The repair experts at iFixit have now disassembled the new MacBook Air with M2 chip and discovered a very simple chip cooling mechanism, an accelerometer and other details.
In a YouTube clip, iFixit walks viewers through the disassembly of the new MacBook Air model. While the four-minute clip isn't a full teardown or repair guide, it does reveal some interesting details about the new device. As we mentioned, the MacBook Air with 256GB of internal storage features a single memory chip instead of two 128GB chips like those found in the MacBook Air 2020 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 processor.
MacBook Air with M2 chip in teardown: The cooling system remains a mystery
Other logic board components seen in the video include the M2 chip itself, a proprietary Thunderbolt driver, WiFi and Bluetooth chips, and an accelerometer. It remains unclear what the accelerometer is for. Apple itself has not yet revealed what it is used for. Cooling is another aspect of the MacBook Air that is relatively unclear. iFixit found no heat spreaders and describes the built-in heat shield as "super thin" and unable to dissipate heat in a similar way to the M1 processor in the iPad Pro. While the MacBook Air with M2 chip has "a lot of thermal paste and graphite tape" and is an efficient device, iFixit notes that it is not clear how exactly the device maintains proper thermals.
Maybe the M2 Air is secretly an iPad or Apple is just letting it run hot.
There are a few aspects of the device that make repairs and replacements a little easier. Like the M2 MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air also has self-adhesive pull tabs on the battery and connectors that are not glued down. This should make repairs easier and faster. On the other hand, the M2 chip and SSD are soldered to the board. This means that both components can only be easily replaced by technicians with the right tools. You can watch the full teardown on the YouTube channel from iFixit. A detailed repair guide will probably be published shortly. (Image: Apple)
