@kwf TBH other than the white silicone, I’d probably accept that as “factory stock” if I just glanced at it. (With a black mechanical blob holding the SATA cable in place, it’d just look like a “chip on board” setup.)

Someone should persuade Chinese factories to make M.2 male to SATA cable (omitting the socket) for this “low profile” use case; there are already far weirder A to B options available from China…. 🤔