Apple's new MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch laptops are starting to reach the hands of fans around the world According to our own testing, these are the most exciting MacBook Pros Apple has released in some time

One reason is that they are the most powerful MacBooks ever released, thanks in part to Apple's new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips It also has a beautiful Liquid Retina XDR display, excellent speakers, the elimination of the Touch Bar, and a host of expanded ports that pros will actually want

But now that this new MacBook Pro is out in the world, we've learned that there are a few notable improvements that will make battery replacement a little easier This suggests that Apple is finally listening to the concerns of DIY enthusiasts and repair rights advocates

We were able to learn about these thanks to the intrepid crew at iFixit

In an ongoing disassembly of the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021, the iFixit team showed us X-rays of the laptop's interior The most exciting discovery so far? The battery has a pull tab

This is significant because it's a (small) step toward making the MacBook Pro easier to maintain yourself

You may not remember, but prior to 2009, many MacBooks shipped with an easily accessible battery compartment

Around 2009, Apple began shipping MacBooks with the battery securely tucked inside the unibody chassis

Now Apple has embedded pull-tabs under the batteries in all new Pros (though some of them require the trackpad to be removed), which should make it a bit easier for owners to replace the batteries themselves

This is a small but important victory for right-to-repair advocates, who have consistently criticized Apple and other tech companies for selling devices that are intentionally designed to be difficult to repair

However, there is still a long way to go before Apple's MacBook becomes as accessible and DIY-friendly as the remarkable Framework Laptop

The iFixit team was equally enthusiastic about Framework, giving it an exceptional 10/10 on their repairability scale We can't wait to see how they rate the new MacBook Pro once they finish disassembling it and what they discover in the process

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