iFixit Shares M4 MacBook Pro Teardown

Repair site iFixit today shared a teardown video of the M4 Pro MacBook Pro, giving us a look inside of the machine. Apple didn't make any external design changes to the ‌MacBook Pro‌ models, but iFixit was hopeful for repairability improvements.


Unfortunately, the M4 Pro ‌MacBook Pro‌ that iFixit took apart was almost identical to the M3 ‌MacBook Pro‌, which means Apple kept almost the same internal design as well.

The M4 Pro ‌MacBook Pro‌ has a larger heatsink than the M3 ‌MacBook Pro‌ for improved heat dissipation, but the battery build and size are the same. Removing the battery still requires removing the trackpad because the battery's adhesive tabs are under the trackpad hardware. Getting to the logic board is "incredibly complex and tedious" due to all the screws and the cables that are in the way.

Overall, repairing and replacing parts in the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has not changed. Apple provides repair information, parts details, tools, and guides on its website.

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

c84216 Avatar
16 months ago
Why is it “unfortunate” that this is similar to the M3 model and Apple kept the internals the same? Nothing is wrong and nobody was complaining!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathan_reilly Avatar
16 months ago
watching on my completely useless M3 Max MacBook pro ?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Duncan-UK Avatar
16 months ago
Although I can appreciate their frustration with the lack of improved repairability, I have to admire the sheer achievements of the modern consumer electronics manufacturing process. I'm continually dazzled by how they manage to pack so much in and have the production facilities to churn these out by the multiple millions. The sheer scale is dizzying.

The "Inside the Factory" nerd in me would love to see the manufacturing process in full of modern laptops, tablets and phones!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathan_reilly Avatar
16 months ago

Why is it “unfortunate” that this is similar to the M3 model and Apple kept the internals the same? Nothing is wrong and nobody was complaining!
I think they're saying it's "unfortunate" bc the narrative of the video starts out with repairability upgrades to other Apple products that have come out recently. so the narrator rhetorically asks if there is more of the same in the M4 MBP. And ofc ifixit has a horse in the repairability race, so I guess you could be cynical and say it's really most "unfortunate" for them. But I happen to like fixing my macs too so I am always hoping for more improvements in this area. So it is a bit unforunate for me as well that nothing as improved in that regard. But then again, I have the previous generation ?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
16 months ago
Yes, it's an SoC and display upgrade. The fact that it has the same box art wallpaper hinted at this already. But it's a fairly large jump in processing power and base memory.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
switz Avatar
16 months ago
Back in the day when we could swap memory, graphics cards and drives, the iFixit tear downs enables the casual owner the ability to do these simple jobs (like swapping the disc drives in the Mac mini could be a challenge).

Since the done and welded machines became the norm, I have not had issues with Apple Displays, computers, phones or iPads. However, I did have two failures of lithium batteries in the last two iPods I had and took them to Apple to dispose of them (became very pregnant and lifted the glass of the display off the case).

At my age (80 next spring), manual dexterity has declined and a steady hand for tiny parts is no longer an option. Lots of the things I used to do twenty years ago are but fond memories now.

I have no interest in working on the car engines anymore and let the youth do the maintenance. Same goes for electronics today. They just work. The new Apple gear we just acquired may out live me.

If it is not broke, don't fix it :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)