Anyone know why the reason the RAM is soldered for the 2012 MBA ?

[tonynz]

Is there any valid reason? Weight? Space saving?

or simply Apple don't want ppl to upgrade their own RAMs.

 

[kylera]

Is there any valid reason? Weight? Space saving?

or simply Apple don't want ppl to upgrade their own RAMs.

Most likely space saving, IMO. Custom design means freedom to size as needed. On the downside, user upgradability takes a hit.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

Is there any valid reason? Weight? Space saving?

or simply Apple don't want ppl to upgrade their own RAMs.

Less failure. Same with the display. Memory is so unlikely to be manufactured faulty that it makes financial sense to cut out the step of creating a slot for it and installing it. Just solder it straight to the board.

Less steps in manufacturing = more money in pocket of manufacturer of product.

I don't think someone at Apple is making a core decision on whether to not allow people to upgrade their laptops. I think they are making a financial decision based on economics.

Older thick LEDs used to SUCK. Then they became more reliable. Now, they are so reliable, that they are confident out of 1000 machines, 1000 parts will work. Why bother building an assembly, then screwing the LCD in? Just build a display assembly from the bare parts. It saves time and money. In the past, this made sense because many LCDs would be bad. So, the manufacturer would have to unscrew them and screw new ones in. If 999/1000 of the LCDs are good, why not just build the LCD inside the finished product?

It's like taking the time to solder a socket onto a board so you can test the performance of different ICs in the circuit. If you know that the first IC you grab is going to be the best sounding, then why not save yourself a soldering/desoldering job and solder that IC directly to the board? Same idea.

 

[Ricky Smith]

People will say its because apples evil and they want you to have to upgrade through them or buy a laptop.

The people who say that haven't say through a second of business school. There's not some evil team at apple saying "what feature can we take away for upgradability to screw the customer into buying a new system"

There is a team of designers engineers and business men who decide what's the cheapest most effective way we can get our design done and make something simplistic that just works.

 

[leman]

Is there any valid reason? Weight? Space saving?

or simply Apple don't want ppl to upgrade their own RAMs.

First of all space savings. Look at the iFixit teardowns of the MBA. Do you see any spare room for a SO-DIMM stick or two? I don't.

Why wouldn't Apple want to prohibit you from updating your components? It does not make much sense to them. But to Apple, design is much more important, so the upgradeability will be sacrificed if the design requires it. For example, replacing the hard drive in the MBP is very easy - because there is nothing in the design that would prohibit it. Replacing the hard drive in the iMac is very hard - because there is no reasonable way to add a user-serviceable HDD in the iMac's all-in-one design without making the machine bulkier or more expensive. I am sure that if a standard for miniature RAM sticks existed, Apple would happily use it in the MBA...