Apple has made it near-impossible to allow users to upgrade the storage and RAM of their Macs once they have been purchased, so whatever configuration you get at the time will need to last the rest of its life. However, there are other ways to increase the existing storage on these machines, with one modder showing how he has already gone the extra mile in taking the flash memory of the latest M3 Max MacBook Pro up to eight times its original configuration.
Modded M3 Max MacBook Pro now features 8TB of flash storage, which is the maximum supported amount on Apple’s website
The latest M3 Max MacBook Pro in the hands of @lipilipsi came with 1TB of storage, and while the majority of users will find that plentiful, others will find it thoroughly limiting. It is also disappointing to see Apple charge a ludicrous premium to upgrade that storage from 512GB to 1TB, so the modder devised a solution to increase that memory the ‘easy’ way. Unfortunately, for regular MacBook Pro users, the task is difficult as it requires some soldering tools, steady hands, and intricate knowledge of a MacBook Pro’s innards.
As shown in the images, there are some empty solder points on the M3 Max MacBook Pro where the flash memory can be installed, and in the next image, we see that some NAND chips have populated this particular area. The exact storage amount has not been mentioned in the post, but assuming that this MacBook Pro shipped with 1TB of storage, the existing flash memory would likely have to be removed for the 8TB upgrade, so four memory chips would mean 2TB per NAND flash.
MacBook Pro M3 Max memory upgrade 1TB to 8TB pic.twitter.com/k7o4plST0l
— fix Apple 🍏 (@lipilipsi) December 9, 2023
Then again, accurately soldering some storage to the M3 Max MacBook Pro does not immediately mean that the machine can be booted up because macOS was already pre-configured to recognize that this product features 1TB of internal storage. As a result, some software tweaking is required before the operating system recognizes the memory upgrade, though, for some reason, the modder does not show this step in the images.
The upgrade path of the M3 Max MacBook Pro did not detail the cost of the 8TB flash memory either, but one can easily assume that it will be significantly affordable compared to what Apple charges its customers. Unfortunately, it appears that Apple will not change its stance regarding upgrading its machines, so you will either have to pay the Cupertino giant that ‘extra tax,’ or find someone with sufficient skill and the necessary hardware to make this possible.
News Source: @lipilipsi
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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