How to open Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro / M4 Max) – disassembly and upgrade options

LaptopMedia.com Guides How to open Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro / M4 Max) – disassembly and upgrade options

From: Dimitar Stalev 10 January 2025 / 16:25 | 0

Hint: Ensure the laptop is powered off and unplugged before starting. Use proper tools to avoid damaging the device.

Undo the eight Pentalobe screws securing the bottom panel to the base.
Press a suction cup firmly onto the left side of the bottom cover. Pull upwards gently until the internal clips on this side release.
Repeat the process for the other sides, excluding the rear.
Using a spudger, carefully push the rear of the panel towards the front in the areas around the hinges to disengage the clips.
Use a thin plastic tool to pry open the front side of the panel and lift the metal plate away from the chassis.

More info: The internal components of the MacBook Pro 16 are not user-upgradeable. Disassembly is primarily for inspection or authorized repairs.

Important Notes

This guide is for disassembly purposes only. Proceed with caution, as opening your MacBook Pro may void its warranty.
Follow Apple’s official repair manual for additional details, or seek assistance from an authorized repair center.

All credits to this guide go to iFixit and the official Apple repair manual.

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2024) in-depth review

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its full-blown M4 Pro/Max SoC already hit the market. This time around, you get a 14-core processor (with 10 performance and 4 efficiency cores) and a 20-core graphics card, or 14 to 16-core M4 Max CPU with 32/40-core GPU, respectively. Compared to the base configuration of the 14-inch sibling (12-core CPU / 16-core GPU), the 16-incher provides more punch in heavy loads but this could be beneficial mainly for professionals and power users. It's hard to spot any performance difference between the two "cousins" in terms of daily tasks and multimedia consumption.[...]

Read the full review

Pros

The 14-core CPU maintains 3.85 GHz / 2.59 GHz for the P and E cores even in long-stress scenarios
Superb sustained performance
The fans are quiet in light and medium loads
Mini-LED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 613 nits of max brightness
Full sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage
Color-accurate panel
The optional Nano-texture display handles the reflections like a boss
Great CPU and GPU performance
The metal chassis is very solid
Very long battery life (~ 17 hours of videos)
Great sound quality
Mag Safe charging port
3x Thunderbolt 5 / USB4 ports
Comfortable keyboard
Enormous and super smooth touchpad
Snappy 512GB NVMe drive
The keyboard doesn't feel hot during heavy loads
Nice multicore performance bump compared to the 12-core version of the M4 SoC
24GB of unified memory as standard
Up to 48GB RAM
Up to 4TB of storage
Thin for a powerful 16-incher (16.8 mm)