Teardown of New MacBook Pro's Retina Display Reveals 'Engineering Marvel'

[MacRumors]

Last week, the teardown experts at iFixit took a look at the new Retina MacBook Pro, noting how Apple used a number of innovations first deployed in the MacBook Air to reduce the machine's thickness but in the process hampered users' ability to repair and upgrade components.

As it notes on its blog, iFixit has now taken apart the Retina display itself to further examine the steps Apple took to mount the breakthrough 2880x1800 display within the thin lid of the notebook.

The Retina display is an engineering marvel. Its LCD is essentially the entire display assembly. Rather than sandwich an LCD panel between a back case and a piece of glass in front, Apple used the aluminum case itself as the frame for the LCD panel and used the LCD as the front glass. They've managed to pack five times as many pixels as the last model in a display that's actually a fraction of a millimeter thinner. And since there's no front glass, glare is much less of an issue.

With the LCD so tightly integrated into the display assembly, iFixit actually broke the LCD in the process of trying to disassemble it, noting that anyone looking to replace their display would need to replace the entire assembly instead of trying to swap in a new LCD panel.

The teardown documents the full range of features used to keep the display slim and light while delivering crisp images on the ultra-high resolution screen, including routing of cables through hinges, 48 LEDs at the bottom of the screen to light the display, and various diffuser, prism, and polarizing sheets to generate the screen's images.

The new Retina MacBook Pro remains in high demand amid tight supplies, with shipping estimates for new orders through Apple's online store remaining at the 3-4 week figure reached less than two days after the machine debuted.

Article Link: Teardown of New MacBook Pro's Retina Display Reveals 'Engineering Marvel'

 

[pawelthegreat]

Too bad so many of the owners won't have a clue of this marvel.

Oh well...not that they need to...'it just works' is good enough

 

[NStocks]

As there is no front glass, how is the screen 'protected'? I mean, the previous generations have glass to almost prevent damage from scratches etc. Does it still have a glass element to it or is it more lift a standard LCD 'finish'?

 

[FFArchitect]

RIP MacBook Pro Retina (x1).

 

[gto55]

who produces the screen ?
Samsung ? Sharp ? another company ?

 

[Abazigal]

Sounds cool, but I have absolutely no idea what was just said.

 

[kjs862]

Man I can't wait to see the 13" Macbook Pro Retina.

 

[sammich]

I know it's not just me...but the 'a laser engraved internal use code' isn't aligned properly.

*goes and breaks his RMBP display to make sure his code is etched properly or is asking for a new one*

Kidding...or am I?

 

[s2dio]

RIP MacBook Pro Retina (x1).

why RIP? They will assemble this macbook back as it was

 

[ArcaneDevice]

why RIP? They will assemble this macbook back as it was

No they won't. If you read the text it says they broke the panel during disassembly.

 

[Magnum Opus]

why RIP? They will assemble this macbook back as it was

"iFixit actually broke the LCD in the process of trying to disassemble it"

 

[mohsy90]

why RIP? They will assemble this macbook back as it was

If you read the article and even the entire ifixit disassembly guide, they mentioned that they actually ended up breaking the LCD panel while trying to pry it off. I don't think ifixit has ever broken an LCD!!

 

[840quadra]

As there is no front glass, how is the screen 'protected'? I mean, the previous generations have glass to almost prevent damage from scratches etc. Does it still have a glass element to it or is it more lift a standard LCD 'finish'?

Not sure if you looked at the linked article before posting, however it says the following on iFixit's teardown.

We need to clarify this before continuing with the teardown; Apple did not design and build a 1.5 mm thin LCD panel. They did, however, do something exceptional with the design of this display: rather than sandwich an LCD panel between a back case and a front glass, they used the aluminum case itself as the frame for the LCD panel and used the LCD as the front glass.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Hmm, so when apple try to make a display that actually provides the glare of a matte display...

The AG screens on the 15" and 17" MBPs have no glare.

 

[mTofu]

AppleCare never looked more attractive.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Dear iFixit, next time around, get yourself unwaxed dental floss, and use that to "saw" through the adhesive / tape. Small enough to fit in there, cheap enough to discard, flexible to get around stuff, strong enough to cut RTVs and tapes.

 

[adildacoolset]

The AG screens on the 15" and 17" MBPs have no glare.

You can't have no glare. They minimized it until it was almost nothing

 

[DougB541]

nicely constructed....impossible to replace if there are issues.

But very cool.

 

[Hakone]

Gotta love technological innovation. I'm anxious to see what's coming down the pipeline in the next few years.

 

[mobi]

Its getting tight in there...

 

[Dun Properly]

Hmm, so when apple try to make a display that actually provides the glare of a matte display and the quality of a glossy display, they have to go to this measure , people say "evil apple make it non-replaceable" and when they make a replaceable one, people say "aah the glare" or "Why pay $50 for anti-glare?" Haters gonna hate.

It doesn't. It is still beautiful though.

 

[bdavis89]

Seems like it common sense rather than a marvel...I guess technology just didn't have the capabilities until now?

 

[OtherJesus]

The AG screens on the 15" and 17" MBPs have no glare.

You may claim its "no glare", but the anti-glare displays do in fact "reflect" light that causes a slight glare. Obviously nowhere near the glossy display...but still

 

[rei101]

Yes... Apple Care was the first thing that came to my mind.

 

[gnasher729]

nicely constructed....impossible to replace if there are issues.

But very cool.

Easy to replace if you know what you are doing. iFixit tried to remove the glass from the LCD screen, and broke it because the glass they tried to remove was actually the LCD screen itself. Now they figured out that there is no glass, they won't do that a second time.

Even if it is impossible to remove the display without breaking it, why would you do that anyway? You only remove a display that is already broken, and then you put in a non-broken display. I can't see anything that says you can't put in a display without breaking it.