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It’s only been a few weeks since the first shipments of Apple’s new M1-powered 24”iMac hit doorsteps around the globe and iFixit has already shared a detailed teardown that takes an inside look at what Apple has managed to pack inside the ridiculously thin all-in-one desktop computer.
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As has become custom with recent iFixit teardowns, we get an X-ray view of the iMac’s insides thanks to Creative Electron. The X-ray images revealed a few things about the iMac before ever tearing it open. First off, the silicon inside the iMac is concentrated almost entirely on the very top and bottom of the device, separated by two large metal plates and the signature Apple logo on the back, which doubles as an RF pass-through.
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| It's unlikely Apple chose this exact thickness on accident... |
Other details iFixit points out before cracking open the case of the 24” M1 iMac is that it its main housing measures exactly two iPads deep and is so thin that it requires the 3.5mm headphone jack to be placed on the side of the computer since the length of a standard 3.5mm audio plug is longer than the depth of the iMac. Another interesting tidbit iFixit noticed is that its model was ‘Made in Thailand,’ which is notable considering iMacs have historically been assembled in China.
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To iFixit’s surprise, getting inside the iMac proved to be fairly straightforward. Apple uses a simple adhesive to secure single piece of glass on the front of the device and screws — not glue — are used to hold most of the internal components in place. The lack of the metal ‘chin’ also means all of the internal components, including the iMac’s dual fans, are easy to access, unlike previous Intel iMacs.
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| The M1 logic board housed at the bottom of the iMac's aluminum case. |
The M1 logic board inside the 24” M1 iMac is, unsurprisingly, the smallest ever seen in an iMac. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of upgradability and repairability as there’s no way to increase internal storage or memory./ If you’re wondering what all is soldered to the M1 logic board, iFixit has a detailed reference guide.
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| A pair of CR2016 batteries centered inside the iMac's aluminum case. |
iFixit also discovered that the two circles it saw on the X-ray were indeed coin batteries, believed to be there to protect the NVRAM inside the iMac. What’s interesting though is that it appears Apple chose to use two ultra-thin CR2016 batteries over a single (and more common) CR2032 battery as to make the most of the incredibly limited internal volume. Other discoveries include a modular headphone jack, a sturdy power button, a solid speaker array and the realization that if you ever plan to mount an iMac on a VESA mount, be sure to choose the VESA version from the onset, because there’s no accessing the hinge from the outside.
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| There's no getting inside the power adapter block without destroying it in the process. |
To complete the teardown experience, iFixit also took apart the iMac power brick and the matching Touch ID Magic Keyboard. Overall, iFixit gives the new iMac a repairability score of just 2 out of 10. Despite certain components being more modular, the inability to upgrade the internal storage or memory makes it mostly impossible to upgrade from the inside, even if you get past the sticky adhesive used to hold the glass display on.
You can see more images and read more detailed insights on iFixit’s complete iMac M1 24" Teardown:
Image credits: All photos by iFixit, used under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
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