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But the headphone port is real, right? ....riiiiight?
Yes, it's real. Compromised in some way, of course (no optical audio out), but real.
When they say the "grilles" are cosmetic do they mean the actual holes aren't real holes, or that the speakers aren't located directly under the grills? Because they could be for air circulation, or the entire MacBook Pro interior might be utilized as a port to improve low frequency response.
From the teardown (emphasis mine):
The speakers are not located under the speaker grilles. The speaker grille doesn't even go clear through the case.
 
It seems that no-one here has actually read the linked teardown. There are 4 speakers in the laptop, the two larger bass speakers that use the bottom vents and two tweeters that fire through areas at the bottom of the speaker grilles that are fully cut through.

It would be more than a bit un-apple to have two small sections of grille at bottom edges of the keyboard which is why the grille follows their design aesthetic across the range and extends the full height of the keyboard albeit with the majority only partially drilled to prevent accidental liquid damage.

Check the (i) section where they talk about about the tweeters and through-holes in the speaker grilles - https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Touch+Bar+Teardown/73480#s148019

Do you HAVE to use all those facts instead of just bashing blindly? We don't like your kind around here.
 
"Why?" do you ask? Why would Apple do that?

Because idiots like you keep buying their products regardless. That's why.
 
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Again everything is about profit. This design probably allows make them able to use the same plate for all MBPs. Plus speaker grills used to be only available in larger and more expensive MBPs, so this probably gives a fake sense of premium products.
 
I'm annoyed that'll I'll probably not get 5 years of use from the new MacBook, before something fails.

I want to love the new MacBook Pro, as I've waited patiently for Apple to release it... fact is I feel like I'll be cursing it in a few years, when it needs replacing, because it's impossible to repair / upgrade.

I've owned a lot of Macs for a lot of years and the components that have been the most trouble: anything moving (hard drives and optical drives) and logic boards. The moving parts are all gone (thank goodness) and in the age of everything integrated, this is basically the reality of things.

The Air, the rMBP, and rMB put the writing on the wall a long time ago. These machines are getting smaller and more tightly integrated. For better or worse that's been Apple's march rather consistently for over a decade. Anyone surprised by this hasn't been paying attention and has ample time to jump ship if they wanted a user-serviceable laptop.

The problem that most people don't seem to get is that the population that works on/upgrades their own laptop is nonexistent in terms of affecting Apple's plans. If there was a "mass" revolt from that crowd today it would have something close to zero impact on financials. And I get the irritation, I used to buy near the bottom models and upgrade them myself over time (or the RAM immediately because Apple charges a pretty penny) but now I gotta BTO which costs more. Oh well.

Things are getting smaller and more integrated. You ever worked on a Microsoft Surface? How about a Razer Blade Stealth?

Can't wait to get my disposable computer :mad:

You mean like the above machines? As things get integrated, this is how it goes. And all computers are disposable anyway. They don't age like wine. You can only extend the life of a laptop so much. Not like my old G4 PowerBook is still very useful. It's no like a 57 Chevy that, if taken care of, would still be useful on the roads. Electronics are disposable and have a VERY limited shelf life.

If only... if only... some company out there at least put a lot of time and effort into making their computers as recyclable and environmentally friendly as possible to deal with this reality. Why, perhaps they would use a material like aluminum instead of plastic.
 
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It seems that no-one here has actually read the linked teardown. There are 4 speakers in the laptop, the two larger bass speakers that use the bottom vents and two tweeters that fire through areas at the bottom of the speaker grilles that are fully cut through.

It would be more than a bit un-apple to have two small sections of grille at bottom edges of the keyboard which is why the grille follows their design aesthetic across the range and extends the full height of the keyboard albeit with the majority only partially drilled to prevent accidental liquid damage.

Check the (i) section where they talk about about the tweeters and through-holes in the speaker grilles - https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Touch+Bar+Teardown/73480#s148019

Excellent post and explains why the 2016 MBP sounds so good, and also speaks to the design of the grill - the machine looks great. Most everyone else getting so frothed up is really astonishing.
 
One of the things I appreciate about MacRumors is that they don't typically put their own spin on news. They just try to present facts (or rumors) without commentary on whether they're bad or good. They just are, and we can make our own decisions.

For example, this article. There's nothing inherently bad about it to me aside from the fact that I can't replace the RAM and SSD, but I already knew that going in, so that's certainly not on this article.

This is a good point, and I was not blaming MR for the news. Many things they report are the MBP are not necessarily bad news, but an objective view of the facts.

It was just my subjective view that there has been pretty much nothing by bad news about the new MBP, imo.
 
So applying the same principle you would be ok if they place the charging port of the MacBook on the bottom of the chassis or forcing you to charge the iPhone face down.
It seems completely different to me given that people DO take their computers and their phones with them on the go. Also, the battery life of MacBooks are nowhere close to the battery life a simple device like the Magic Mouse.
Lastly, I'm not saying Apple's decision is right. But I find it amusing how people don't get that decision on the mouse. It's not bad design, it might be a horrible decision to dictate how you should use your mouse (wired or wireless), but the design DOES follow their objectives in this case.
 
If that's how it gets repaired, why wouldn't they? Swap the logic board, takes five minutes, then ship the old board off, fix it, and turn it into a refurbished computer.

They will and that's not the problem. Replacing a logic board on a glued up machine when a tech has to fix ump-teen iPhones is going to take a lot longer than five minutes.

They will be sending it out to the warehouse once their supply of boards runs dry.

Also, you bring up a good point about returned. There's no way Apple is going to resolder boards. They'll recycle them before pulling them apart.

Refurbished machines may be CTO returns and generic returns only.
 
When they say the "grilles" are cosmetic do they mean the actual holes aren't real holes, or that the speakers aren't located directly under the grills? Because they could be for air circulation, or the entire MacBook Pro interior might be utilized as a port to improve low frequency response.

This is exactly correct. The holes do go through. They're there to allow bass to resonate in that area and also for heat release.

Seems the majority of MR readers are completely missing this and as usual MR reports it in a way to cause controversy, rather than sharing the actual content of the article which doesn't in any way say these grills are cosmetic only.
 
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I'm having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Jony Ive's design team did something like drill fake speaker holes, which don't even look nice. I'm convinced they must do something.
What could they possibly do if they aren't drilled all the way through?
 
I am most interested to know what their repair process will be for these systems... return to a factory with the right equipment to perform board level component replacements, or just swap out the whole board.

If it's component level repair, I just can't understand how this is more cost effective for Apple overall vs having modular components and easier to open systems, where repairs could be done in Apple stores. If it's swapping out the whole board, again, I can't understand how this is more cost effective overall - as you then have either throw away or send back to the factory for component seperation, the mainboard.

It's like they're willing to forsake the numerous benefits of a more modular system, for the sake of thinness and lightness, and the fact that it means whenever the consumer wants more RAM/CPU/storage, they have to bin the whole machine rather than just upgrade it - as owners of older generations of MacBook Pro have often done.

I just can't fathom it overall. It must make sense from a business perspective......... I mean..... does it? Really?

As I've said before, Apple's service depot isn't going to be soldering anything. They replace the defective assembly (logic board) and send the defective assembly to china where it is repaired and refurbished, then sent back to use as a replacement component. They would put black tape over the serial number sticker on the ram slot on the 2009-2012 MacBook Pro. Carefully peel it off, look up the original serial number and see why it was replaced
 
Well I've looked over the ifixit photos and the grills really have only a small part exposed to the lower part of the case. Most of the grill's space appear to be covered by the keyboard edge mounts and the USB C ports.

Actually the holes, except for this small part, go no where.

dwcGTXRBHLXjNG4W.huge


So why put them there?

  1. Looks?
  2. Continuity with the 15" (I can't find the teardown)
  3. a little extra passive cooling, maybe for the USB controllers?

atKrXWc6HyHPEA1R.huge

You all can decide.

Personally I'm thinking #1, Style and looks just like the rear spoiler on many of our cars
(and that old MB glowing Apple Logo on the case top)
 
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I cannot believe fake speaker grills..
it can't be real??

we can only assume the whole toucher was an after thought and the new MBP with function keys and removable SSD was the original and real new MBP,the toucher model was just an after thought..with not enough time to design in properly..hence the speaker grills, empty spaces etc..
 
Steve would have never supported this. AFAIK Steve never liked design without purpose in his products. Nothing in Steve's products was "Hey I'm this (But really I'm not)" I think these fake cosmetic vents (iPhone 7 and MacBook Pro) are coming from Johny Ives freedom from Steve Jobs.
 
The speaker grills—it seems to me they do serve a purpose.

I'm typing on a new 15" MBP right now, listening to some of my music at relatively high volume. If I cover or muffle the speaker grills it has a significant impact on the quality of music I'm listening to. Some tracks are muffled much more than others, but on a few it's the difference between delightful music and awful. I can pat my hands over the grills and hear audio being muffled and recovering in turn. As far as I can tell, they clearly are not cosmetic, and something seems to have been lost in translation by assuming as much by looking strictly at the teardown.

(It sounds fantastic for a laptop, by the way—and the highest volume level remains clear and louder than I've had any interest in using, which is something I've never been able to say for a previous MBP).
 
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As above there not fake. There is a port to pass sound through to the lower portion of the grill. The rest is there for looks
 
If the MacRumor Forum members are a representative sample of the Apple audience, they will see a huuuuuge drop in MacBook Pro sales. Bigly!

While I assume that's not the case, it wouldn't be a bad thing to put Apple back on their place and show them there's a limit to how many dongles and unrepairable glue-designs they can sell us.
 
The speaker grills—it seems to me they do serve a purpose.

I'm typing on a new 15" MBP right now, listening to some of my music at relatively high volume. If I cover or muffle the speaker grills it has a significant impact on the quality of music I'm listening to. Some tracks are muffled much more than others, but on a few it's the difference between delightful music and awful. I can pat my hands over the grills and hear audio being muffled and recovering in turn. As far as I can tell, they clearly are not cosmetic, and something seems to have been lost in translation by assuming as much by looking strictly at the teardown.

(It sounds fantastic for a laptop, by the way—and the highest volume level remains clear and louder than I've had any interest in using, which is something I've never been able to say for a previous MBP).

Thank you for this. The pictures clearly show they are not cosmetic too, contrary to ifixit's report.
 
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I would have never guessed that Apple would put fake speaker grills on a Mac. What the hell is going on at Apple these days.

I am quoting you on this, but also apply to almost every one who is crying above and below you.
So, the speaker grill is fake? Ok, where does the sound comes from? And more importantly, doesn't the sound - sounds great? Yes, so we hear. So we have a good audio speakers but the speaker grills are fake? Big freaking issue. I can't believe things people find to moan about. Bunch of whiners!!
 
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