Apple launched the $599 MacBook Neo on March 11, a budget Mac with the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro chip, 8GB of unified storage, and a 13-inch screen. Although it offers decent specs for the price, there is a catch: the storage maxes out at 512GB.
However, a Chinese repair technician, DirectorFeng, swapped out the standard NAND chip for a 1TB chip, effectively unlocking the MacBook Neo’s memory. The technician posted the entire video on a YouTube channel.
How did DirectorFeng do this?
DirectorFeng replaced the NAND flash drive that was soldered to the MacBook’s motherboard, then re-flashed macOS so that it recognized the third-party driver and memory. The process included removing the original chip, cleaning the solder pads, and installing a higher capacity replacement chip using professional repair tools.
This wasn’t a screwdriver and YouTube tutorial situation; This is logic board microsurgery, the kind that makes most people’s palms sweat. However, after assembly, macOS recognized the larger capacity NAND drive without any firmware issues, and storage performance also appeared normal.
As seen in the video, the storage increases from 256GB to 994.61GB (marketed as 1TB). Once the process was complete, the replaced drive offered read and write speeds of 1,551 MB/s and 1,506 MB/s, respectively.
Should you try upgrading your MacBook Neo’s memory?
It’s worth noting that Apple uses soldered NAND instead of a removable SSD, meaning any change in capacity would require micro-soldering and would almost certainly void the manufacturer’s warranty. However, the successful memory upgrade shows that the Neo is relatively easier to work with than other MacBooks.
Is this a consumer-friendly upgrade? No. Should you try upgrading your MacBook Neo’s memory yourself? Certainly not. The only important aspect here is that the device works with third-party storage without any firmware issues. A memory upgrade is at least theoretically possible.
