Retina MacBook Teardown Reveals iPad-Like Battery Connector, Details Force Touch Trackpad

[Thunderhawks]

They'll be happy to replace it... for $1299+.

Has anything Apple ever made got a 1 on the iFixit repairability scale? I know some other stuff has been deemed "difficult", etc but I don't remember seeing a 1 assigned to anything.

or they may just charge you in the neighborhood of those prices after FIVE years of use:

Model Cost
11-inch/13-inch MacBook Air,
13-inch MacBook,
13-inch/15-inch MacBook Pro $129 (excluding taxes)

17-inch MacBook Pro $179 (excluding taxes)
12-inch MacBook,

13-inch/15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display $199 (excluding taxes)

 

[smiddlehurst]

Do you have a source that states this is the fee that Apple will charge to replace the battery in the retina MacBook? If not, stop spouting off obviously untrue crap.

Just for the record Apple's support pages show a cost of £159 including VAT for replacing the battery pack in the 12" Macbook, same as the Retina MacBook Pro line.

 

[EvilEvil]

So it's basically an retina ipad with a keyboard

 

[Kissaragi]

iFixit take such beautiful photos of the disassembly and components. Some of them could be framed and hung on the wall.

 

[orioncrystalice]

So it's basically an retina ipad with a keyboard

and it's funny that so many people have complained because it feels like only yesterday there were multiple posts "now if only I could run OSX on an iPad...."

 

[crsh1976]

So it's basically an retina ipad with a keyboard

Except it's over twice the cost.. Fortunately, it's not "just" an iPad with a keyboard.

 

[Juicy Box]

since posting (my personal disappointment at a repairability score of 1), I've since been shown that Apple is offering to replace the battery for 199.

People might disagree with me on this but I don't think that $199 is that bad of a price to replace a battery.

My iBook G3 battery had to be replaced a few times, once because I got stuck in Afghanistan for 6 months when I was only suppose to be gone a few weeks. I left my iBook plugged in only to come back home to a battery that wouldn't hold a charge.

I might be wrong about this, but I think the battery pack was around $130 then, so 200 now including the price to disassemble and reassemble seems reasonable.

 

[sseaton1971]

I appreciate iFixit's teardowns and pictures, but I'm absolutely sick of the "proprietary pentalobe screws" dead horse they keep beating.

1. In what sense are these screws "proprietary"? Are they patented? Do I need Apple's permission to buy a compatible screwdriver, or to make or sell one? Is there ANY realistic restriction on anyone buying these screwdrivers?

2. In what sense do the pentalobe screws constitute a "lockout" mechanism, given that iFixit sells compatible screwdrivers, and there are dozens available from places like Amazon?

If iFixit is complaining because the MacBook requires specialized tools that won't be found in most households, pentalobe really doesn't matter. Tiny Phillips, Torx, or slotted screws would be just as much trouble.

Tiny fasteners and connectors require specialized tools. Big deal. I wish iFixit would stop pretending to be shocked and offended by this obvious fact.

iFixit repairability scores just feel wrong to me. I always have the impression their ideal device would be fixable with exactly the same tools and skills you'd use on a 1968 Oldsmobile.

I see teenagers at mall kiosks fixing stuff iFixit gave a repairability score of 2 or 3. Maybe our teenagers are way just above average.

I think iFixit is a great company, and they provide a great service to those of us who need to repair Macs, iPads, and other devices. I don't think their mention of proprietary pentalobe screws is intended to mean that you can't obtain a tool to open the new MB. iFixit is just trying to provide its readers and customers with as much information as possible, and I applaud them for that.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

People might disagree with me on this but I don't think that $199 is that bad of a price to replace a battery.

My iBook G3 battery had to be replaced a few times, once because I got stuck in Afghanistan for 6 months when I was only suppose to be gone a few weeks. I left my iBook plugged in only to come back home to a battery that wouldn't hold a charge.

I might be wrong about this, but I think the battery pack was around $130 then, so 200 now including the price to disassemble and reassemble seems reasonable.

I didn't say that $199 is "a bad price". I said I am disappointed at the repairability score of 1 (which is about more than just a battery). But that's just me. I've owned Apple laptops that didn't require us to take them to Apple for common repairs.

 

[FrizzleFryBen]

The score just indicates that iFixit can't make any money off of the new MacBook repairs .

At this point, they might as well change their name to iBreakit (so you don't have to)

 

[spatlese44]

iFixit repairability scores just feel wrong to me. I always have the impression their ideal device would be fixable with exactly the same tools and skills you'd use on a 1968 Oldsmobile.

That was my first car! It was a 68' Cutlass Supreme. Whenever I think of something simple to fix I think of that car.

BTW, why would a rMB need to be repaired? No fan. No optical drive. No spinning drive. Only two connectors, only one of which will most likely get used. Even the trackpad doesn't move. We're running out of moving parts. It's a little more expensive to change the battery, but not much.

 

[macduke]

Soon you won't be able to repair anything because it will be too small and thin to even see—but that's the cost of progress. If I were in the computer or mobile device repair business I would look at getting out before the end of the decade. Hopefully by then things will be more durable and reliable. The move to all solid state components go a long way towards that goal. My guess is that as the TDP goes down on these processors and systems, so too goes down the chance of something going wrong as heat can put a lot of stress on components. For instance, the recent scrambled video issues on recent MacBook Pros were caused by the following:

According to the complaint, the frequent changes in temperature that occur while using the MacBook Pro cause the lead-free solder to crack, which in turn causes the graphics issues as described above.

After you eliminate heat and moving parts you're mostly left with manufacturing defects and user inflicted damage. Hopefully things like the new, stronger, lightweight carbon materials, flexible components and waterproof coatings will mitigate user inflicted damage. Who knows if manufacturing defects will ever go away as long as companies are trying to make a decent profit. Many build that into the cost of doing business, but as I said, hopefully many defects won't be as noticeable with less stress on the systems.

 

[Woyzeck]

The score just indicates that iFixit can't make any money off of the new MacBook repairs .

What I don't understand about your comment is why it's a good thing that Apple's notebooks are now sealed-off, unrepairable disposables that you can't upgrade.

The only benefit for that is taken by Apple, not by you as a customer. Why would anyone find that positive is beyond my understanding.

 

[aduzik]

iFixIt mentions that the batteries are "precision aligned" at the factory, meaning your typical genius wouldn't have the equipment to do that in the back of an Apple Store.

I wonder if they'll just replace the entire bottom cover of the MacBook when they replace the battery. Not sure how they would handle the serial number not being on the replacement, but it would sidestep the glue and alignment problems altogether.

 

[mdelvecchio]

That seems right. Use it, then just throw it away and buy another when the battery wears out.

Edit:since posting (my personal disappointment at a repairability score of 1), I've since been shown that Apple is offering to replace the battery for $199.

did you honestly think the battery wouldnt be serviceable? unlike every other laptop apple sells? why? of course they can replace the battery.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

So again, other than this rMB, anyone know if this is this the first "1" repairability score on a product made by Apple?

 

[mdelvecchio]

I think you've forgotten to mention the score that the actual laptop was given after mentioning the fact it receives a 1 to 10 score for repairability

good thing im not a PC technician and never have to repair my notebooks!

----------

Prefer my MBP Retina 15" thanks, this new Macbook has less connectivity and not much more powerful than my 2011 MBA. Overpriced garbage.

wrong -- it;s just a completely different use case than a pro. duh. if somebody's in the market for an ultra portable (writers, lawyers, journalists, sles people, etc), which this is, they dont need a pro laptop. thats what the pro laptops are for.

amazing this has to be explained to people.

 

[PracticalMac]

I still use my 8 year old MBP, replacement batteries still available from 3ed party (just moved to newer Mini when do not need portability).
I usually use computers at least 5 before I replace.

I must keep it on 10.6 due to some legacy software compatibility.

If Apple made the new MB easy for battery replacement for anyone with reasonable skills and sell batteries for 7 years then I am fine with it.

I suspect the battery is not available after 4 years forcing a new device.

 

[Keerock]

In their best interest to say things are difficult to repair...

I appreciate iFixit's teardowns and pictures, but I'm absolutely sick of the "proprietary pentalobe screws" dead horse they keep beating.

1. In what sense are these screws "proprietary"? Are they patented? Do I need Apple's permission to buy a compatible screwdriver, or to make or sell one? Is there ANY realistic restriction on anyone buying these screwdrivers?

2. In what sense do the pentalobe screws constitute a "lockout" mechanism, given that iFixit sells compatible screwdrivers, and there are dozens available from places like Amazon?

If iFixit is complaining because the MacBook requires specialized tools that won't be found in most households, pentalobe really doesn't matter. Tiny Phillips, Torx, or slotted screws would be just as much trouble.

Tiny fasteners and connectors require specialized tools. Big deal. I wish iFixit would stop pretending to be shocked and offended by this obvious fact.

iFixit repairability scores just feel wrong to me. I always have the impression their ideal device would be fixable with exactly the same tools and skills you'd use on a 1968 Oldsmobile.

I see teenagers at mall kiosks fixing stuff iFixit gave a repairability score of 2 or 3. Maybe our teenagers are way just above average.

I agree completely.

1) A big part of their business is selling these "proprietary" tool kits. The more they push the idea the more people may believe they will have to buy these tools from them to do any repairs.

2) iFixit wants to charge you big bucks for repairs so of course they want to rate everything as difficult to fix. But let's be honest. All of these sealed devices (phones, tablets, 2015 Macbook) are hard to repair without busting something during the process.

3) You are so right about the kids in mall kiosks. The only issue I have them them is the quality of the replacement parts. So I buy my own and have them do the labor for a negotiated fee.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

did you honestly think the battery wouldnt be serviceable? unlike every other laptop apple sells? why? of course they can replace the battery.

I don't care for the trend of being pushed toward one service option for repairs of anything. I miss being able to make relatively simple repairs to Apple hardware myself. It's often more economical to have options beyond the manufacturer (of anything) for repairs.

So again, the comment wasn't purely about the battery. It was about the "1" score. I'm personally disappointed in the "1" score. Several of us are touting the genius of the engineering (which I can get from some points-of-view) but that kind of genius comes with strings (IMO). Wouldn't it be more genius (if there's such a thing) to be able to accomplish the other engineering objectives that went into this product AND make it more serviceable for it's buyers (which is the general point of iFixit teardown reviews)?

For example, the choice to use "proprietary pentalobe screws" has nothing to do with that being a superior choice of screws and "processor, RAM, and flash memory being soldered" is a far cry from Apple hardware from not long ago when at least the latter 2 tended to be easily upgraded without having to hire Apple to do the work and buy the parts from Apple at Apple prices. Since that's all good for Apple and obviously the way Apple wants to do it, I'm sure 10 of you guys will spin that as the ONE best way but Apple used to do much of the same differently and none of you complained about such options being WRONG back then.

 

[heimo]

So again, other than this rMB, anyone know if this is this the first "1" repairability score on a product made by Apple?

It's the first, but not worst. The original Apple I got a repairability score of zero, because you need a very rare Steve Wozniak to do the repair.

 

[dannyyankou]

I was amazed by how much the trackpad felt like a normal trackpad, despite there being no moving parts or mechanical clicks.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

It's the first, but not worst. The original Apple I got a repairability score of zero, because you need a very rare Steve Wozniak to do the repair.

Good one.

I was looking for a table that might summarize all Apple repairability scores on the iFixit site but I don't seem to see such a thing. Sorry to hear it's the first Apple product to score a "1". It's a dazzling little machine that is being spun hard as "the future". I just wish the future had a better repairability score. But good for those happy to have to order it exactly as you'll ever want it up front and happy to take it to Apple for servicing and parts at Apple prices.

 

[Dayv]

Sorry to hear it's the first Apple product to score a "1".

Good news! It's not the first.

The iPhone 6 is rated as a 7 out of 10 on their repairability scale, while the original iPhone rates a 2.

These are clearly some extremely scientific numbers.

 

[PracticalMac]

wrong -- it;s just a completely different use case than a pro. duh. if somebody's in the market for an ultra portable (writers, lawyers, journalists, sles people, etc), which this is, they dont need a pro laptop. thats what the pro laptops are for.

Isn't that what the Air is for?

MB was a lower cost device with ports for utility.


Unless goal is kill the (currently offered) Air and make the MB take its place.