M5 MacBook Pro Teardown Reveals Small But Welcome Repairability Improvements
The M5 MacBook Pro, Apple's latest powerhouse, is barely off the shelves, yet iFixit has already torn it down, and their findings, published October 24, 2025, offer a glimmer of hope for the average user. While not a complete overhaul, the repairability scores are inching upwards, showing Apple's incremental commitment to making their devices less disposable. It's a small victory for right-to-repair advocates, but a welcome one nonetheless.
Key Findings from the Teardown
iFixit's detailed analysis confirms what many have been speculating: Apple is indeed making efforts to improve device longevity through easier repairs. The standout change? The battery. Gone are the days of wrestling with excessive adhesive and complex removal procedures; the M5 MacBook Pro introduces modular batteries with user-friendly pull-tabs. This means battery replacements, a common and often costly repair, should now be significantly simpler, something consumers have been clamoring for.
And it’s not just the battery. iFixit also noted improved access to several key ports. This modularity means components like Thunderbolt ports are more independently swappable, a significant departure from older designs that often required more extensive, complicated disassembly for what might seem like a minor fix. These enhancements contributed to a provisional repairability score of 7/10 from iFixit, a noticeable bump from the 6/10 awarded to some M4 models. So, yes, progress is being made.
Apple's Evolving Repair Philosophy
This move isn't happening in a vacuum. Apple's self-service repair program, which saw significant expansion in 2025 to include M5 parts and official guides from the device's launch on October 22, clearly signals a strategic shift. Is it genuine benevolence? Or is it a pragmatic response to mounting global pressure from right-to-repair legislation, particularly in the EU? Likely a bit of both. The company has been under increased scrutiny regarding e-waste and device longevity, and these design choices demonstrate a tangible (if still cautious) step towards addressing those concerns.
Experts, like those at The Verge, called the improvements "incremental but meaningful." It seems the collective voice of users and advocates might be making a difference. Still, the elephant in the room remains: soldered RAM and SSDs. While some repairs are easier, critical components for upgrades are still firmly locked down, preventing users from extending the life of their high-end machines through simple memory or storage bumps. But hey, one step at a time, right?
The M5 MacBook Pro: A Glimpse Beyond Repair
What This Means for Consumers and the Future
For consumers, these repairability improvements are a significant win. The ability to more easily replace a battery or a damaged port could translate into considerable savings over the lifespan of the laptop, potentially reducing long-term ownership costs by 10-15% through DIY repairs. It empowers users, even those who might typically shy away from cracking open their device, to consider simple fixes with official parts and guides. This could also mean less reliance on Apple's Genius Bar for certain common issues. Will this trend continue? One hopes so. The M5 MacBook Pro might not be fully user-upgradable yet, but its internal design certainly points to a future where Apple products are, at least, less of a pain to repair.