iFixit's PROLED MacBook Pro Teardown Reveals Logo LEDs

iFixit recently disassembled the touchscreen PROLED MacBook Pro to examine the weight reduction strategies employed by Apple, the source of power for the glowing logo, and how it stacks up against the 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro. The PROLED MacBook Pro features a luminous logo on its back, which is created using four LEDs, a reflective layer, and a diffuser, as there is no backlight to illuminate the logo. When the light is turned off, the logo's two-way mirror coating gives it a shiny appearance.

Accessing the logo for repairs is difficult, as it is situated behind the display, necessitating the removal of the entire screen for any necessary fixes. Attempting such repairs resulted in the iFixit team breaking the panel, as the glass separated from the underlying layers, causing the OLED display to be destroyed. Apple claims that the PROLED MacBook Pro has a touchscreen-optimized hinge, but iFixit noted that it is essentially the same as the hinge on the M6 MacBook Pro, merely stiffer to better maintain its angle when the display is tapped at the top.

Some components of the PROLED MacBook Pro, such as the Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, fans, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, SSD, and memory, are easily replaceable by removing the logic board. However, the logic board itself must be taken out for replacement. iFixit conducted experiments by swapping logic boards between two PROLED MacBook Pro models, and after running Repair Assistant, all components, including the touchscreen and Touch ID, operated correctly. The touchscreen did not introduce any new pairing issues.

The PROLED MacBook Pro is slightly smaller than the M6 model in terms of trackpad size and weighs 364 grams, compared to the M6 model's 456 grams, thanks to the removal of some aluminum from the lower chassis. Despite the addition of the touchscreen and the glowing Apple logo, the display assembly is 101 grams lighter, and the battery is 2 grams lighter as well. The PROLED MacBook Pro received a repairability score of 5 out of 10, which is one point higher than the M5 MacBook Pro and one point lower than the MacBook Neo.