MacBook Pro 17" Battery Replacement $179 and Other Notes

[MacRumors]

Apple's only hardware announcement yesterday was the 17" MacBook Pro revision which brings the laptop in-line with the rest of the unibody laptops introduced in November. The new notebook brings a few welcome changes to the high-end Apple notebook, including a maximum of 8GB of RAM.

The non-replaceable battery, however, has generated some complaints but Apple's promises that their technology should allow the battery to last 5 years before it needs replacing. When that time comes, Gizmodo was told that the battery replacement will cost $179.

While the elimination of the battery component (photo) extends battery life to a 8 hours, it also introduces some accessibility issues to items such as RAM and Hard Drives. On other unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros, these are easily accessible through the battery compartment.

Apple has posted a video explaining the technology and reasoning behind the non-removable battery.


Article Link: MacBook Pro 17" Battery Replacement $179 and Other Notes

[kubes]

Seems like a pretty standard battery price, but you're getting more than just that. Still, I can't see this making everyone happy...and I don't really blame them.

Can someone explain the RAM accessibility issues?

[Maxington]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

The non-replaceable battery, however, has generated some complaints but Apple's promises is that their battery technology should allow it to last 5 years before it needs replacing.

Yes, it may "last" 5 years but by that time only hold a 20 min charge before you need to plug it in. Eeks this is a fickle issue.

[manu chao]

Originally Posted by Maxington

Yes, it may "last" 5 years but by that time only hold a 20 min charge before you need to plug it in. Eeks this is a fickle issue.

And what is the fricking difference to a normal removable battery? If exchanging the built-in battery is the same price a replacement battery, you just pay them for exchanging the battery once it has below, eg, 50% capacity, exactly the same way as you would buy a new battery once its capacity drops below a certain level. And a battery capacity does not drop from lets say 80% to 50% in a few days, so you can really plan this. Yes, you have to go to an Apple Store or an authorized service center but you have lots of time to plan this in advance.

And in the years until then you enjoy a longer battery life. This is only bad news for those who need often enough battery power for more than 8 hours, ie, those who currently have three batteries (this is rounding the numbers a bit).

[macpeter]

this will be way better

[NotFound]

So is there any confirmation on exactly how you are able to access the RAM and hard drive disks without going through a battery compartment?

[gkarris]

discussed here also:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=629827

[FJ218700]

even though 5 years means 3 to everyone not caught on an infinite loop, $179 is really not that bad.

I wonder how AppleCare figures into this? Is there an minimum health that the battery must be at for it to be covered up to three years?

[ddTaylor]

Originally Posted by FJ218700

even though 5 years means 3 to everyone not caught on an infinite loop, $179 is really not that bad.

I wonder how AppleCare figures into this? Is there an minimum health that the battery must be at for it to be covered up to three years?

It is not a matter of cost (although it is BS for a battery when aftermarket Lithium Polymer batteries are 1/2 that with a more realistic rating) but the issues of recall and down-time when the battery eventually fails. This bites.

D

[milo]

Originally Posted by andrewxps

So is there any confirmation on exactly how you are able to access the RAM and hard drive disks without going through a battery compartment?

I don't know if it has been officially confirmed, but I have heard repeatedly that upgrading ram is as simple as removing the screws holding the base cover on.

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

Perhaps Apple wants you to bring in the MBP 17 so that they can dispose of the battery properly. There might be an environmental reason for doing it this way.

Hey, at least it has FireWire.

s.

[Jeff Meredith]

Originally Posted by andrewxps

So is there any confirmation on exactly how you are able to access the RAM and hard drive disks without going through a battery compartment?

Speaking of RAM I have not seen much on the way of RAM improvements. It looks like the biggest capacity has been boosted to 8GB which is a huge improvement since Leopard can run 64 bit apps. For large scientific apps plus running VMWare/Fusion that is very nice.

Windows XP 32 or Vista 32 is limited to 3.4 something GB which may sound like a lot but when you approach 2GB for one app and have 500-800 Megs for system stuff it gets squeezed in a hurry.

In addition it appears that it is 1066MHz instead of 667 MHz RAM.

The upgrade from 4 to 8 costs $1200 which is mucho steep. But for a portable workstation, that's a lot of capability and really introduces parity with DeskTop Models memory wise

[.Chris]

Apple says a lot. But they need to learn that it depends on the user it self, how much they use the thing

[bug67]

No sir, I don't like it!

[synth3tik]

Apple has made promises about batteries before. When it comes to a music player or even the Air the non-replaceable battery only makes sense in devices starved for space, which the 17" is not.

I would much rather have an extra battery or two when out on the road, I would not want to rely on Apple's distorted views of an 8 hour battery life.

[.Chris]

Originally Posted by synth3tik

Apple has made promises about batteries before. When it comes to a music player or even the Air the non-replaceable battery only makes sense in devices starved for space, which the 17" is not.

I would much rather have an extra battery or two when out on the road, I would not want to rely on Apple's distorted views of an 8 hour battery life.

Thats kind of bull, I've seen the inside of a 1st gen touch and the 5th gen classic and theres space for a removable battery, but steve doesnt want that. You saw him at the 2ed gen touch keynote. He wasnt happy that he had to add the buttons for the volume. He said "we think, this will...... make a lot of people happy... "

[synth3tik]

Originally Posted by .Chris

Thats kind of bull, I've seen the inside of a 1st gen touch and the 5th gen classic and theres space for a removable battery, but steve doesnt want that. You saw him at the 2ed gen touch keynote. He wasnt happy that he had to add the buttons for the volume. He said "we think, this will...... make a lot of people happy... "

If your able to install a removable battery in a classic or touch, I will be rather impressed.

[lifeinhd]

So why did they remove the easy-access door on the bottom? They seemed to be really touting that on the MacBooks and 15" MacBook Pros....

[.Chris]

Originally Posted by synth3tik

If your able to install a removable battery in a classic or touch, I will be rather impressed.

Apple can, but they fail,

I wonder if apple made a casete player and then a CD player if it would have removable batteries,

[VoR]

Originally Posted by .Chris

Thats kind of bull, I've seen the inside of a 1st gen touch and the 5th gen classic and theres space for a removable battery, but steve doesnt want that. You saw him at the 2ed gen touch keynote. He wasnt happy that he had to add the buttons for the volume. He said "we think, this will...... make a lot of people happy... "

Isn't that what he was saying in his post?

User accessible hard disks, ram slots, and a removable battery have been sacrificed for a seamless base on the laptop - they should have been working on the black strip below the hinges if they want a sleek looking machine for photos.

[rjfiske]

Originally Posted by synth3tik

Apple has made promises about batteries before. When it comes to a music player or even the Air [emphasis mine]... I would not want to rely on Apple's distorted views of an 8 hour battery life.

Given that very reasonable example, is there any study that compares Apple's claims of the Air (i.e. if the battery life dwindles as time goes on) vs. what the real world shows? I know they exist for the Macbook & Macbook pro but I'm wondering if there's precedent for an existing non-removable battery.

[synth3tik]

Originally Posted by rjfiske

Given that very reasonable example, is there any study that compares Apple's claims of the Air (i.e. if the battery life dwindles as time goes on) vs. what the real world shows? I know they exist for the Macbook & Macbook pro but I'm wondering if there's precedent for an existing non-removable battery.

Not owning a MBA I have never bothered looking for any comparisons, but I am sure they are out there. I do know that my 4.5-5 hour battery has only ever lasted 2 hours even when running minimal apps with brightness down. The 2 hour mark has now gone down to about 1 hour of real usage. The only reason I can find this somewhat dealable is because I am able to take a spare battery with me.

[derek1984]

How does having a battery replaced work if you have AppleCare on a Macbook Pro?

[alexbates]

I doubt that a battery would last an entire 5 years. I just bought a new battery about 6 months ago and I am already over 100 on my cycle count. My last battery lasted about a year before it started having major problems.

$179 is not worth it for me. I had to pay more than $100 for my current battery from Apple and I think thats not worth it. The next battery I will buy will be from a website that I can get a good deal on.

The thing about the new built in battery is I bet it will be extremely hard to replace yourself. Apple is charging more for it because they think that people wont want to spend the time taking apart their computer and it will not want to violate the warranty. They will probably end up making a lot of money off this after customers start to come back after a year in a half or two years (not 5 years, that just a big lie). I bet most people will not be happy with this built in battery in the long run.

The 17-in MBP might be for me in the future, but I would expect a better deal on the battery replacement. But, I love the idea that the new built-in battery saves computer space and lasts for 8 hours. Also, I would never pay $5000 if I wanted to upgrade the memory and get a high-capacity SSD. Thats another thing, the memory. The new 17-in doesn't look like it is easy to replace the RAM either.

[Eidorian]

Sounds reasonable with the conditioning and monitoring circuitry on an "8 hour" battery.

Time to see a third party market of external battery packs? Since the battery is internal it's complete covered by AppleCare right?