M1 iPad Pro teardown reveals mini LED system, minor component changes

Credit: AppleInsider

The repair experts at iFixit have completed an initial teardown of the M1 iPad Pro, revealing the device's new mini LED backlight and other changes from past models.

Although it has yet to publish a full teardown, iFixit has taken a closer look under the hood of the new M1-equipped iPad Pro models in a new YouTube clip. While there are some major changes from A-series iPad Pro, iFixit's focus was the new mini LED-based XDR display.

Compared to past Apple tablets, iFixit reports that getting into the device hasn't changed much. Removing the device's display requires application of heat, careful prying, and some patience as to not damage any cables or delicate components.

Once iFixit removed the display, it found only a few significant changes from non-M1 iPad Pros. The device now has 5G antennas around the edges of the frame, a 40.33 watt-hour capacity, and, of course, the M1 chip.

There's also a new front-facing camera with an ultra-wide field of view that allows for the company's "Center Stage" feature.

The iFixit teardown has also given us a closer look at how the new mini LED backlight works. Traditionally, Apple's devices have used a single strip of LEDs across one edge of the display to provide backlighting. The new iPad Pro's mini LED backlighting system uses tiny grids of LEDs that provide both quality and contrast enhancements.

The iFixit video has a much more in-depth explanations and visuals that are helpful in understanding how the new mini LED display works.

Teardowns of the M1 iPad Pro models are not yet complete. When iFixit wraps up, it will release a repair guide as well as the site's signature repairability score.

Follow all of WWDC 2021 with comprehensive AppleInsider coverage of the week-long event from June 7 through June 11, including details on new launches and updates.

Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.

Follow AppleInsider on Google News

7 Comments

LeftyLisa

said about 2 years ago

Is it possible for anyone to asses the life of the SSD inside all M1? I have already bought the IPadPro M1 and the new MacMini M1 and sure would like to find life expectancy…..or when the hard drive fails you just toss the whole kit?

Anorak2009

said about 2 years ago

LeftyLisa said:

Is it possible for anyone to asses the life of the SSD inside all M1? I have already bought the IPadPro M1 and the new MacMini M1 and sure would like to find life expectancy…..or when the hard drive fails you just toss the whole kit?

Not sure if your new to apple or anything but they generally last a really long time. Like my 2015 imac still works well so like...

rcfa

said about 2 years ago

LeftyLisa said:

Is it possible for anyone to asses the life of the SSD inside all M1? I have already bought the IPadPro M1 and the new MacMini M1 and sure would like to find life expectancy…..or when the hard drive fails you just toss the whole kit?

Pretty much you toss the whole thing.

Modern hardware is optimized globally, to last longer than the normal useful service life, at the cost of repairability.

Say the normal use case for a widget X is three years. But making it repairable introduces failure points (like a moving battery, corroding contacts in component sockets, etc..
Soldering and gluing things into place reduces the potential for premature failure, makes things lighter, reduces weight and component counts, support incidents, shipping to/from service, etc. in short in aggregate it’s a massive win in terms of sustainability. The product now easily lasts five years, even though the vast majority gets rid of it after three (to stick with the example).
The exceptions is what you hear about: the few people who want to use it for more than five years, and the unlucky few who have an unexpected failure well before the five years, but after warranty runs out.
Then of course, it’s obnoxious, if repairs are difficult, impossible, expensive. But these are the exceptions, and overall, everyone is better off with the “difficult to repair” product: users who have fewer incidents and higher reliability, manufacturers who have less warranty expenses, less support expenses, and higher customer satisfaction, and the environment through lower energy and resource usage and less waste though longer service life of products.

mike_galloway

said about 2 years ago

rcfa said:

LeftyLisa said:

Is it possible for anyone to asses the life of the SSD inside all M1? I have already bought the IPadPro M1 and the new MacMini M1 and sure would like to find life expectancy…..or when the hard drive fails you just toss the whole kit?

Pretty much you toss the whole thing.

Modern hardware is optimized globally, to last longer than the normal useful service life, at the cost of repairability.

Say the normal use case for a widget X is three years. But making it repairable introduces failure points (like a moving battery, corroding contacts in component sockets, etc..
Soldering and gluing things into place reduces the potential for premature failure, makes things lighter, reduces weight and component counts, support incidents, shipping to/from service, etc. in short in aggregate it’s a massive win in terms of sustainability. The product now easily lasts five years, even though the vast majority gets rid of it after three (to stick with the example).
The exceptions is what you hear about: the few people who want to use it for more than five years, and the unlucky few who have an unexpected failure well before the five years, but after warranty runs out.
Then of course, it’s obnoxious, if repairs are difficult, impossible, expensive. But these are the exceptions, and overall, everyone is better off with the “difficult to repair” product: users who have fewer incidents and higher reliability, manufacturers who have less warranty expenses, less support expenses, and higher customer satisfaction, and the environment through lower energy and resource usage and less waste though longer service life of products.

Absolutely - although as it is impossible to predict the useful life of a product at purchase (as we don't know when advances make it inefficient to use) it's still a guessing game as to whether repair or replace is better. But usually I would agree with the above.

LeftyLisa

said about 2 years ago

Well just so you know, I’ve been an Apple customer since the first iPhone. I also have a 2012 Mac Mini that I have put new SSD’s and increased the RAM to the max 16GB. I use it dedicated to a Music streamer with Roon. I use my M1 Mac Mini to replace a 2012 iMac that also modified with an SSD and max RAM…..knowing the M1 is a whole new SoC…There is no way to “refresh” and old unit anymore…..so I guess I should be looking at 5 years and anything past that is good?…well I got 8 plus years out of my last iMac….I guess as long as you have your data b@caked up you just run’er ‘til she drops!….I guess the same would hold true for my iPadPro….

Thanks fellas!