Apple replaces last remaining Intel components in M2 MacBooks

For the first time, Apple no longer uses Intel hardware in MacBooks with M2 chips. A teardown shows that the last retimer chips for USB4 have been replaced by unknown new brands.

A Twitter user notes that in the teardown of iFixit shows how the MacBook Air with Apple’s M2 chip is the first Apple model that no longer uses Intel hardware anywhere. It concerns a small part: the Intel JHL8040R retimer for USB4 and Thunderbolt. In the MacBook Air, those two chips have been replaced by two new chips codenamed U09PY3.

There is nothing online about that specific U09PY3 model and it is not known who exactly makes those chips. The design may indicate that Apple designed the chips, but the company has not yet confirmed that. Apple has also not said anything publicly about replacing the chips.

Retimers are components that increase the range of a signal by intercepting the signal in the meantime and removing the noise that has arisen, and also regenerating attenuation. Apple used the retimers for USB4 and Thunderbolt support on the MacBooks. The JHL8040R chips were the last remaining parts in Apple laptops made by Intel since Apple started producing chips.