Base 2019 13-Inch MacBook Pro Teardown Reveals Larger Battery, Soldered-Down SSD, and Updated Keyboard Material

[racerhomie]

I don’t think your experience is anecdotal. It’s a common enough problem with batteries. I had such issue myself. When a battery on an old MacBook got swollen I just took it out and continued to use the laptop without battery until I could get a new one. With modern MacBooks that’s impossible. Bad battery immediately makes it unusable.

Things can be both common ,as well as anecdotal.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

A Genius tells you your out of warranty repair would cost the same as a new laptop. So you buy a new laptop. And you give your old one to Apple to recycle, at which point they resell it as refurbished with a 5% discount.

Rather than sell you a battery they get 2 more laptop sales. Think of the margins.

This!

 

[Krizoitz]

I can think of no other reason for Apple's incessant practice of gluing down batteries and soldering the SSD other than greed. There is absolute ZERO excuse in 2019 why you should not be able to replace your battery and upgrade your SSD after purchase date.

Then you aren’t thinking very hard.
It’s simple: the overwhelming majority of customers could not care less about these things. They are more than willing to trade repairability for durability, portability, and simplicity. If those things were in demand from MacBook buyers Apple would offer them. You have every right to think those things are important...for you. But you and people who agree with you, while vocal on forums like this, are a tiny fraction of the overall Mac using public.

It’s reasonable to wish Apples priorities better matched your own.
It’s not reasonable to ignore simple, obvious explanations in favor of sinister and complex ones.

 

[racerhomie]

I think it’s the manifestation of Cook’s greed and Ive’s obsession with thinness. Under Jobs machines were upgradable and repairable.

You guys are insane. No one person decides a product's fate.

 

[HVDynamo]

Yeah those are realities of Apple's choices. But this has been true for iOS devices, Chromebooks, ultrabooks as well. But SSDs fail much less. For the argument about not enough space, Mac owners in the mid 2000s didn't open their machines either. But rather they got external storage, which was cheaper than Apple's upgrade prices. But I get your deep fears. I guess Apple machines aren't meant for you. But my original point still stands.
[doublepost=1562938898][/doublepost]
Good for you. I can just get a 4TB external drive for less than 300.

But then it's External...

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

Then you aren’t thinking very hard.
It’s simple: the overwhelming majority of customers could not care less about these things. They are more than willing to trade repairability for durability, portability, and simplicity. If those things were in demand from MacBook buyers Apple would offer them. You have every right to think those things are important...for you. But you and people who agree with you, while vocal on forums like this, are a tiny fraction of the overall Mac using public.

It’s reasonable to wish Apples priorities better matched your own.
It’s not reasonable to ignore simple, obvious explanations in favor of sinister and complex ones.

What happens as durability goes down the drain? That throws your comment completely off. For one think keyboard.

Many say you MUST buy apple care which drives the price even higher and there goes the dependability claim. Every time I go to an apple store you can’t find a place to sit for repairs waiting.

I know they have been soldering in for a while, but I tend to think people not being able to repair a swelling year and a half old laptop or 2 year old dead ssd in a top dollar computer without paying the equivalent of a new laptop will leave a bad taste.

You are right though. The majority won’t care up front but the possibility of it hurting in the long run is there.

 

[oneMadRssn]

If I had to tell the CEO that if her laptop had a hardware failure the only solution was to be without her data or computer for 1-2 weeks while we send it in for repair, heads would roll. Especially if those repairs cost more than 1/3rd of the cost of the device in the first place. (we can get replacement keyboards for our lenovo's for about $50)

That would be true if it were the only solution, but it isn't. The important things are stored on a server/cloud, and data is otherwise backed up properly, right? Because if it isn't, the issue isn't Apple but it's the data policy. If it is, then you can just swap in another machine while the broken one gets fixed. Almost all lease contracts dealing in the hundreds of laptops account for having some hot spares on site at all times for just these situations.

Indeed, that's what my IT department does with our Lenovos. Maybe they're repairable, who cares? Why pay an in-house IT worker a high salary to do silly things like swap keyboards and drives, when it's cheaper to just swap it out and ship the broken thing somewhere else and have the leasor/OEM deal with it?

 

[TheDemogordon]

While the previous-generation entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro had a modular SSD, storage is soldered down in the 2019 model.

Please clarify here what "previous-generation" means. If you mean the model from 2015, this would be correct. Everyone on this forum is erupting in horror about soldered flash storage as if it hasn't been done since 2016. smh

 

[Dave-Z]

Apple appears to be using a slightly smaller heat sink

Awesome. What could go wrong there?

While the previous-generation entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro had a modular SSD, storage is soldered down in the 2019 model. However, there are some newly modular components, including the Thunderbolt board and the speakers.

This is fantastic. For all those times when users want to upgrade their Thunderbolt board.

 

[nouveau_redneck]

It's one thing to have RAM soldiered down. It's another when you can't remove the battery. I find that very problematic. For example, what happens if the battery starts expanding within the computer?

You take it to Apple and get it replace for either a) free if it's still under coverage, or b) a reasonable charge.
[doublepost=1562949506][/doublepost]

The majority of "people" perhaps, but not the majority of businesses (especially enterprises). There's a reason why brands such as Latitudes and Thinkpads are so popular with enterprises and other large organizations: repair-ability. And soldiered parts don't necessarily made them more robust.

No, they are popular due to low cost.

 

[Mactendo]

Yes, but the MacBook Air happened under SJ's watch. That was the beginning of the end, in my opinion. It just took time for the thinness craze to infect the MacBook Pro.

Air was one of a kind machine in Apple’s product line. It was called Air for a reason. Ultraslim, ultraportable subnotebook, it had to make some technical compromises due to its design and purpose. Other MacBooks were not like that and nothing (RAM, HDD, battery) was glued or soldered.

But under Cook the thinness craze started. When someone has no taste and values only profits then anything becomes possible. Ultrathin desktops, glued ‘Pro’ laptops, DOA ‘trash can’ Mac Pro, etc.

What iPod or iOS devices were user upgradable and user repairable? MBA is clearly where Apple was going with notebooks.

iPod and iOS devices have nothing to do with Macs in this regard and you know that.

You guys are insane. No one person decides a product's fate.

So far if someone looks insane that’s not guys... You got a lot of arguments from the insane guys but failed to prove your point how soldering and glueing is better for the end users.

 

[Robnsn2015]

You take it to Apple and get it replace for either a) free if it's still under coverage, or b) a reasonable charge.
[doublepost=1562949506][/doublepost]

No, they are popular due to low cost.

I wouldn't call Thinkpads or Latititudes "low cost," depending on the model. I especially wouldn't call mobile workstations like the Thinkpad P series or the Precision brand low cost.

And how does one define "reasonable charge" for a battery replacement that requires the replacement of other parts?
[doublepost=1562950166][/doublepost]

Please clarify here what "previous-generation" means. If you mean the model from 2015, this would be correct. Everyone on this forum is erupting in horror about soldered flash storage as if it hasn't been done since 2016. smh

I wasn't happy about it back then, either. Hence my 2013 MacBook Pro.
[doublepost=1562950284][/doublepost]

That would be true if it were the only solution, but it isn't. The important things are stored on a server/cloud, and data is otherwise backed up properly, right? Because if it isn't, the issue isn't Apple but it's the data policy. If it is, then you can just swap in another machine while the broken one gets fixed. Almost all lease contracts dealing in the hundreds of laptops account for having some hot spares on site at all times for just these situations.

Indeed, that's what my IT department does with our Lenovos. Maybe they're repairable, who cares? Why pay an in-house IT worker a high salary to do silly things like swap keyboards and drives, when it's cheaper to just swap it out and ship the broken thing somewhere else and have the leasor/OEM deal with it?

It's not cheaper on the Enterprise scale, especially considering that your in-house worker is on salary, not hourly.
[doublepost=1562950348][/doublepost]

Then you aren’t thinking very hard.
It’s simple: the overwhelming majority of customers could not care less about these things. They are more than willing to trade repairability for durability, portability, and simplicity. If those things were in demand from MacBook buyers Apple would offer them. You have every right to think those things are important...for you. But you and people who agree with you, while vocal on forums like this, are a tiny fraction of the overall Mac using public.

It’s reasonable to wish Apples priorities better matched your own.
It’s not reasonable to ignore simple, obvious explanations in favor of sinister and complex ones.

You mean the MacBook that Apple just killed due to low sales?
[doublepost=1562950404][/doublepost]

Yes, But Apple's Computer lineup shifted to aim for the consumer and prosumer market primarily. Even their "pro" computers are more in line with Ultra-books than workstation replacements. The problem is, Apple USED to have a workstation replacement named the "pro". Now that same moniker is on the prosumer desktop replacement. With nothing currently occupying the space previously occupied by the old "pro"

Apple uses the word "Pro" so arbitrarily these days. For example, the iPad "Pro."

 

[Return Zero]

Toughbooks use non-soldered RAM and drives. I dare say any force strong enough to loosen those components would obliterate a MacBook, regardless of whether its insides are soldered or not. They are way too flimsy for soldering to make a difference.

I don't think being robust only applies to components getting loosened from impact force. The idea is reducing size, weight, and possible failure points by having fewer screws, panels, joints, gaps, etc. For example, the Apple watch is a super-robust device (relative to a laptop) considering that it is a wearable computer that basically gets tossed around all day. It is robust because everything is tightly sealed into place (solid construction, good waterproofing, no ports), there are very few discrete pieces to come apart (all-in-one SoC), and it is very lightweight giving it lower momentum to be dissipated by the case in the event of a drop. Also, like it or not, there is a push for thinness and battery life in portable devices. The best way to achieve that is to combine and/or miniaturize components to their absolute minimum size/footprint, making room for a larger battery. Look at how much inner usable space of an iPad is filled by the battery, versus something like a 2005 MacBook Pro.

 

[ignatius345]

I can only hope for a return to laptops with sockets and screws.
One day...maybe when we have new leadership that truly believes in sustainability and the right to repair.

For all Apple's crowing about being environmentally friendly, they sure do all they can to make repairs expensive and difficult (even dangerous, if you're prying at a li-ion battery that's glued in...)

The real eco-friendly strategy would be to leave machines at least somewhat accessible so upgrades and repairs can be done to keep them in service longer.

I just put a new battery in an otherwise quite functional 2013 MacBook Air. It was a piece of cake, and now even if I upgrade from that machine, it's still able to be out in the world and used by someone I give or sell it to. No matter how fully you recycle the components of a device (and it'll never be 100%), it's always going to be better to keep it in service.

 

[techwhiz]

Why? Since previous SSD MBPs from Apple use a proprietary (and very fast) device.

Not proprietary until after 2016/2017.

 

[product26]

I think it’s the manifestation of Cook’s greed and Ive’s obsession with thinness. Under Jobs machines were upgradable and repairable.

Agreed. The G3/4/5 powermac towers, powerbooks and macbooks all had great engineering behind their ease of upgradability without compromising the design. It all really started going down hill when they made the first Mac Mini. Smaller and smaller, just like my interest in giving them any more of my money.

 

[ignatius345]

The elitists over in Macrumors & other tech sites are hilarious. The elitists over in Macrumors & other tech sites are hilarious. They never stop to amuse me. Only 1-3% of Mac owners in the mid 2000s ever touched the machines' insides.

What's "elitist" about wanting to eke out another few years of use by putting in a bigger SSD or some more RAM or replacing a battery that's got too many cycles on it? I opened up my old 2011 Mac Mini a few years ago and put an SSD in it to replace the old slow hard drive, and that extended the useful life of the machine by several years easily. The actual "elitist" approach would be to just say screw it and buy a whole new computer because the old one had a component inside that was a bottleneck to using it further.

And where are you getting that "1-3%" figure? Kinda sounds like you maybe just made it up, didn't you?

 

[tex210]

Like most other modern MacBooks, this model earned a low repairability score from iFixit due to the usual concerns, such as Apple's use of proprietary pentalobe screws...

Pentalobe screws are 10 years old now. I wish they would get over it. Screwdrivers are available from walmart to harbor freight. It’s a ridiculous criticism now.

 

[anson42]

You guys argue all you want. I'm still buying another MBP when I'm ready to upgrade from my 2016. And my company will still supply all us engineers with them, too, because, honestly, no one around here wants to use Windows to build cloud hosted software. I think Apple is actually happy with its niche and not chasing market share and the typical enterprise environment.

 

[ignatius345]

If the machine is user serviceable, you'd take it to an Apple store to get fixed.

Speak for yourself. It takes all of 15 minutes to replace the battery on an older MacBook Air. And the older polycarbonite MacBooks had a hard drive you could physically pull out in about 2 minutes. And on a current machine, the RAM on an iMac 5K can be accessed quite easily by anyone -- no store visit required at all. Those are all user-servicable parts.

 

[citysnaps]

Not proprietary until after 2016/2017.

And we're discussing a 2019 MBP.

 

[LordVic]

That would be true if it were the only solution, but it isn't. The important things are stored on a server/cloud, and data is otherwise backed up properly, right? Because if it isn't, the issue isn't Apple but it's the data policy. If it is, then you can just swap in another machine while the broken one gets fixed. Almost all lease contracts dealing in the hundreds of laptops account for having some hot spares on site at all times for just these situations.

Indeed, that's what my IT department does with our Lenovos. Maybe they're repairable, who cares? Why pay an in-house IT worker a high salary to do silly things like swap keyboards and drives, when it's cheaper to just swap it out and ship the broken thing somewhere else and have the leasor/OEM deal with it?

Cloud is not an option for Banking / financial data due to regulatory requirements for data centre hosting. Our data cannot ever be hosted on non-Canadian data centres. Meaning virtually all cloud providers for such services are barred from our use.

When the CEO/CFO have to go offsite and bring data with them, or work on their data. there are periods of time when they are not backed up because of this (though once they plug in to the network at the office, it's automatically backed up)



The answer to soldering storage isn't "just use cloud". it's a completely irrelevant and erroneous recommendation for Regulated industries, and for places that also do not have robust data plans (Canadian data mobile data plans cost hundreds of dollars and still have ridiculously low data caps. think $115/mth gets you 10gb)

With Apple's computers being soldered as well. we cannot afford to lose the data drives when / if we have to ship the device to repair (we remove all data drives before any machine goes to a repair shop. we also use a specific data destruction disposal service for all media, including drives)

Simply put. Soldered storage is one of the worst moves Apple has made in the last few years for enterprise users and their administrators.

 

[murf72]

Soldered down storage and memory is big negative for new MacBook Pro.

 

[HVDynamo]

Please clarify here what "previous-generation" means. If you mean the model from 2015, this would be correct. Everyone on this forum is erupting in horror about soldered flash storage as if it hasn't been done since 2016. smh

Many people don't just magically become okay with something just because it's been done for a few years. I wasn't ok with it when it first started in 2016, and I'm still not ok with it today. I still use my 2012 macbook pro for this reason and others. sorry man, I smh right back at you.

 

[Robnsn2015]

Soldered down storage and memory is big negative for new MacBook Pro.

I could kinda live with soldered memory. It's the storage and battery that grinds my gears.