Teardown of new 4K 21.5-inch iMac reveals removable RAM and a modular CPU, a Kaby Lake processor that's not soldered onto the logic board
iFixit has published a teardown of the new 4K 21.5-inch iMac, which reveals that - surprisingly - Apple's smallest all-in-one desktop machine …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's desktop line has been quietly diverging from its laptops: the 2015 MacBook teardown scored a 1/10 with CPU, RAM and flash all soldered down, while the just-announced $1,499 21.5-inch 4K iMac turns out to keep its RAM slots and a socketed Kaby Lake CPU. iFixit's teardown is the first hard look inside the machine reviewers called 'same design, new insides.'
The result lands mid-spectrum against rivals: Microsoft's Surface Studio, torn down weeks earlier, opens easily but solders its RAM, CPU and GPU, while the later iMac Pro teardown would show Apple extending modularity to dual SSDs and the CPU even as it soldered the GPU.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the entry 4K iMac can upgrade RAM and swap the CPU after purchase, changing the calculus on which configuration to buy at the $1,499 starting price.
- iFixit gains a concrete counterexample to Apple's solder-everything laptop playbook, sharpening its repairability scoring contrast between the iMac and the MacBook.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft's Surface Studio, with its soldered RAM, CPU and GPU, now reads as less serviceable than a cheaper Apple all-in-one, putting pressure on its premium positioning.
- A socketed CPU and removable RAM sustain a third-party upgrade market for iMac owners, extending the machine's useful life beyond what Apple's own sealed designs allow.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds across the iMac line through the iMac Pro, Apple's desktops stay user-serviceable while its portable line remains glued and soldered — a two-tier serviceability split within one company.
- Teardown repairability scores are becoming a standing competitive metric that all-in-one makers like Apple and Microsoft are measured against at every launch.
The trend: Desktop all-in-ones are becoming the last bastion of user-upgradable hardware as both Apple and Microsoft solder down their laptops and premium displays.