iFixit’s Mac Studio teardown reveals monster cooling system

iFixit’s teardown of the Mac Studio found a monstrous thermal management system attached to a relatively small computer, among other things.

The teardown video depicted a somewhat complicated but not insurmountable process for getting inside that little metal rectangle, and there weren’t too many surprises. The video identified some ports, showed the removal of the logic board, and perhaps most notably, uncovered a dual-fan cooling system inside the machine.

Further, iFixit talked about the much-discussed SSD swapping situation. It is possible to swap out of the storage provided you’re using storage of the same size and type, at least—but that requires using a device firmware update (DFU) restore. (Read our article on the subject for more about that.)

But replacing one part with its exact copy isn’t the same as an upgrade, which may still remain elusive as expected.

Getting in wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t easy either. iFixit had to peel off the rubber foot of the device to access the first case screws, and noted that the cooling fans buried inside will be tough to clean. But on the bright side regarding serviceability: the modular ports can come and go easily, and the whole casing is primarily accessible with a screwdriver without risk of damage.

All told, iFixit gave the Mac Studio a 6 out of 10 repairability rating, which is a number we’ve seen before for Apple products.

The video also included a quick teardown of the Studio Display. There’s not too much to say about the Studio Display, other than its insides look like a stripped-down iMac. iFixit also noted that the webcam is similar to a camera on the iPhone 11.

Be sure and watch the video if you want more details.

Listing image by iFixit