I modified a MacBook Neo with a beautiful replacement kit

The MacBook Neo is Apple’s most affordable, stylish, and personal laptop easy to fix in years. This means that the owners can buy replacements for all four available models and exchange themselves. So it got us thinking: Why don’t we buy a Neo to see how we can make it appear with official parts?

I ordered an indigo Neo to hang out with, and some spare parts Apple’s custom website.

I chose someone else track pad and on the ground in shame, and USB-C ports and cups in citrus. My goal was to make it as mishmash-y as possible without changing the parts that work the most – like the top cover or the cover, both of which need to remove the display.

The four units we ordered cost $165.64 plus tax, which is about 30 percent of the cost of a new Neo. So while it’s fun to try it out, buying all these parts for the sake of beauty isn’t cheap. But you may end up with something different from yours.

Opening Neo is easy. See iFixit comprehensive guide and movie if you want to see how to drop the whole thing. Putting it back on the bottom is easy, because you have to open it with a pentalobe screwdriver to get inside the Neo. The trackpad and USB-C ports were also easy, requiring me to simply pull out the ribbon cables and remove a few Torx screws to install the new model components. After 40 minutes, I had a customized Neo.

There are many interesting color options to look at with trackpads, ports, and base plates. But even those three components will set you back $126.64 — nothing for a $599 laptop.

But then came keycaps. I was very happy to change this, like my love for mechanical keyboards and beautiful keycaps well written. I wanted to give Neo the two-tone touch you see on mech keyboards – just change the alphas, numbers, spacebar, and arrow keys to citrus, and the rest of the changes. Changing laptop keys is obviously more difficult than regular keys, but I thought I’d be fine.

I didn’t order a bit adhesive and plastic to remove lever tools Apple sells you to remove the keys. I overlooked the fact that you have to scroll through each page to see if there are any accessories available for purchase. In its defense, Apple has sold its own retail space to a third-party carrier, and the site is pretty cool.

You don’t need the keycap tool is adhesive, but I bet it would be easier and less dangerous than removing it with a spudger like I did. But you should of course don’t miss it instructions on how to return the keys. I managed to damage the fragile hinges on a couple of the keys, and the metal fin that held the key joint sheared off before I could figure out the proper way to attach the new keys, because of two movies. In particular, a important repair instructions they are buried in the second linked page under the Apple’s written instructions.

Once I had the right method, I was able to put the citrus keys on the alpha and number keys (removing the A, D, 5, and 8 keys, where I had to use the undamaged indigo keys, and W and S, which I kept indigo for the vibes). Unfortunately, reattaching the key’s scissor switch may require a trip to the Genius Bar. Maybe I’ll write about how he reacts when he sees my colorful Neo.

Despite my avoidable mistakes, these mods are very doable if you read the instructions first and don’t ignore or rush them. It wouldn’t be cheap to replace all the parts I did, and spending $80 to replace a decent trackpad would be ridiculous. But just swapping out the keycaps for $39 (plus $13 in hardware rebates) will go a long way. Please learn from my mistakes.

But even though I didn’t nail these changes as much as I hoped, I like that this is possible on the MacBook. While I was cursing Apple under my breath during the installation of its unknown location and installation instructions, I believe that the company will continue to innovate with MacBook Airs and future Pros. And I hope we’ll find some interesting models for them too – including replacement parts to mix and match at our own risk.

Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge