Honey, I decapitated the MacBook

People had a lot of questions when I showed them my M1 MacBook Air at the party. My MacBook Air doesn't have a screen, and I made it that way.

Don't worry, it's not broken. I took apart my laptop without re-attaching the display. It has been simplified into just its bottom half, with an embedded keyboard and trackpad. I'm calling it a slabtop now. I like it.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

It is a computer inside a keyboard like the Apple II and Commodore 64. The M1 slabtop has a long- lasting battery and is different from the other relics.

Photo by © Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images

I swear a slabtop is more fun to use than a laptop. It's freeing at a party where you can use a keyboard in your lap to connect to a TV, but you can't hit the screen.

Apple's patent for a Mac embedded inside a keyboard inspired me to decapitate my Mac. It was rumored that we would see a Mac like this at Apple's event last week, but instead we got an amazing new Mac studio. I was a bit enamored by the raw performance Apple was promising and began to slap my wallet nervously in my palm, but instead of choosing consumerism, I chose violence.

I don't go around looking at laptops and wondering how they would look with their heads chopped off, but I have probably replaced over a hundred display clamshells during my time as an engineer. Since the patent was published, screenless MacBooks have been discussed on the internet and I had an itch to nix my Mac. A person made a slabtop with a Touch Bar and at least one screen on their lap.

If you can't see the recovery mode screen on an external monitor, you won't need to fix your computer. You will need to physically plug the slabtop into a display to get to the AirPlay controls if you want to stream to your TV. If you are doing any Zoom sessions, you will need an external one.

The AirPort card and antenna were embedded in the display hinge of the older MacBook Pro models. Thankfully, many of those models still have built-in Ethernet jacks from the era before Apple started taking away ports.

Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge

You could make your own slabtop if you have a MacBook. I'm willing to volunteer my cousin's 15-inch MacBook Pro while they're not around to supervise it.

If your cousin isn't as forgiving as I am, then the eBay route may be your best bet. I found recently sold listings for broken Touch Bar MacBook Pros going for $400, either because they had cracked screens or a problem with the flexible display ribbon cables. Who needs flex cables when we're dropping dead weight?

Before we start, make sure you have a toolkit with all the needed screwdriver bits: a pentalobe P5 to open up most MacBooks made 2012 or later, or aPhillips00 to open up most MacBooks 2012 or earlier. If you want to avoid accidentally turning on your MacBook while working, you might want a tri-wing Y1 driver. It's nice to have a nylon pry tool and tweezers to collect screws, or you could just grow your nails out for a few days as a substitute.

To use your slabtop, you need a monitor or TV, as well as a means to physically connect them. If your Mac only has a single port like my M1 MacBook Air, you should get a cable that outputs a video. If your Mac is a bit older, you'll need a cable that goes from mini DisplayPort to whatever your external monitor uses, such as HDMI, full DisplayPort, or even DVI.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

I found a very good M1 MacBook Air display removal guide at iFixit, and another one for the 15-inch MacBook Pro, while taking apart the computers. If you are opening up a different MacBook or even another laptop, you should look for a guide online on how to disassemble it. I don't take responsibility for damage or injury caused by your attempt.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

The first step in opening a MacBook is to open the bottom case. You can flip the MacBook upside-down and remove the bottom screws with either the pentalobe orPhillips driver. Since some screws are longer than others, the wrong ones could cause damage.

I just needed to grab the aluminum base at the back edge near the vent to open it. The 12-inch MacBook is the only model that comes apart the same way. The model has a battery and logic board attached to the bottom case and ribbon cables between the slabs. To avoid damage to the cable or battery, I would recommend following this guide closely.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

The battery is disconnected the second time. I made the mistake of skipping this step on the 2009 MacBook Pro and accidentally turned it on during surgery, which is better on my cousin's MacBook Pro and not my MacBook Air, am I right? The battery was disconnected after I removed three screws and lifted it up with a pull tab.

You don't need to remove the battery from the MacBook Pro. The M1 MacBook Air's battery is all it takes to flip up and pull the metal locking handle. The image is above.

In the case of my M1 MacBook Air, I disconnected and removed the internal video, antenna, and other components that were in the way of getting to the display hinge screws. Don't worry, after the display is removed, you can put the antenna back and still have access to the internet, unlike my cousin's machine. You might want to follow an online guide for your particular model if you want to remove all these parts.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

The fourth step is to remove the display. I open my M1 MacBook Air with the display cable disconnected and the antennas out of the way if I pick it up and open it at 130 degrees. I put the laptop upside down with the keyboard slab on the desk's top and the display on the edge of the desk like a wing. Hold it so it doesn't slide off the table.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

I removed the last two screws from each side of the keyboard slab after I was sure I could keep the lid from falling. The screen may not pop off. You have to remove the hinge from the frame first, and my trick is to push the screen upside down on the desk. When the lid is close to the base, it should pop out.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

It's a bit easier on the 2009 MacBook Pro. I kept the display open at a 90-degree angle off the desk instead of fully opening it, and then lifted the display straight up and off without any pushing or sliding.

The slabtop is almost ready, but you will need to put a few pieces back in if you want to use it again. The non-display parts went back in with my M1 Air. I put the display hinge screws back in. I pressed the bottom case cover back on after I reconnected the battery. I'm only 10 screws away from my new slabtop.

Did you do well as well? Let's plug it in if it's true. You can connect it to a monitor or TV with the right cable, power it on, and get a picture on-screen in about the same amount of time it took on your built-in one. If the monitor gets to the login screen but only shows a wallpaper with nothing to click, it's because the slabtop has phantom limb syndrome and thinks it should output to the primary built-in display, but you can hit Command + F1 to switch to mirror mode. You can mirror your screen to a TV or streaming box. You can enjoy the freedom of a slabtop on your couch if you disconnected the cable after it appears on the TV.

Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge

As you walk over to the couch, you could take a moment to appreciate how lightweight the slabtop is and how intriguing the design is. I think this could become a real product for Apple someday, with a design like the iBook from 1999. Nintendo made a decision in 2000 to add a handle to the GameCube, which reminded me of the decision to add a handle to the slabtop.

Is my slabtop still there? My wife asked me when I would put my laptop back together, and it was a tough decision because I like showing people my laptop. I found out that I can't carry it in a backpack because the key that gets pressed will power it on unintentionally.

I'm having a great time watching videos, reading articles, and pricing out a Mac Studio with Studio Display, all from the comfort of my couch.