I customized a MacBook Neo with colorful spare parts

The MacBook Neo is Apple’s cheapest laptop, its most colorful, and its easiest to repair in years. This means owners can purchase replacement parts in all four of its available colors and replace them themselves. So it got us thinking: What if we bought a Neo just to see how flashy we could make it with official parts?

I ordered an Indigo Neo for replacement and some spare parts from Apple’s self-service site.

I opted for a replacement trackpad and bottom case in Blush and the USB-C port and keycaps in Citrus. My goal was to make it as mishmash-y as possible without changing the more labor-intensive parts – like the top case or lid, both of which require disassembling the display.

The four parts we ordered cost $165.64 plus tax, about 30 percent of the price of a new Neo. So it’s fun to experiment, but buying all these parts for aesthetics is not cost effective. But you may end up losing something unique about you.

Opening Neo is simple. If you want to see how to dismantle the whole thing, check out iFixit’s detailed guide and video. The bottom case is definitely the easiest to replace, as you’ll need to pry it open with a pentalobe screwdriver to access the Neo’s internals. The trackpad and USB-C port were also easy enough to remove, requiring me to simply unplug a few ribbon cables and remove several Torx screws to put the freshly painted parts in place. After about 40 minutes, I already had a customized Neo.

There are lots of fun color combinations that you can see with just the trackpad, ports, and bottom plate. But those three replacement parts will also cost you $126.64 — nothing for a $599 laptop.

But then came keycaps. I was most excited to customize these, as my love of mechanical keyboards and colored keycaps is well documented. I wanted to give the Neo a touch of the two-tone flair you see on Mac keyboards — changing only the alpha, number, space bar, and arrow keys to citrus, while the modifiers remain indigo. Changing laptop keys is obviously harder than regular keycaps, but I thought I’d be fine.

I did not order the little adhesive and plastic removal lever tool that Apple sells you to remove the keys. I overlooked the fact that you have to scroll down on each parts page to see if there are tools available for purchase with them. In my defense, Apple turned the self-service repair store over to a third-party logistics company, and the site is fairly moderated.

you don’t do that need Keycap tool and adhesive, but I’m sure it would be easier and less risky than removing them with a spudger like I did. but you should Definitely Don’t forget the instructions on how to put the keys back in. I managed to damage the delicate hinge clips on a few keys, and had the metal wing connecting an arrow key’s scissor switch cut off before I could figure out the proper way to attach the new keycap, thanks to some videos. Specifically, the main reconnection instructions are hidden in a secondary page linked below Apple’s written instructions.

Once I had the proper technique, I was able to install citrus keycaps on the alpha and number keys (except the A, D, 5 and 8 keys, where I had to use the original damaged Indigo keys, and W and S, which I kept indigo for vibes). Sadly, rewiring the arrow keys’ scissor switches will probably require a trip to the Genius Bar. Maybe I should document how they react to seeing my multicolored Neo.

Despite my avoidable errors, these mods are very doable if you read the instructions first and don’t be careless or rush them. It might not be cost effective to replace all the parts like I did, and spending $80 to replace a perfectly good trackpad seems a bit silly. But swapping out the keycaps for just $39 (plus $13 for the removal toolkit) will get you a long way. Just please learn from my mistakes.

But even though I didn’t make these changes as well as I hoped, I love that it’s possible on a MacBook too. While I’ve been cursing Apple for its unknown parts site and burying some important repair instructions during installation, I hope the company continues this trend toward repairs with future MacBook Airs and Pros. And I hope we get even more fun colors for them – including replacement parts to mix and match at our own risk.

Photography Antonio G. By Di Benedetto/The Verge