Right after the Mac Studio hit stores last week, we saw some teardowns showing everything inside the machine. And while it became clear that Mac Studio has free storage slots, it was unclear whether users could upgrade on their own. Now iFixit has been able to confirm that although the Mac Studio’s internal storage is replaceable, it is not upgradable.
Similar to the Mac Pro, the Mac Studio features two SSD ports inside that are relatively accessible. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that users can buy a Mac Studio in a specific configuration and then add a new SSD with more storage inside it.
As tested by iFixit, Mac Studio doesn’t recognize different combinations of SSD than the one it was shipped with from the factory. The repair company tried to combine multiple SSDs within Mac Studio, but the machine doesn’t recognize any of them. Even when using a single SSD with a different capacity than the original, Mac Studio refuses to recognize it.
However, there’s one thing that does work, and that is to replace the internal SSD with another of the same capacity. In this case, Apple Configurator app will let you install macOS on that SSD, and Mac Studio will work just fine after that.
It’s also uncertain why Apple has opted for removable SSDs if they can’t be easily replaced, but perhaps this is related to Apple’s new Self Repair Program – which will provide repair parts for consumers who want them. This way, if the user has any problems with the SSD in the Mac Studio, they can replace it with a new one.
The teardown shows that the Mac Studio, just like other Macs, has proprietary screws that are hidden everywhere, which makes repairs more difficult. The cooling system with two fans is probably the biggest on any Mac except for the Mac Pro, and other components like RAM are built into the SoC.
Studio Display teardown
In addition to Mac Studio, iFixit also showed a preview of what’s inside the Studio Display. The built-in camera looks similar to the one Apple uses in some iPhone and iPad models, and as expected, taking it apart is no easy task either.
As for Mac Studio, iFixit gave it a disassembly score of six. The company claims that Apple’s new computer “isn’t quite ready for the pros.”