonut_shavone]

I work at what Apple calls there "depot" I replace these damn butterfly keyboards 60 hours a week

[@MaenMarashdeh]

Where is the iPad pro 2018

[@maxbates8856]

Where is the tear down for the 12.9 inch iPad Pro 2018 1 TB version with cellular

[@Di-Ferr]

Now that is a product. Makes this laptop look like garbage by comparison

[@z00h]

@@Di-Ferr Agreed, the new iPad Pro is such a great product, it's a shame that it's running a system that still looks like it was designed for phones (because it was) though.

[@Di-Ferr]

@@z00h It has twice the storage, running a CPU that's twice as fast, and even has cellular capabilities, for the same price as this.

[@z00h]

@@Di-Ferr if only it was able to run macOS, it'd be the device to get, no brainer.

[@pwneytube]

Less than two and a half minutes? Come on...

[@worthlessguy7477]

Smallest logic board I ever seen in non Apple laptop

[@KrishnaRao-81]

Did I see it right!!??? An LPDDR3 RAM on a 2018 laptop? You gotta be kidding me !?

[@mystic316]

That fan in the Macbook Air is literally blowing at NOTHING! There is no heatsink connecting that fan to ANYTHING! This laptop will get hot in use even under light loads! What is the point of a fan if your're not going to connect anything for it to cool?

[@annr4306]

It's not blowing at nothing..? First of all, the CPU is designed to run without active cooling. Secondly, convection is a thing.

[@megalomaniacal]

Is it helium proof?

[@braheel1234567]

I expected higher rating

[@HXT_916]

iPad Pro 12.9 2018 please :)

[@chillylytical9410]

When I did this my Mac just died for some reason

[@stephenlavrinenko]

What the F is that fan cooling???

[@nethook5588]

I have the 12 inch MacBook and my SSD is dead! I need to replace the entire logic board to get it fixed, I have to spend half the price of the computer just to fix my SSD!

[@linky13111]

Net Hook there’s a guy here on KZbin from new York or manhattan that fixes logic boards and/or replaces the onboard chips and can probably upgrade it for way cheaper than Apple and you won’t loose the data.. well maybe you will but it’s cheaper .... his name is LOUIS ROSSMANN ... search for him ... I watch his videos all the time and the dude is legit .... sendyourmacbook(.)com I think is the website ... check it out

[@Adri_BlackBeast]

Ahora que han puesto una reparación fácil, seguís sin darles una puntuación en condiciones. Empiezo a notar cierta parcialidad aquí... 😒

[@wizcombo]

A 3 seems shallow tbh.

What a small motherboard for a laptop 😮

[@Alptraumification]

I really admire Apple products, but that fan is totally senseless.

[@annr4306]

It's there to prevent throttling from heat, since the CPU is designed to run without a fan. The 2015 MacBook had throttling issues because it lacked a fan.

[@pavankumar4574]

iPad pro 2018