iFixit teardown reveals Mac Studio's SSD limitations and repair challenges

iFixit cracked open Apple's new Mac Studio and Studio Display this week, and what they found inside tells a familiar story about modern Apple hardware: clever engineering in service of a closed ecosystem, with real consequences for anyone who wants to fix or upgrade their machine.

The Mac Studio's storage situation is the headline. The computer does have an accessible SSD slot, and yes, you can physically remove the drive and swap in a replacement of the same capacity if yours fails. But here's where it gets complicated: there's a second slot sitting right there, empty and seemingly ready to accept another drive. You cannot use it. Apple has not locked it down with software, as some initially suspected. Instead, the limitation runs deeper into the machine's architecture. Unlike traditional PC SSDs, which bundle the NAND flash memory and the controller chip together on a single removable module, Apple has split the design. The NAND stays on the removable module, but the controller—the brain that manages the storage—lives on the Mac Studio's main processor chip itself. That means adding a second drive would require a second controller, which Apple has not provided. It's a design choice that makes the hardware elegant and compact, but it also makes upgrading storage impossible without replacing the entire machine.

This matters because it forces buyers into Apple's pricing structure. Want more storage? You cannot buy a cheaper third-party SSD and install it yourself. You must pay Apple's rates when you configure the machine at purchase, and those rates are steep. The company offers no path for users to expand capacity later, which is a genuine limitation for anyone whose needs change over time.

Beyond storage, iFixit's full repairability assessment reveals a mixed picture. The Mac Studio earns a 6 out of 10—the same score as the older Mac Mini—which is respectable but not inspiring. Most internal components are fastened with screws, a good sign. The ports are modular, meaning if a USB connection fails, Apple or an independent repair shop could theoretically replace just that component without swapping the entire logic board. But getting inside the machine requires peeling away a sticky rubber foot ring, which is annoying. The RAM is soldered directly to the board, so if you need more memory, that too must be configured at purchase. And the cooling system, while substantial and well-engineered, looks like a dust-trap nightmare. When the machine eventually needs cleaning—and it will—accessing those fans will apparently require significant disassembly.

iFixit also tore into the Studio Display, Apple's new $1,599 monitor. Structurally, it opens much like an iMac, and the internals are similarly familiar. But one detail stands out: the display's webcam uses the same camera sensor found in the iPhone 11. That should theoretically mean decent image quality. Instead, users have reported that the webcam produces shockingly poor video. iFixit confirmed the sensor is there, but offered no explanation for the gap between the hardware's potential and its actual performance. Apple has promised a software update to address the issue, suggesting the problem may lie in how the camera is being processed rather than in the sensor itself.

What emerges from this teardown is a portrait of intentional design choices that prioritize thinness, integration, and Apple's control over the upgrade path. The Mac Studio is not difficult to repair in the moment—most of it comes apart with standard tools. But it is difficult to upgrade, and difficult to maintain over time. For a machine starting at $1,999, that's a meaningful trade-off.