Apple appears to have prematurely revealed the name of its rumored lower-cost MacBook model, which is expected to be announced this Wednesday. A regulatory document for a “MacBook Neo” (Model A3404) has appeared on Apple’s website. Unfortunately, there are no further details or images available yet. While the PDF file does not contain the “MacBook Neo” name, it briefly appeared in a link on Apple’s regulatory website for EU compliance purposes.
That discussion is nothing more than a forum post, as much anecdotal as something posted to reddit. Whoever told him the top case had to be replaced is in error; the battery is glued to the top case, but with special adhesive that releases when pulled (like a strip of tape). iFixit calls this a “moderate” on it’s scale of difficulty.
It is glued, but designed to be replaced.
Depends on the device, I suppose, but incorrect for the m2 version at least, where you have to use adhecive remover: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+2022+(M2)+Battery+Replacement/156551. I wouldn’t go as far as to call this “difficult” as they did, but def. time-consuming.
Also, you can’t source just the battery from apple.
That chassis hasn’t been for sale for 4 years, so judge repairability on what they sell now. And regardless of sourcing it from Apple or not, you can easily source the battery.