New MacBook Pros Have Battery Pull Tabs for Easier Do-it-Yourself Battery Replacements, Says iFixit

[MacRumors]

iFixit has shared a teaser of its 14-inch MacBook Pro teardown, and one noteworthy detail is the inclusion of pull tabs for the battery cells, which the repair website said will allow for easier do-it-yourself battery replacements.

The four outer battery cells have easily-noticeable iPhone-like pull tabs, and once the trackpad is removed, there are cutouts in the chassis to access the pull tabs that hold the middle two battery cells in place, according to iFixit. The pull tabs are likely in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro too given it has a similar internal layout as the 14-inch model.

Since the release of the first MacBook Pro with a Retina display in 2012, the battery cells have been glued into the "top case," a large part housing the keyboard and trackpad. When an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider needs to replace the battery in these previous MacBook Pro models, they must replace the entire top case, although the customer only pays a battery service fee of $129 to $199 out of warranty. It's unclear if the pull tabs will result in a change to this procedure, but they will certainly benefit do-it-yourself repairs by making the battery cells more easily accessible.

The new MacBook Pro models launched on Tuesday after being unveiled last week. iFixit said it will be sharing its full teardown of the new MacBook Pro soon, and in the meantime, some customers have already popped theirs open, giving us a first look inside.

2018 and newer MacBook Air models are also equipped with battery pull tabs.

Article Link: New MacBook Pros Have Battery Pull Tabs for Easier Do-it-Yourself Battery Replacements, Says iFixit

 

[donster28]

Whoa! Talk about Apple going back to their usual setups. This is great news for people who plan to keep these for a long time.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Oh wow! People will save up so much money just by doing it themselves.

I’m surprised, Tim Cook didn’t announce…

“We are thrilled to announce new battery tabs with the new MacBook Pro line up. It will keep your battery at 100% at all times. We think, you are going to love it.”

 

[DaPizzaMan]

That's a pleasant surprise.

 

[Stella]

This is great. In the past, it's taken up to 5 days for my Macbook Pro battery to be replaced, which is way too long. So having user replacable battery once again is much more convenient for the owner

 

[yossi]

I wonder if there is a pull tab for removing the notch?

 

[waffffffle]

From the release of the first MacBook Pro with a Retina display in 2012 until now, the battery cells had been glued into the "top case," a large part housing the keyboard and trackpad.

I'm pretty sure Apple stopped gluing MacBook Pro batteries to the top case circa 2019. Does Macrumors have evidence that 2019-2020 MacBook Pros have glued batteries?

 

[oldmacs]

Brilliant news!

 

[AirunJae]

Good to see.

 

[contacos]

Good! As it should. I remember back in 2013, Apple had to replace the faulty battery of my 2012 retina MBP which means replacing the whole case and keyboard. Just to replace the battery! I almost could not believe it. Environmental my A

 

[aibo82]

Have they disabled DIY replacements in software though? ? a big non genuine battery warning in settings or something if attempted.

 

[eicca]

Hell really has frozen over. Does this mean the next Mac Pro will be uber modular like the old cheesegraters??

 

[TheDailyApple]

Good! As it should. I remember back in 2013, Apple had to replace the faulty battery of my 2012 retina MBP which means replacing the whole case and keyboard. Just to replace the battery! I almost could not believe it. Environmental my A

They replaced the entire top half of my 2017 MacBook Pro when my battery started swelling. I’m glad they covered it out of warranty, because that would have been an expensive repair.

 

[chetzar]

A step in the right direction!

 

[Joe Rossignol]

I'm pretty sure Apple stopped gluing MacBook Pro batteries to the top case circa 2019. Does Macrumors have evidence that 2019-2020 MacBook Pros have glued batteries?

You might be thinking of the MacBook Air, which has battery pull tabs in the October 2018 model and newer.

Not the MacBook Pro.

I just added a sentence to the bottom of my story mentioning the MacBook Air as a reminder.

 

[FightTheFuture]

I wonder if there is a pull tab for removing the notch?

Yes cause we all want less screen.

 

[Lucas Curious]

eh, I rather pay apple to do it. Ive had odd experiences with 3rd party batteries for apple products. At least Apple batteries last a good 3 years of everyday use before they hit 75% or so.

 

[Manzanito]

What’s next? User replaceable storage? I like this trend.

 

[Ebarella]

$129 to $199 out of warranty

In the US, other countries are not so lucky. Last year I was quoted $600 by an Apple Authorized Service Provider to replace the swelling battery of a 2013 MacBook Pro. Ended up getting an iFixit kit and paid around $100, but using solvent to replace a battery shouldn't even be considered and it definitely wasn't a fun experience

 

[zorinlynx]

One thing I wonder is, the new MBPs seems to have SIX separate batteries. Are these batteries connected directly to each other in a series/parallel arrangement, and thus have to be balanced with each other? Or does the system treat them as individual batteries, so if just one fails you can replace it without having to swap them all?

It would be amazing if the power controller could tell you which battery is bad, or even completely disable a battery if it fails so the laptop is still usable on the rest with reduced runtime.

 

[LeeW]

Where are you going to get the replacement batteries? Not from Apple.

 

[PC_tech]

I'm pretty sure Apple stopped gluing MacBook Pro batteries to the top case circa 2019. Does Macrumors have evidence that 2019-2020 MacBook Pros have glued batteries?

Other than sites like ifixit? Which actually shows how it is with their breakdowns? No, no proof at all ?

 

[nvmls]

I wonder if there is a pull tab for removing the notch?

Comes with the iCloth only.

 

[kemal]

This is so Apple no longer need to replace the entire top case for a battery replacement. Should save the customer about $100 in parts and $30 in labor.

 

[MBAir2010]

Whoa! Talk about Apple going back to their usual setups. This is great news for people who plan to keep these for a long time.

that is a nice surprise,
good for those who know how and want to change a part in their device.

I have a feeling the next OS Calabash or Ojai ? update will work only for M1 chips only.
when Monterey was announced, i was sadden to see that the MacBook Pro retina 2013.14 were omitted.
those were the best and I'm am looking for one now and sticking with Mojave just for homage to the machine.