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Teardown of 13-inch MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Reveals 'Cosmetic' Speaker Grilles [Updated]
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This site needs to just update the Buyers Guide for this Mac from "Buy Now" To "Don't Buy" 
It's not news, it's an excuse. When the old threads bashing MBP start to get slow, MR kicks off another one so that all the same people can say all the same things.
This is just a guess, but maybe for people that prefer to do their own repairs? Personally, I like what iFixit does.
I've been waiting for someone who actually owns the machine to comment...can't be too hard to test this.
Wait, I thought they got rid of the speakers, calling them "absurd". They now sell the speakers separately, and you also have to buy a dongle to use them.
So the speakers are placed in the place where they can be placed; and the sound exits where it is able to exit.
Wow. Controversial.
What I want to know is why MR posts the illustrating photo upside down, and then go on to talk about "lower portion" of the case?
Wow. Controversial.
What I want to know is why MR posts the illustrating photo upside down, and then go on to talk about "lower portion" of the case?
How is this like the iMac speakers? Does the iMac have fake speaker grills? Maybe I will check mine when I get home.
Everyone at Apple must already have their offices packed up for the move to the new Spaceship campus. No work is getting done in the meantime...
To go back 5 iterations of the iPhone for a comparison is not the argument I would have used, but okay. I don't see it as a strong argument because the 4S lies right in the middle of the weight of Apple's most recent iPhones (6S and 7). The 4S weighs 140g. The 6S weighs 3g more at 143g. The 7 weighs 2g less at 138g. That's less than the weight of a penny (2.5g). Even the thickness between the 4S and 7 has only decreased 2mm, or the approx thickness of a nickel. You say you find functionality in those changes and I have no reason to doubt you. I deem them purely cosmetic just like the fake speaker holes on the iPhone and the MBP. Our opinions differ and that's okay in my book.
Acoustical engineering is surprisingly complex in this sort of device. With the reviews of how much better the sound is in the new MBP's, I won't be the least bit surprised if the teardown jockey's at ifixit are wrong and that the speaker grills are integral to the acoustical design.
Exactly what I was thinking. The old 13-inch rMBP didn't have speaker grills and it's speakers work just fine. This seems like a clever way to allow for WiFi and Bluetooth signal to pass through the aluminum body without requiring the plastic cutouts that they used to have while (possibly) helping with airflow/cooling. .
I kind of wish they would do this with the iPhone. Cram the antennas into the fake speaker grille and get rid of the awful looking antenna bands.
You are missing the point....
It's the attitude of form over function... There is no benefit in that... The aesthetic aspect is also debatable.. I think it looks nicer without the holes but that is not the point either.... and for as little as it counts it's an additional process / cost.
This is where Apple is: cosmetics over performance, style over function, disposable over upgradability, Jony's way over end user satisfaction.
I can't vouch for the mouse, but that quick charge thing is a lifesaver on the iPad Pro. They give you an adaptor to plug it in by lightning cable and charge it anyway.. It's totally fine it sticking out for a minute or two - I don't think it's bad design. Short of inductive charging while it's magnetically latched to to the iPad I don't know how you'd do it better?The fanboism is strong in this one.
But for the sake of argument, here are a couple of pics for you. Random pic:
Upside down mouse is only silly in so far as it can't be used while it's charging unlike every other mouse with a rechargeable battery.. Otherwise I'd have no problem with it.
It'd be interesting to see how these MBPs sound.. Sometimes putting a speaker up against a surface makes the entire surface seem to emit sound.. Like those tiny speakers you attach to windows and desks. Very weird. I don't get the fake grills though.
That'll be the Surface Book with the same 1/10 repairability rating, will it?
Don't get me wrong - I've got a Surface Book and it's a great machine, but it's just as sealed up as anything that comes out of Apple
Help me figure out what to make of limitations elucidated in several MB tear downs like this. Because of all the soldering and glueing, is it recommended to configure a 15-inch PB with 1TB SSD and Radeon Pro 455?
Gee, put the pen in a sidehole and your mouse against a keyboard to magnetically charge them - if you have 250.000 patents/25.000 engineers or so.
(and only if your mouse needs a pee hole, call Ive)
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