One thing is clear from iFixit's teardown of the new 4K 21.5-inch iMac: you're not supposed to upgrade its components. But if you really want to, you can.

Assuming you're willing to cut through some adhesive and likely void your iMac's warranty in the process, the teardown found that two of the all-in-one's main components are surprisingly user-serviceable. That includes the memory, which comes in two SO-DIMMs, as well as the new Kaby Lake Intel processor, which can be lifted off of the motherboard by unscrewing its heatsink.

An SO-DIMM memory configuration is a bit unusual for recent Macs, many of which have soldered RAM, according to iFixit. With SO-DIMM slots, you can more easily pry out and replace the memory modules.

The CPU is equally solder-free, iFixit found, although it is tightly glued to its heatsink. The heatsink itself can be unscrewed from the motherboard, which means it's theoretically possible to replace the CPU with little more than the tools in a casual PC builder's collection.

Before you get too excited over Apple's apparent generosity to tinkerers, though, know that while the memory and CPU are replaceable, Apple makes it tough to access them in the first place. To even open the iMac's cover, you'll have to slice through adhesive with a tool that looks like a tiny pizza cutter. iFixit also found that the right speaker, which needs to be removed for full access to the motherboard, is much more difficult to pry out than the ones in previous iMacs.

Still, the internal configuration is good news for people who plan to keep their Macs long past their warranty periods and want the option to upgrade their most essential components.