M1 Mac upgrades — here’s how you can add more RAM or swap out an SSD

M1 Mac upgrades — here's how you can add together more RAM or swap out an SSD

(Image credit: Future)

If you've bought ane of the Macs equipped with Apple's own M1 chips, yous're likely satisfied with the performance of your automobile, fifty-fifty if you lot can't help but wonder about its upgradeability. As it turns out, Macs powered by the Apple M1 chip may exist more upgradeable than y'all think.

That'due south the word out of China where technicians study that they were able to upgrade both the memory and storage on an M1-powered MacBook Air. The report, picked up past MacRumors, claims to have upgraded a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage to a machine that boasts 16GB of memory with 1TB of capacity.

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Engineer Yang Changshun from Guangzhou, China took to Chinese social media (with images and explanation via c hongdiantou.com) detailing his process. Across several images, he removed the SSD and RAM from the M1 Mac and added upgraded storage. It's a process that carries a lot of risk, the least of which is that it voids Apple warranty. Nevertheless, based on the report, tit appears that upgrading the M1 Mac is doable, if a flake complex.

To that finish, this is non something that should be repeated unless by experienced hands. It's too not immediately apparent whether the new storage or upgrades would work successfully through the immediate futurity, given Apple tree'southward penchant for recognizing unofficial hardware in devices like its phones and bricking those phones.

Macbook air m1 upgrade — (Image credit: hongdiantou.com)

With that in mind, information technology likely goes without saying that this is an impressive accomplishment that may not exist repeatable for most users. At the same fourth dimension, Apple tree, along with HP and Honeywell, are currently lobbying against a pecker in Nevada that would require hardware manufacturers to offering parts, schematics, and instructions to third-party repair shops. There are several bills beyond the US at the moment that would force Apple'due south hand to brand its machines upgradeable, eliminating the requirement for Apple device users to go to authorized dealers and instead utilize smaller (cheaper) independent repair locations.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over thirteen years for publications including Tom'south Guide, MTV, Rolling Stone, CNN, Popular Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, and more. She's also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX East and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's not writing or gaming, she'due south looking for the side by side great visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. Y'all can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.