Adam Kos After the new 24" iMac with the M1 chip went on sale on Friday, this machine immediately got into the hands of the popular "disassembly" magazine iFixit. Of course, he didn't wait for anything and began to peel off his display to show us how little is actually hidden behind it. This is a higher model that offers an 8-core CPU and a keyboard with Touch ID. An X-ray of the new iMac reveals some interesting details about the machine itself and how it's been redesigned over the previous generation. In it, Apple used its logo as an antenna for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, but things have changed a bit this year. Although the signals are still transmitted through the logo, there is still a rectangular metal plate behind it. Below it are two circular elements, which could be button batteries.
There are also two huge metal plates on the left and right sides of the iMac, which iFixit can't yet explain their purpose. They probably dissipate internal heat in some way. The display is still glued to the computer body, which requires special disassembly. According to iFixit, it is definitely not such a nightmare as in the case of the iPad.
The chin is not metal, like the previous generation, but glass, so you can remove it with the entire display. This is certainly an improvement, as all the components it hides are relatively easy to access. If we ignore the cables, metal plates and antennas, the iMac in its guts contains practically only one motherboard with speakers and two small fans sucking air through the board into the iMac (the basic model should have only one fan). And yes, this is all hiding in the chin of the computer.
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Thanks to the M1 chip architecture, this is the smallest iMac motherboard to date.
- Red – Apple APL1102 / 339S00817 64-bit M1 8-core SoC (System on Chip)
- Orange – SK Hynix H9HCNNNCRMVGR-NEH 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) LPDDR4 memory
- Yellow – Kioxia KICM225VE4779 128 GB NAND flash storage
- Green – Apple Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module 339S00763
- Light blue – Apple APL1096 / 343S00474 Power Management IC
- Dark blue – Apple APL1097 / 343S00475 Power Management IC
- Pink – Richtek RT4541GQV Apple CPU PWM controller
View of the board from the other side:
- Red – Kioxia KICM225VE4779 128 GB NAND flash storage
- Orange – Macronix MX25U6472F 64 MB serial NOR flash memory
- Yellow – Broadcom BCM57762 Ethernet Controller
- Green – Infineon (formerly Cypress Semiconductor) USB-C Cable Controller CYPDC1185B2-32LQXQ
- Light blue – Texas Instruments TPS259827ON 15 Amp eFuse with Load Current Monitoring and Transient Fault Management
- Dark blue – Cirrus Logic CS42L83A audio codec
- Pink – A mysterious button with three LEDs underneath, which iFixit has no idea what it's for yet
Due to the complexity of the analysis, we have to wait for the continuation before iFixit publishes it. It also affects the included peripherals, especially in the case of the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and of course it also affects the repairability index.
