Following its series of teardowns of Apple’s recent announcements, iFixit has taken apart the new M5 iPad Pro. Here’s what they found.
Few surprises but welcome minor repairability improvements
iFixit notes that the first step in disassembling the new M5 iPad Pro for internal repairs is removing the screen, which is a delicate and multi-step process that can easily lead to cracks.
Once the screen is removed and the same 38.99 Wh battery as the M4 iPad Pro is disconnected, iFixIt is reminded that the USB-C port is easily replaceable, which should be one of the easiest fixes if the user decides to take advantage of Apple’s Self Service Repair program.
From the teardown video:
“And that’s really exciting. It’s exactly the kind of thing we want to see from manufacturers. Now, it would be very easy to say ‘but, the part selection is limited’, which make no mistake, it absolutely is limited, but I’d definitely a start, and they’re providing components that 3rd party manufacturers may struggle to supply.”
Following a few more familiar steps to the M4 iPad Pro teardown, iFixIt details the multiple elements of the rear and front-facing cameras, before reaching the microphone at the top of the device, which they say is where a second front-facing camera would go, if Apple ever decides to do what Bloomberg claimed it might with this release.
All in all, iFixIt says that while there are few surprises inside the M5 iPad Pro compared with its predecessor, “Apple is making an effort to help people service these things,” with the release of service guides and the upcoming availability of spare parts.
The M5 iPad Pro got a 5 out of 10 in iFixIt’s repairability scale, and you can watch the teardown below:
Be sure to also check out my colleague Ryan Christoffel’s impressions of the M5 iPad Pro.
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