1. Butterfly keyboard failure (the famous one)
The A1989 has the third-generation butterfly keyboard. Apple covered it under an extended service programme for 4 years from sale, but Pakistani owners often don't catch this window.
After warranty: full top-case (keyboard + battery + trackpad assembled together) is the only fix. PKR 35,000–48,000 at our bench, 1–2 day turnaround, 90-day warranty.
2. Flexgate on heavy-use units
The 13" A1989 isn't covered by Apple's flexgate programme (that was a 13" Pro 2016 issue), but some A1989s develop horizontal lines after 4+ years from cable fatigue. Watch for the lines appearing only at certain hinge angles.
Fix: display cable swap if caught early (PKR 12,000–18,000) or full display assembly (PKR 25,000–35,000).
3. T2 SSD wear + 256GB tightness
T2 chip + soldered SSD = no upgrade path. The 256GB base spec is critically tight in 2026 with macOS Sonoma/Tahoe. Heavy users may also see SSD wear approaching 80–90% lifespan.
External Thunderbolt 3 SSDs run at near-internal speeds on this Mac — good workaround. PKR 12,000–25,000 for a 1TB external.
4. Battery swelling after 4–5 years
Common on A1989s living in Pakistani heat. Check for trackpad rocking or hard-to-click trackpad. Swap urgent — PKR 14,000–18,000.
5. Touch Bar quirks
The Touch Bar occasionally gets stuck (won't respond) — usually fixed by Touch ID + Touch Bar SMC reset. Hard failure of the Touch Bar strip requires keyboard top-case replacement.