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13" MacBook Pro Teardown and Unboxing Galleries

bytethese said:
Not a big question really, it's on Apple's website for Tech Specs on the 13" MBP:

Combined optical digital output/headphone out (user-selectable audio analog line in)
...
Click to expand...

mrrory said:
Losing the audio input is frustrating, and in my opinion makes this not a "Pro." Getting the firewire back is a good thing, but it's annoying because several of my friends have the previous 13" and it's a bit of a struggle without it. I'm not a mac whiner or a fanboy, but this seems to be an example of Apple deciding that Firewire was unnecessary, and then changing their mind because of public reaction. I think there needs to be more consistency. The Macbook upgrades are great, but they shouldn't have ditched the audio input on the 13... :(
Click to expand...

sigh
 
resolution?

Has there been any change in screen resolution from previous model on 13"? What was the previous one: 1280 or 1440. I have seen macbook's against mbp and the screen on the former looks much less sharper and more crappier quality than mbp? I am wondering now that 13" is included in mbp category, has the res changed? anyone know??:confused:
 
iPoodOverZune said:
Has there been any change in screen resolution from previous model on 13"? What was the previous one: 1280 or 1440. I have seen macbook's against mbp and the screen on the former looks much less sharper and more crappier quality than mbp? I am wondering now that 13" is included in mbp category, has the res changed? anyone know??:confused:
Click to expand...

The previous was 1280x800, as is this one. More appropriate would be 1440x900 on a 13", but unfortunately that's not the case.

I wish my 15" was 1680x1050, but it is 1440x900.

1920x1200 on a 15" is too small, IMO. I lived with a Dell workstation that had those specs, and while the desktop real estate was nice, it was just too damn small.
 
Why do they do things like removing an audio jack and hiding the battery (for the sake of a minimalist design?...) and then go and stick an sd slot on the side that wont take a full card?
 
they didn't "hide the battery" - they upgraded the battery to the 7 hour non-removable battery. that is up i think 2 hours from the old removable battery (not 100% sure, but irrc it held a 5 hour charge at most).
 
Looks like they hid the battery to me. Looks like the fixed battery feature is more about having a clean underside than increasing the volume of the cells, whatever the marketing tells me.
 
I was expecting a harder to remove battery.

I can deal with the bottom plate screws and a couple Tri-Wings. In time there will be cheaper ways to get a replacement battery, so even though I can't swap it out in the field very easily, I should at least be able to replace a bad battery for less than what Apple wants.
 
All these pictures are killing me. So excited to get my new comp. I can't believe there was a two week wait for the SSD. :(:(
 
polaris20 said:
The previous was 1280x800, as is this one. More appropriate would be 1440x900 on a 13", but unfortunately that's not the case.

I wish my 15" was 1680x1050, but it is 1440x900.

1920x1200 on a 15" is too small, IMO. I lived with a Dell workstation that had those specs, and while the desktop real estate was nice, it was just too damn small.
Click to expand...

thanks.

yea 1440 would be nice, but i guess we wont see that knowing apple so far.
 
polaris20 said:
The previous was 1280x800, as is this one. More appropriate would be 1440x900 on a 13", but unfortunately that's not the case.

I wish my 15" was 1680x1050, but it is 1440x900.

1920x1200 on a 15" is too small, IMO. I lived with a Dell workstation that had those specs, and while the desktop real estate was nice, it was just too damn small.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm posting this from my work computer with that exact screen - I really wish I would've ordered the 1680x1050 model instead of the 1920x1200. Stupid programs that don't respond well to font size or DPI changes necessitate me having a 19" 1280x1024 monitor hooked up as secondary just to drag windows over to make them legible.

But boooooooy can I zoom out!

I wonder what the status of resolution independence is on 10.6 - I heard early on they were working on this, but I have a feeling we won't see it until 10.7 at least.
 
BornAgainMac said:
Still easy access to the drive. That is important.
Click to expand...

Not as important as access to the RAM, IMO. Holy cow! Can we use any additional types of screws please? I counted three different sizes in removal of the top back cover. :eek:

pdjudd said:
If you need to replace the battery, Apple will do that for free (free doesn't include the cost of the battery of course). The hard drive and the RAM are still considered user replaceable and upgrading those will not in any way void your warranty.
Click to expand...

Are we sure about this? User replaceable, maybe - but my big hands don't go well with tiny screws. I wish they had put in a convenient door for easier access to a memory upgrade!

Question: Will a Mac Genius upgrade my RAM for me? I know a third party, authorized Mac Reseller / Service center will. :confused:
 
At first I was taken aback by the combined audio port, but in practice it will likely never be an issue. You can set the port as an audio in if you ever need to record analog signals, such as digitizing taps or records, and you can monitor through the computer speakers or the source. If you are working with pro audio, you'd be using a firewire interface anyway. So really, all you'll ever use that port for is as your digital audio out when listening to music or watching videos. I see no issue here.
 
VoR said:
Looks like they hid the battery to me. Looks like the fixed battery feature is more about having a clean underside than increasing the volume of the cells, whatever the marketing tells me.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that Apple went to built-in battery path only to have a clean underside of it's laptops and the additional 2 hr of mobile use is just a by-product, that Apple did not intended nor wanted to have?

If that would have been the case, wouldn't Apple just use the same battery specs in the new MBP?

Just watch the battery video on Apple's website and you'll understand why they ditched the removable design...
 
DELLsFan said:
Are we sure about this? User replaceable, maybe - but my big hands don't go well with tiny screws.
Click to expand...
That was the case for the 17 inch - the RAM and HD were still classified as user replaceable. Really, there won't be many times where you will have to open the bottom up - most people do not continuously replace the RAM and Hard Drive.

Question: Will a Mac Genius upgrade my RAM for me? I know a third party, authorized Mac Reseller / Service center will. :confused:
Click to expand...

Unless its a first party (apple labeled) component, I wouldn't count on it.
 
Is that the best way to look at this?

mrrory said:
Losing the audio input is frustrating, and in my opinion makes this not a "Pro."
Click to expand...
There is nothing pro about Analog inputs on Mac Books. Actually that is true for the majority of computers out there. As far as "Pro" goes I can make a good arguement that none of the MBP's are really all that pro. It is an interpertation of what the hardware is.
Getting the firewire back is a good thing, but it's annoying because several of my friends have the previous 13" and it's a bit of a struggle without it.
Click to expand...
So why whine about a good thing. Further if the lack of Firewire was such a bad thing why did you let your friends buy into the old 13".
I'm not a mac whiner or a fanboy,
Click to expand...
Yes you are. Don't believe me reread your post.
but this seems to be an example of Apple deciding that Firewire was unnecessary, and then changing their mind because of public reaction. I think there needs to be more consistency.
Click to expand...
That makes no sense at all. The best thing a corporation can do is to correct their mistakes when they realize what that mistake is. Contrary to public opinion corporate mistakes often arise out of doing what the think is right or interpet as right, it's not a question of being evil.

It is sort of like "New Coke", I'm certain Coke didn't expect the reaction they got. Using your reasoning though we would all still be drinking New Coke with no alternative. We should all be happy that Apple took the bull by the horns here. It is a sign that just maybe Apple is thinking more about function than they have been in the past. That is a good thing considering all the justified complaints about form over function about the last few hardware releases. Who knows maybe we will get a new AIR worth buying.
The Macbook upgrades are great, but they shouldn't have ditched the audio input on the 13... :(
Click to expand...

BS if you ask me! But really who makes use of these legacy inputs. I think it is fair to say that the SD card will be used by a hell of lot more people than the audio in ports.

I look at the new 13" MBP and just have to say Fantastic. The new machine is what the original should have been. It is far more serviceable than anything recently from Apple. It also has a feature set that is broad enough to make a lot of customers happy. Good job Apple.


Dave
 
Previous 13" MacBook

I just checked my 13" MacBook 1st gen unibody audio output port, and it works with the iPhone headset to give mono audio in. It seems at the same time as the audio out since that is a separate wire. This is nice for audio chat.

The new 13" MBP might have a dual mode jack that can do stereo in or out (selectable), but might still be able to do mono in and stereo out with something like the iPhone headset using a mono mic. I imagine there exist breakout cables to separate the stereo out and the mono mic in of the 4 pin jack? If you're using a typical USB headset for chat or podcasting, then the lack of the input port is not an issue.
 
I WAS the one said:
my wife still got it... running Tiger, Leopard was slow she told me. it is a beauty. I got a mini mac (dell netbook with Leopard)
Click to expand...

Hm, really? My 12" is still running Tiger, too, but I've been meaning to upgrade it to Leopard for a while. If it actually runs slower, though, maybe I shouldn't bother. I have the RAM maxed out, but that's only 1.25 GB, and the processor is only a second gen, 1 GHz.
 
Superdelphinus said:
How many "pro" machines have a shared video card?!
Click to expand...

All integrated graphics adapters from 3-4 years ago sucked, all of them.
Yes 13" MBP and the entry level 15" MBP has IGPs but 9400M goes beyond any integrated gpu, supports hardware decode/encode and soon will be assisting the OS via OpenCL.

I was more concerned about the display of the 13" Macbook (unibody). It sucked in terms of color fidelity and view angles. That was the only reason that I was going to buy a 15" MBP and now they rebranded it as MBP, too.

If they upgraded the display (hopefully they did, I'm waiting for a full review for that) to 15" MBP specs, I'll be buying a 13" MBP since it's smaller and easier to carry with.
 
Need to educate yourself about batteries.

VoR said:
Looks like they hid the battery to me. Looks like the fixed battery feature is more about having a clean underside than increasing the volume of the cells, whatever the marketing tells me.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest that you need to learn about the battery tech in these new machines. Clearly you don't understand how Li-Polymer batteries are made. In any event the volume is important as that is where your capacity comes from. That and you don't loose volume with Apples new approach to a second enclosure.

As to the other post about the SD slot; I'm certain it is conscious decision on Apples part. It provides for an easy to use and reliable port for temporary connections. The goal wasn't to provide for an alternative secondary store area.

I just don't see any value in the points you raise. They seem to be totally baseless and designed to alter the rational discussion.


Dave
 
Anaxarxes said:
So you're saying that Apple went to built-in battery path only to have a clean underside of it's laptops and the additional 2 hr of mobile use is just a by-product, that Apple did not intended nor wanted to have?

If that would have been the case, wouldn't Apple just use the same battery specs in the new MBP?

Just watch the battery video on Apple's website and you'll understand why they ditched the removable design...
Click to expand...

I'm saying that they're sacrificing an instantly replacable battery for a clean underside, yes - and I've seen the video. The two hours extra is most likely because battery company X has a slightly improved product, using square cells instead of round ones is hardly revolutionary either :)
The 17" model looks no different. It looks pretty feasible to have the exact same pack of cells fit in the laptop and still have it removable - People seemed impressed at the marketed runtime of that, but all it seemed to be was a large laptop (without dual hd/etc features of similar products) with the extra space used up with a large battery pack.
 
Glad to see the fireWire is back. Removing that from the alu macbook was one those Apple's bonehead moves that they are infamous for. Like saying web apps would suffice on the iphone. Remember that?
I feel for those people who bought the first alu macbooks. They got screwed. Something like that happened to me when I bought a graphite clamshell "DV" ibook before the white ibooks came out 3 months later. They changed the minimum resolution of their software from 800x600 to 1024x768. I was unable to upgrade to iMovie 3 because the clamshells were 800x600. I swore I would never get suckered like that again.
These new "Macbook Pros" are nice, including the 13", but I will hang onto my Santa Rosa Macbook pro until Macbook Pro's go quad core. Can you say Calpella?
 
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