I Customized A Macbook Neo With Colorful Spare Parts

I opted for a replacement trackpad and bottom case successful blush, and USB-C ports and keycaps successful citrus. My extremity was to make it arsenic mishmash-y arsenic imaginable without changing retired much labor-intensive parts — for illustration nan apical lawsuit aliases lid, which some require taking isolated nan display.

The 4 parts we ordered costs $165.64 positive tax, which is astir 30 percent of nan value of a caller Neo. So while it’s nosy to experiment, buying each these parts purely for aesthetics isn’t cost-effective. But you tin extremity up pinch thing uniquely yours.

Opening up nan Neo is simple. Check retired iFixit’s extended guide and video if you want to spot really to tear down nan full thing. Replacing nan bottommost lawsuit is of people nan easiest, since you person to unfastened it pinch a pentalobe screwdriver to entree nan Neo’s innards anyway. The trackpad and USB-C ports were besides rather easy, requiring that I conscionable unplug immoderate ribbon cables and region respective Torx screws to put successful nan freshly colored parts. After astir 40 minutes, I already had a customized Neo.

There are tons of nosy colour combos you could research pinch conscionable nan trackpad, ports, and bottommost plate. But moreover those 3 replacement parts will costs you $126.64 — not thing for a $599 laptop.

But past came nan keycaps. I was astir excited to customize these, arsenic my emotion for mechanical keyboards and colorful keycaps is good documented. I wanted to springiness nan Neo a touch of nan two-tone flair you spot connected mech keyboards — only changing nan alphas, numbers, abstraction bar, and arrow keys to citrus, pinch nan modifiers remaining indigo. Changing retired laptop keys is evidently harder than regular keycaps, but I figured I’d beryllium fine.

Reader, I was not fine.

I didn’t bid nan small adhesives and integrative removal lever tools Apple sells you to region nan keys. I overlooked nan truth that you person to scroll down connected each parts page to spot if location are devices to bargain on pinch them. In my defense, Apple farmed retired nan self-service repair shop to a third-party logistics company, and nan tract is beautiful spartan.

You don’t need nan keycap instrumentality and adhesive, but I stake it would beryllium easier and little risky than popping them disconnected pinch a spudger for illustration I did. But you should definitely not miss the instructions connected really to put nan keys backmost in. I managed to harm nan vulnerable hinge clips connected a fewer keys, and a metallic fin attaching an arrow key’s scissor move sheared disconnected earlier I figured retired nan due measurement to connect nan caller keycaps, acknowledgment to a couple videos. Notably, nan key reassembly instructions are buried successful a secondary page linked astatine nan bottommost of Apple’s written instructions.

Once I had nan due technique, I was capable to instal nan citrus keycaps connected nan alpha and number keys (minus nan A, D, 5, and 8 keys, wherever I had to usage nan original undamaged indigo keys, and nan W and S, which I kept indigo for nan vibes). Sadly, reattaching nan arrow key’s scissor move is astir apt going to require a travel to nan Genius Bar. Maybe I should archive really they respond to seeing my multicolored Neo.

Despite my avoidable errors, these mods are very doable if you publication nan instructions first and don’t get sloppy aliases unreserved done them. It mightiness not beryllium cost-effective to switch each nan parts I did, and spending $80 to switch a perfectly bully trackpad does consciousness a spot silly. But conscionable swapping nan keycaps for $39 (plus $13 for nan removal toolkit) will get you beautiful far. Just please study from my mistakes.

But moreover if I didn’t nail these changes for illustration I hoped, I do emotion that this is moreover imaginable connected a MacBook. While I was cursing Apple nether my activity during nan instal for its unintuitive parts tract and burying immoderate captious repair instructions, I dream nan institution continues this inclination toward repairability pinch early MacBook Airs and Pros. And I dream we get much nosy colors for those excessively — including replacement parts to operation and lucifer astatine our ain peril.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge