Anyone excited to have batteries completely hidden inside the Unibody MB/MBP?

[drewsof07]

As long as I can remember, Apple has incorporated their batteries into the exterior case design of their computers and if the battery were removed, the case would be visibly and sometimes structurally incomplete. With the advent of the battery/HD cover on the new Unibody Macbooks, it's possible to remove the battery and still have a fully-assembled computer.
One major advantage to this is that it might open the market to 3rd party battery replacements because there is not the added complexity of matching the form to fit flush against the rest of the case or match paint colors.
Any other thoughts?

 

[J the Ninja]

Have you seen under that cover? The battery does still sit just as flush as it always has, and it has no cable either, it just rests against the terminals. The dimensions would have to be exact to fit in the bay and not miss the connector or butt into the HDD carrier.

 

[kockgunner]

For the old ones, if you scratched the bottom of the laptop, if you were lucky, the scratch would be on the battery so you could replace it any time. With the new ones, the battery cover covers 1/3 of the bottom of the laptop so if you get a scratch, you have to find a new battery cover. That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[macrem]

A new cover *should* be a lot cheaper than a new battery.

 

[alphaod]

A new cover *should* be a lot cheaper than a new battery.

Or a lot easier to damage.

 

[pdxflint]

One major advantage to this is that it might open the market to 3rd party battery replacements because there is not the added complexity of matching the form to fit flush against the rest of the case or match paint colors.
Any other thoughts?

Do you mean open the market to the same 3rd party replacement companies that already make replacement batteries for the previous MBPs?

 

[drewsof07]

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One major advantage to this is that it might open the market to 3rd party battery replacements because there is not the added complexity of matching the form to fit flush against the rest of the case or match paint colors.
Any other thoughts?

Do you mean open the market to the same 3rd party replacement companies that already make replacement batteries for the previous MBPs?

Well you all have successfully stricken my excitement about this new feature...

 

[iGary]

Major pain in the ass to pull off that cover, replace the battery and then try to align the cover back on.

I switch batteries all the time when I am traveling. Right now, it's a flip the computer over, eject the battery and replace it process.

Not so much with the new ones.

For the first time in a while, I don't think I'll be adopting Apple's new laptop tech. Gloss screens and the battery compartment kind of ruin it for me.

It is nice to be able to swap HDDs easily, though.

 

[drewsof07]

Major pain in the ass to pull off that cover, replace the battery and then try to align the cover back on.


It is nice to be able to swap HDDs easily, though.

Yeah the cover is very picky about how it goes on. I've found if you push it back as far as it will go, then close the latch a bit, you can wiggle it into place.
The HDD swap is very interesting turn of events for us. To go from a horrendous procedure to replace it, back to an easy way. I swear this computer reminds me so much of my old Tibook. You just open it and everything is accessible. I guess for each step forward, you have to take one back somewhere, they chose the little flappy door. I still think there could've been a better system, but this was the one they chose.

 

[coledog]

I'm with the OP on this, hopefully battery makers will be able to come up with a larger capacity/same size replacement and we can get 5-6 hours of life.

Also the hdd replacement is awesome!

 

[scheming]

i have had 0 problems with my macbook pro , and yes, the hidden battery is a great design feature

 

[ryanwarsaw]

At least you can operate your computer without the battery inside and no gaping hole in the bottom. Retail stores that do this should like that.

 

[UltraNEO*]

As long as I can remember, Apple has incorporated their batteries into the exterior case design of their computers and if the battery were removed, the case would be visibly and sometimes structurally incomplete. With the advent of the battery/HD cover on the new Unibody Macbooks, it's possible to remove the battery and still have a fully-assembled computer.
One major advantage to this is that it might open the market to 3rd party battery replacements because there is not the added complexity of matching the form to fit flush against the rest of the case or match paint colors.
Any other thoughts?

Umm.. dunno have far you've looked but there are higher-capacity batteries for the previous gen's, manufacture by various other companies, though the exteriors looks the same as the MBP's case.

Anyway, why would you want to have the battery removed? On the previous gen systems, the MBP ran physically slower when the battery was removed.... isn't this the case with the Uni-body too?

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Not sure why you would want to run a mac with no battery in it. The only exception to this I can think of is retailers that will sell the unit later.

 

[joystik]

i received my macbook pro yesterday and theres already a minor dent ont he battery cover .. Since it's on the bottom, i really dont mind. I love the kennigston lock feature though, When the lock is in.. the batter latch doesnt open.. so no stealing!

 

[macrem]

Not sure why you would want to run a mac with no battery in it. The only exception to this I can think of is retailers that will sell the unit later.

Me neither. When plugged in to AC, the battery is functionally useful as a built-in UPS.