Apple Has Fully Restored Inventory of Mid 2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pro Batteries

[needsomecoffee]

Apple requires third-party recyclers (who handle the vast amount of product) to shred all Apple devices. The robots you cite are a marketing endeavor (magical). However, that is not the issue. Apple does not build new phones from reclaimed parts. No one does. This issue is to not require the purchase of a new phone when a key component (battery) can be replaced. Had this been a focus in their design, Apple would have had a much greater environmental impact versus the absolutely insignificant affect of their robots. But they would have sold a lot fewer iPhones to date.

Which is precisely what Apple IS doing. Isn’t that the whole point of their disassembly and recycling robots?

I don’t recall any other company claiming to retrieve the lithium from recycled batteries, copper from recycled boards, etc. Nor has any other company stated a “closed loop supply chain” goal.

Their closed loop supply chain intends to do exactly what you claim they’re not. Reuse and extract raw materials back from dead components.

How might Apple achieve that if they put recycling and repairs in the hands of users? 9/10 users will probably just dump old batteries in the trash. Explain to me how that is a more environmentally conscious approach again?

 

[Xenomorph]

A top case is the aluminum enclosure that houses the keyboard, trackpad, and speaker grilles on a MacBook Pro. For the two aforementioned models, the battery is affixed to the underside of the top case with strong adhesive, meaning the entire assembly needs to be swapped out for a simple battery replacement.

Wait... They replace the entire keyboard bezel when doing a battery swap?

One of my 2013 MacBook Pros has a slightly damaged corner. Would I received a new bezel if I paid for a battery replacement?

 

[cyberlocke]

lol, and how many iPhone users do you think actually give their used iPhones back to Apple for close to nothing? Odds are it ends up in a landfill. Those recycling robots are built as marketing material first and foremost. And based off your post, they're doing a great job.

I should add that I think iPhone's longevity is awfully underestimated. Sure they build them where it's harder to replace components, but time and again I find people still using iPhone 4/5/6 devices over an Android or other phone of the same age.

iPhone 5s, still kicking! Original battery too!

 

[VeryVito]

Why throw away machines that never die?

My greatest fear is that Apple will never again make a machine as good as my mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro. It's hard to believe I've been using it almost six years now (although I did replace the battery under AppleCare+ a few years ago). It still handles everything I throw at it (and for that matter, my wife is still going fine on her mid-2010 model).

 

[Markoth]

Ain't that the truth. I remember when I bought my 12rMBP and I had my initial complaints. "How could they get rid of ethernet and the CD drive!". "I gotta carry this ethernet dongle everywhere now!". "What's the point of making it thinner". Within a couple months I was sold. I found myself on wireless everywhere I went and ditched the dongle, found all my media available electronically, and the size actually improved my day to day function when going from meeting to meeting.

This 2016 MBP I've had since day one is a different story. A year and a half later I don't even look at the touchbar (literally, only touched the ESC, which sucks when it's not physical, and power button). I'm still carrying around an even bigger dongle then what I had originally bought for my 2012 as I need both HDMI and USB-A for meetings, and the size made no difference (especially when I have to have a dongle velcroed to my laptop lid SMH). This laptop is the definition of poor functionality.

Yep. I have the 2015 13", and it is, in my opinion, the last good 13" laptop that Apple has manufactured. After that, we lost all our ports. Sad times.

I may consider getting a 2018 without the Touch Bar though. Saves a ton of money to leave out that gimmick bar, and it doesn't really hurt to have two fewer useless ports you have to use a hub with anyway.

 

[cardsdoc]

I have a 2012 15" rMBP. It runs just fine still. However for the last year or so I've have a strange power issue where it will suddenly sleep without warning even when reported battery charge isn't close to low. It's also very variable. It can happen when battery is at 15% or even much higher at 40-50%. More intense CPU tasks tend to trigger it but not always. When I plug it in it returns to life. However under battery info in system information it says charge capacity 7064mAh, cycle count 468 and condition normal so doesn't seem too bad. Is this likely to be fixed with a battery replacement?

 

[BeefCake 15]

I had an Apple sales engineer indicate the gluing in was a safety feature. So the customer doesn't mess with the thinly cased dangerous battery.

My take:
So when the customer violates the pentalobe screws and drives a putty scraper into the battery and starts a fire, Apple won't be responsible.

They were pushing the envelope with that scenario...

 

[ignatius345]

Well that was worth it, eh Apple? Why hold consumable battery in with a couple screws when you can glue it to the top case! It is a good design where the entire guts of computer are removed and installed in a new top case every time a battery needs to be changed.

Makes me miss the good old days of the quickly swappable iBook battery (and hard drive, for that matter). I guess the tradeoff was that those were thick and heavy machines, but surely there's some middle ground between "sealed blade" and "big clunky box".

 

[idunn]

... Mid 2012 and Early 2013 models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. . . the battery is affixed to the underside of the top case with strong adhesive, meaning the entire assembly needs to be swapped out for a simple battery replacement.

I have a Mid 2012 MBP non-retina, wherein replacing the battery is a fairly simple matter of removing the back plate, then removing two screws holding the battery in place. Not much more than that, no glue involved.

Furthermore, previous to that a MacBook where the battery was integral to the base of the laptop, and could literally be removed, swapped out in a matter of seconds.

My hope that Apple at last realizes that thinness is not everything, and that customers do value being able to easily upgrade and/or service their computers. That glue is NOT a component of being "green."

As well, that in time the notion that one could ever have inexpensively and easily done something as simple as replacing a battery does not seem outlandish and suspect history. Or disbelief that once upon a time there was a company called Apple which proudly made personal computers worthy of adoration.

 

[mrzz]

I wonder if all this glued-together waste will find its way to Apple’s quarterly sustainabilty reports.

this is not fitting their 'we are doing the best possible for the environment' BS they are regularly feeding us even here at MR

 

[carlos916]

but will they last 10hrs tho?
.. seriously im still waiting for my 10hr battery life

 

[Ener Ji]

I'm still happily rocking a 2012 retina MBP and very happy to see I could still get it serviced by Apple -- for now anyway.

For now is key. Apple will likely consider the 2012 retinas obsolete around the end of 2018, per their support policy. At that point it will no longer be possible to get a battery replacement from Apple. My battery says "service battery" but still holds a sufficient charge and hasn't given me any problems. I'll have a decision to make over the next six months.

I had an Apple sales engineer indicate the gluing in was a safety feature. So the customer doesn't mess with the thinly cased dangerous battery.

He was having a laugh. That's not the real reason for the glue.

Wait... They replace the entire keyboard bezel when doing a battery swap?

One of my 2013 MacBook Pros has a slightly damaged corner. Would I received a new bezel if I paid for a battery replacement?

Yep! I've already replaced the battery on my 2012 rMBP once, and it came back missing a scuff on its case.

 

[luvbug]

So, if I'm understanding this, I can take my 2012 rMBP to an Apple store or authorized service provider and have the top assembly/battery replaced for a total charge of $199, even if the battery currently passes the diagnostic test?? Is that correct? TIA

 

[ignatius345]

For now is key. Apple will likely consider the 2012 retinas obsolete around the end of 2018, per their support policy. At that point it will no longer be possible to get a battery replacement from Apple. My battery says "service battery" but still holds a sufficient charge and hasn't given me any problems. I'll have a decision to make over the next six months.

CoconutBattery reports mine at 303 cycles and 95% capacity. I probably have no legit reason to replace it yet.

 

[femike]

"...top case assemblies with glued-in batteries..." - Why does it say 'top case', I thought the batteries was glued to the bottom half.

 

[Ener Ji]

"...top case assemblies with glued-in batteries..." - Why does it say 'top case', I thought the batteries was glued to the bottom half.

It's kind of weird nomenclature, but the bottom part of the laptop (everything except the screen) comes in two parts. The battery is glued to the "top" part of the bottom case. This is the part which contains the keyboard, trackpad, speaker grills, etc. If you close and turn over a 2012-2015 MBP (so that the Apple logo is resting on your desk), you'll see 10 screws which hold the "bottom" panel attached to the "top case."

Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[MacBH928]

Greed has no end. In 1997 Apple was happy to receive 150K pre-orders for the original iMac. Now the millions of sales are not enough, they plan the obsolescence and make it almost impossible to service on your own.

In the past I used to praise Apple for the quality of the hardware, which does not seem to be the case anymore, but even if so the software is updated so often you device won't be supported in 3-4 years.

 

[Sonic]

on my second, which only lasted just over a year before 'service battery' came up again. the irony is i never use it on battery, so i'm just going to let the battery die. it's not the cash so much as the waste that upsets me. hope they reverse this trend on the 2018

 

[oldmacs]

Very environmentally friendly Apple.... glue in a guaranteed consumable part. Reduces the lifespan of the product which has a negative environmental impact.

 

[paul00]

Experienced this firsthand. Apple Store replaced my mid 2012 15" Pro with a maxed out 2015 model. Great machine.