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I have a perfect working 2014 13 inch MacBook Pro retina with a real i5 that I’m sure could outperform this thing on just about every level and yet, I can’t help but want this thing like crazy because it’s so beautiful.
 
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Seems like a heatpipe would have been asked too much... Seems like having 80°C+ CPU temp is a design requirement within Apple engineering. Someone should already tell them that it's not a car engine that needs a minimum temperature to operate properly. Apple and their minimalism when it comes to cooling is really a shame...
 
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Exactly correct:

This isn't about Apple making things better for their customers, but is just Apple playing “defense” for their own cost benefit: this change reduces their internal costs for warranty service.

Case in point: has the price of Applecare been lowered to pass this benefit along to customers?

If that was the case they would split the laptop board in different pieces (like the macpro https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Pro+Late+2013+Teardown/20778 ) and use dim for the 21 inch even if not accessible from the customer, so I call your argument illogical.
 
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Is there even a heat pipe connected to the cpu? I can’t tell what the fan is there for.
Sadly, that's 19" rackserver-style cooling. Passive Heatsink and fans in the case to generate the airflow...

Clearly visible on this picture is the "sealing" on the cover to force the air over the CPU heat sink:
https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/J5LcKuqWT5dlgDAS.huge

EDIT: On a 2nd thought, it may actually have the benefit of also cooling the VRMs, and actually the rest of the mainboard. With the fan forced on to 1500rpm-ish the whole thing should -unlike most other Macs- not create a hot-spot on the case. So, it *may* work well and certainly is very easy to clean. So, it may be a better design than I initially stated, but needs to be tested...
 
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Exactly correct:

This isn't about Apple making things better for their customers, but is just Apple playing “defense” for their own cost benefit: this change reduces their internal costs for warranty service.

Case in point: has the price of Applecare been lowered to pass this benefit along to customers?


Hahaha...Yep, right after their ASP falls!
 
Yep, I refuse to buy an Apple laptop with glued in batteries, soldered in RAM, and non-replaceable SSD. No reason for this except Apple greed.

If this is Apple being greedy then HP and Lenovo are just as greedy. The new x360 1030 G3 Elitebook from HP starts at $1700 Cnd $$, goes up to $3000 and yet it comes with ram soldered onboard. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 6, soldered Ram... everyone is doing it. Sure maybe not on all models but maybe of the high end thin and light and wallet killing laptops are soldering on the Ram. While it does force the user to pay more upfront, for devices that are thin and light it makes sense. If you want upgradability then go buy a workstation from HP or Lenovo. The whole industry is moving towards soldered on parts.
 
He's neither.


He is a MBA training, operations, logistic & supply chain background make him a bean counter without question. If you doubt that, you've never worked inside or managed these assets in a corporate enviroment. #FactsCount
 
He is a MBA training, operations, logistic & supply chain background make him a bean counter without question. If you doubt that, you've never worked inside or managed these assets in a corporate enviroment. #FactsCount

He's also an engineer, though that's not his role at Apple. A bean counter is a derogatory term usually applied to finance/accountants who push numbers all day, divorced from the underlying work that's being accomplished. And yes, I have.

Your extremely simplistic and naive characterization greatly diminishes and trivializes his accomplishments at Apple.
 
Honestly for 2018 this is a 5/10...c’mon 3/10 is too close to the 0/10 and 1/10 of Microsoft fortknox-of-glue disposable S.Laptop and S.Book...

Nowadays there are some Thinkpads (!!!) with soldered RAM, that shouldn’t cause a big score penalty any more...soldered storage OK I get it, but 3/10 is a bit too low..
 
Hmm... I have a little different take on this than the iFixit summary. Apple has made huge leaps in repairabilty with the new Air. I wish iFixit would stop whining about the pentalobe screws. These are not unique to Apple and any good technician has drivers these days. Yes, they are intended to keep Average Joe from thinking “hey I’ll just open up my MacBook right here on the kitchen table.” But that’s about it... And I’ve fixed/ upgraded plenty of Macs and PC’s on my kitchen table, pentalobe screws or not, truth be told.

They’ll continue the trend of the soldered in RAM. Honestly they get better performance and better thermal control with it, not to mention it’s pretty much necessary for the thin profiles Apple keeps going for. Yes, it makes it suck if we decide 6 months after purchase that we really do need 16GB instead of 8GB. Overall repair costs to Apple on the 12” MacBook have been very low. They have been very solid, reliable computers. The vast majority of failures that I’m aware of come from physical damage or power issues. Neither of which will be fixable in any better capacity had they gone with socketed RAM or CPU. And it’s difficult to argue the upgrade perspective for socketed components. The vast majority of users out there never upgrade components on their PCs.
 
It is insulting and quite unbelievable that Apple still ships computers with 128 SSD. We are in 2018. Furthermore, they are soldered so if they fail you have a disposable computer, or you are at the mercy of Apple's high repair cost. Entry specs for ALL APPLE PRODUCTS are a scam marketing tactic to make you believe the starting price for something that you need to upgrade anyway.
 
Ah, when they showed the render I thought there was conspicuously little space between the fan and end of the chassis, and maybe it wasn't directly cooling fins, looks like that's right.
 
the notebook earned a low 3/10 repairability score from iFixit.

"The Air still uses external pentalobes to keep you out, requires lots of component removal for common fixes, and both RAM and storage are soldered to the logic board," said iFixit.

This is such a non issue, buy a screwdriver.
They could have used torx but even then most people don't have them in their house either.

So... Non issue
 
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The Air still uses external pentalobes to keep you out

Sorry, but this is kind of a pointless argument to make anymore. Anyone interested in disassembling an Apple product is already going to have the proper bit driver, and if they don't, iFixit will happily sell you one (or include it with a repair kit).

You don't see them complaining about P000 vs P00 screws in apple products even though it requires a separate bit driver.

EDIT: Apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way.:rolleyes:

Chill, it's mostly a non-issue which they just mentioned it in passing.

Yes, but they keep mentioning it in passing.
 
He's also an engineer, though that's not his role at Apple. A bean counter is a derogatory term usually applied to finance/accountants who push numbers all day, divorced from the underlying work that's being accomplished. And yes, I have.

Your extremely simplistic and naive characterization greatly diminishes and trivializes his accomplishments at Apple.

I have similar training and work in the same environment. I can speak succinctly and confidently that you sir no nothing about what you speak.
His accomplishments are indeed great. Didn't suggest they were not.
I highly doubt you know anything about global supply chain logistics or manufacturing and your uninformed ignorant statements prove that.
Good Day.
#EmptySuit
 
Exactly correct:

This isn't about Apple making things better for their customers, but is just Apple playing “defense” for their own cost benefit: this change reduces their internal costs for warranty service.

Case in point: has the price of Applecare been lowered to pass this benefit along to customers?
It’s also about reducing waste. If you hadn’t noticed they’re on a huge push to become carbon neutral. They’re using recycled plastic and aluminum too, and have drastically lowered the cost of battery replacements in iDevices, extending their lives by quite a bit. I think that’s why, after all these years, we’re finally seeing improved repairability.
 
Computer speakers are like inbuilt camera flashes - a total waste for pro-users.

I don't think I've ever used my MacBook speakers.

I use professional studio monitors/headphones, or (worse-case scenario) a Logitech UE Boom.
I sometimes think if all my devices lose the speakers (sub chamber mainly) and camera then how much smaller and streamline they could be. Much thinner chassis, no camera bump, no extra tall top bezel for web cam. Just packed.
 
I have similar training and work in the same environment. I can speak succinctly and confidently that you sir no nothing about what you speak.
His accomplishments are indeed great. Didn't suggest they were not.
I highly doubt you know anything about global supply chain logistics or manufacturing and your uninformed ignorant statements prove that.
Good Day.
#EmptySuit

Huh? My uninformed ignorant statements? About the derogatory connotations of the word "beancounter?" Now that's a hoot!
 
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