Image source @ Visual China
Text | Ray Tech leitech
With the use of M1 chip Mac computer in the mouth of self-media "killing the four sides", the original niche Mac ecology has also been accepted by more and more consumers, especially in the eyes of some college students, a Mac using M1 chip seems to have become the first step for them to learn video editing, become a life blogger and finally enter the list of top 100 Up masters.
However, considering that even the most basic Mac mini is priced at 5299 yuan, and the starting price of the MacBook Air, which integrates thin and light design and powerful performance, has reached 7999 yuan, this budget can already buy a good thin and light book or a game computer that can play AAA masterpieces in the Windows camp. Even if you take a second place and buy a relatively obsolete old Mac on a second-hand platform, the high retention rate of Apple computers also reduces the cost performance of computers. For these potential users who are ready to enter the Mac family, the price is always the biggest obstacle between them and the top 100 Up owners.
So besides dreaming, what other way to buy a Mac computer with reasonable performance and affordable price? Driven by market demand, an ancient and unfamiliar Mac category has once again been pushed into the public eye by merchants - severed Mac.
Can i buy a "severed" MacBook?
Although the "Severed Mac" sounds quite French, the severed Mac actually loses more than just the "head". Generally speaking, a severed Mac or severed MacBook is a notebook that has removed the entire computer cover assembly for various reasons.
Since Macs don't usually put software that affects the core functionality of the computer in the computer cover, even if you remove the computer cover, all you lose is the built-in Retina high-resolution screen, microphone matrix, camera and automatic brightness module. In a sense, these "severed Macs" are actually somewhat similar to the Mac mini, except that the Mac mini has more IO interfaces and the heat dissipation conditions are relatively better.
From the actual experience, the actual use experience of these severed Macs is not necessarily worse than the Mac mini. First of all, the severed Mac, although it said that it lost the high-definition screen that the MacBook series was proud of, retained the full MacBook speaker system. Compared to the speakers that come with most monitors, the speakers built into the MacBook are actually not bad. If you buy a 15-inch version of the severed Mac, its acoustic effect can exceed many hundred-dollar independent speakers.
Secondly, in terms of portability, the severed Mac also outperforms the Mac mini. Although neither has a screen, a severed Mac with its own keyboard and trackpad is a more convenient option in some user scenarios. For example, when you need a computer that controls the projection of a conference room, the "all-in-one" severed Mac is a good alternative. If your severed Mac is just used as a portable host, usually used in the dormitory and then the monitor, then the severed Mac does not make any difference in use.
Besides, if you buy a severed Mac equipped with TouchBar, you can use the built-in TouchBar and TouchID "all-in-one keyboard", compared with Apple's 699 yuan official keyboard and 899 yuan pressure touch version, about 3,000 yuan of the severed Mac is actually more cost-effective. But then again, although the severed Mac looks very cost-effective, its shortcomings are actually equally prominent.
As a "handicraft" presence in the Mac secondary market, the severed Mac is certainly not able to enjoy any form of official after-sales. Whether it is a relatively simple battery drum bag to deal with or a computer that cannot be turned on, Apple's official after-sales system will turn this computer away, and if there is a problem, you can only find a seller or ask another smart.
In addition, in terms of computer performance, the Mac mini also performs better than the severed Mac. The severed Macs that can be found on the market today are usually models around 2016. Mac minis of the same period can usually replace faster SSDs with more memory. Even the last Mac mini with An Intel processor features removable memory that makes it easy to upgrade the configuration after purchase, but for the severed Mac, with the exception of a few early models that can also replace the hard drive through the adapter, the rest have no possibility of upgrading the configuration at all.
In addition, the power consumption limitations of mac mini positioned as desktop computers are also more relaxed than those of MacBooks positioned as laptops. In order to take care of those who like to use the MacBook on their laps, and in order to comply with the relevant authorities' regulations on the temperature on the back of the computer, Apple has a very conservative heat dissipation design for laptops. Take the latest M1 Macbook Air as an example: in order to ensure that the temperature on the back of the computer does not exceed the specified value, Apple directly attached an insulation pad between the chip and the D-side, preferring to overheat the chip to reduce the frequency rather than release heat.
But equipped with a more efficient fan Mac mini is not the same, as a desktop computer, Mac mini does not need to consider the heat and battery life limits, can achieve better performance release, the actual performance is naturally higher.
One is the main cost-effective and balanced performance, the other is a serious desktop computer, I believe see here, everyone also understands the difference between the serious Mac mini and the "unorthodox" severed Mac. In some cases, these severed Macs are also a cost-effective choice, but I don't know if you have ever thought of such a question: Why only the MacBook can form such a mature "guillotine industry chain", and other computers do not have this treatment?
How expensive is it to repair a computer?
Some people may think that this is because Apple's MacBook is more equipped and more suitable for processing audio and video content, so the market is larger. But that's not the case: The MacBook was considered suitable for video processing, which has to do with the Mac's excellent Retina screen. As for these severed Macs, the other advantages are not obvious except for Final Cut Pro support. The reason why there is a related industrial chain for a severed Mac is actually very simple: the MacBook's screen is too expensive to repair.
Unlike the vast majority of "bad which to fix" laptops, out of the cost, design and profit considerations, Apple's after-sales strategy for the MacBook is very simple: the part above the computer reel is a complete unit, whether you are immersed in liquid, broken screen or screen has a slight scratch, want to go to the official after-sales can only be replaced in its entirety, and the maintenance quotation behind this can only be said to be very scary. For example, the display assembly quotation of the 15-inch MacBook Pro can easily exceed 5,000 yuan, plus the manual fee price of 299 yuan, and the final total quotation can already buy a good Windows computer.
Even if you go to a third-party unauthorized repair outside of Apple's warranty system, the price of replacing a disassembled MacBook Pro screen will cost thousands of yuan. But if you perform "beheading surgery", you can continue to use the computer for a few hundred yuan to buy a screen, and even sell it directly on the second-hand platform at a fair price. Under this premise, after taking the official warranty or selling second-hand or continuing to use it after "severed head", there are not many choices left for consumers.
All-in-one integration is the future, but it's not necessarily a good thing
Seeing this, I believe that everyone also understands why only the MacBook has its own "severed head" market: not because the Mac buys more people or the performance is strong, this is entirely because other broken screen notebooks have long been repaired, only the maintenance cost can buy half a computer MacBook, because the high maintenance cost dissuaded the user, so the strange market of the broken Mac was born.
Just like the "repair is better than buy" AirPods, in order to pass on the cost of repairs, brands will do everything possible to "integrate" computers. For brands, non-repairable integrated equipment does not require complex after-sales training courses, and if there is a problem, it is packaged and replaced. However, for consumers, just because the brand is suspicious of after-sales training troubles, it is necessary to pay for parts that are not damaged, such an after-sales policy is obviously unreasonable.
In addition to spending more money on users, there is also a problem of waste behind highly integrated electronic devices. Putting computers together with a lot of adhesives will undoubtedly increase the cost of computer recycling, and in disguise, increase the shipment of unnecessary electronic products. To put it more bluntly, this behavior of repairing the trip for users has directly led to the birth of more electronic waste. Apple saved $6.5 billion by removing the charger in the phone's packaging, and I don't know how much money is left for Mac users to recycle these "severed Macs"?