Teardown of Retina MacBook Pro Finds Low Repairability with Custom Components

[iSee]

...All you had to do was run out to the store to get a new stick, pop out the old one and pop in the new...

Ha, ha, all the brick and mortar places I could have run to for some quick RAM have long ago gone out of business.

I do think it's too bad about the repair and upgradability. How much thicker would the MBP really be, with standard connectors and form factor for RAM and SSD?

 

[Piggie]

Every new thing I read about the new MBP makes me glad I am not getting one. Apple really is moving to less user friendly less functional more entertainment oriented devices which is unfortunate for those of us who use these machines as actual tools, not just as toys.

I am afraid to say you are correct, however you cannot blame them, as a company as they are in business to make money, and what they are doing now is riding the crest of their wave.
It won't last forever, nothing ever does. Either people will get fed up with Apple removing items they wish to use, or repair costs, or some other issue.
They are making hay, whilst the sun shines, may be another term to use and I cannot blame them, they are on a roll at the moment.

Myself I find it funny to remove items and call something "Pro"
Pro normally means something less fancy but more flexible than a consumer box.

As in a Mac Pro or any normal PC is more a "Pro" device as it can be anything and do anything.

Stripping things out, removing functionality for the sole sake of making it pretty in a pretty case is for a trimmed down, simplified consumer device, not a PRO device.

Look at the high end PRO cameras for movies, they are giant with bits hanging off all over the place as they are for professionals to use.

MacBook PRO is more a marketing gimmic for self important businessmen to show of with to clients.

The guys in the computer store with PC's with eveything screwed into in, and 100x more PRO than those men in suits...

 

[lilo777]

No, pro denotes professional which means "someone who makes money at their craft." Can someone make things that they can sell using this machine? Yes, absolutely. Can you? Maybe you have needs that aren't met by this machine, in which case there's a whole line of more expandable MacBook Pros to suit you.

Then, of course, most people who make money using computers do this in a desktop environment. The rare exception would be salesmen but those probably would be better of with smaller devices.

 

[HelveticaRoman]

Can you still use the keyboard, or do you have to phone it all in to Apple and they type it for you for two dollars a word?

 

[keelio]

I've always thought of "Pro", especially for the notebook line, as purely a marketing term just used to differentiate the models. Just like cars have a "Sport" edition. Apple probably doesn't stay up at night worrying whether the slick tiny rMBP can be used for video designers for 7 years... for better or worse.

Based on my experience, "Pro" means "Gaming".

 

[hchung]

For every one of you out there saying "they could have made xyz removable..."
Yeah. They could have. But the machine would be heavier, less reliable, and/or less battery life.

It's all about compromise. They think this is the best, so that's what they decided to do. And you know what? I think it's justifiable. You want something different? Buy something different.

On the other hand.... I'm just flat out amazed I hadn't heard of the frequency dispersed fan blade idea years earlier. You'd think such a simple but brilliant idea would have been part of fans for the last two decades.

Turns out, the idea is from the 1970s. What the heck took so long?

 

[JeffLubowski]

Then, of course, most people who make money using computers do this in a desktop environment. The rare exception would be salesmen but those probably would be better of with smaller devices.

You sound completely out of touch with the real world.

 

[TheGdog]

Please define "future proof"

I've bought computers were it was an option to upgrade the harddisk to a whopping and future proof 40 Mb!!!!

There is no such thing as future proof, what usually changes are standards. For example Hard drives have not gotten that much bigger, what has changes is mostly the bus technology. You may have a bought 750gb for your machine thinking that makes it future proof, but it was SATA II and now everything is moving to SATA III, you are still using older tech. Same with ram, you can upgrade to all the ram you want, but the next gen ram will be faster. Just buy what you need and upgrade when its no longer enough.

 

[VPrime]

Battery = energy and abuse of the consumer! Can look at it both ways.

I have never owned one of these before - so what really does happen when this built in - glued in batter fails? They just replace it if you have the premium insurance 'apple care' and if you don't, what do you pay? (With your life savings?) Hope not!

Everything is great with all this technological advancements and revolutionary new ideas and all in these products but at the end of the day, when that battery fails and when there is an even more major WORLD WIDE energy crisis/shortage, all of it is just 'dust and metal fragments in the void'... It is romantic still and I LOVE IT all!


Ahhhh LIFE, refreshing like this morning's crisp bite to the air -- mountains, mmmmmmm and freezing cold lakes. What more is there really to life than nature. So be it.

what happens when the battery dies? Well you just go to apple and buy a new batter which includes free installation. People are blowing up the battery issue out of proportion for no reason. Apple already has programs for non user serviceable batteries in place... Free install! You would generally go to apple to buy the battery any ways (I personally never trust knock offs and had some poor experience with 3rd party batteries for other devices).

 

[bhtooefr]

The thing is, newer SATA specs on spinning platter drives are mostly a waste, and SATA is forwards and backwards compatible. New drive on an old controller? Good to go. Old drive on a new controller? Good to go.

RAM is another story, though, but usually you can get quite a lot of RAM cheaply, late in that RAM type's lifecycle. (Not too late, though, then supply gets constrained and it gets more expensive again. Try shopping for EDO, where 128 megs of the stuff costs as much as a couple gigs or so of DDR3.)

 

[MehApple]

The batteries of today and especially what Apple uses will not die within the time you upgrade your MBP. In the slim chance that it does, you still might have the original warranty and/or AppleCare. Possibly, by then, a resolution has been presented on replacing it.

The ram upgrade is a moot point as well. For the $2,199 MBPR, 8GBs is plenty. If 16 GBs is needed, it would have been purchased from the start because you're a "professional" power user.

But the SSD is what gets me. Apple is charging an arm and a leg for the 256 GB bump. By the time OWC produces a kit, it would rival that of what Apple charges, so it's a lose lose.

I'm so disappointed 512 GB was not included in the $2,199 model.

I wish it was cheaper too, but I can't say my expectation for the machine was anything other than a premium price.

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For the 2.6 GHz model.

The actual base model, the 2.3 GHz model, is 256 only.

Yeah, you are right, and a strong base at that.

 

[swingerofbirch]

If anyone's curious, the battery replacement fee is $199 from Apple for the R-MBP versus $129 for the previous 15-inch model.

I know that with my use of notebooks, the battery will become depleted at least once during its life span. And I have had mine replaced, which on a 13" MBP isn't that difficult even thought it's built in. But I don't like the idea of having to do something to the computer that's very drastic, which it sounds like you would have to on the R-MBP, to replace the battery. If iFixIt couldn't remove the battery, what measures would Apple use? Apple refers to notebook batteries as consumables, and they are right about that. So, I feel like they should at least leave them as easy to repair as the built in batteries on existing MacBook Pros. Engineering feats aren't just about form but also function.

 

[lucabrasi]

I hear moans of soldered ram.
Ram is not needed for 99% of operations and with an SSD you don't need ram anyway.

The rest of your post lost all credibility after this nonsense.

 

[voodoopenguin]

It's not so much space saving as it is consumer screwing. There are plenty of more standard interfaces like pcie or msata that could easily fit into similar space. But they want to make sure nobody but them takes your money. Greedy Apple tactics are nothing new.

As for RAM, this is pure bs. There are plenty of smaller thinner machines out there that have user-upgradable RAM. Many Air imitators for example. They want you to pay a major premium upfront for their memory and then throw away the machine once the RAM amount in it becomes insufficient for newer software. Just Apple being its greedy self again.

I like the fact that I can replace certain things with parts of my own choosing so I won't be buying this machine for sure. That and the fact that I refuse to pay over $2K for a laptop.

Have you ever owned a Mac laptop? The prices for MBPs dropped considerably once the 13" came out and they got rid of their macbook line. To get a MBP or Powerbook, you'd be paying at least $2k, usually more. For my 2007 17" mbp, I paid over $3k. I'm confused why people are complaining about the $2k price point for this new mbp.

Most of the time the main point people argue is that you can get better specs in a laptop for cheaper elsewhere. They fail to realize that for most apple consumers, that really isn't the main selling point of purchasing an apple notebook.

 

[bbeagle]

I think you got that backwards. You know what proprietary means, right?

Wow. I don't know how I typed that. What I meant to say was:

You can either have something small, or something non-proprietary (using off the shelf components). Not both.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[JohnDoe98]

For all of you complaining about the new Retina MBPs, you should realise that this machine is a "pro" machine. That means you are paying >2000$ for performance. Each one of your complaints fails to appreciate just how cutting edge the engineering in this machine actually is. If you want user replaceable this or that, then don't buy cutting edge technology. If you do care about the performance of the laptop, then you do want soldiered RAM, the latest proprietary SSDs from Samsung, glued batteries, etc.

Stop your whining and buy legacy tech if that's what you need. There is a substantial benefit, so far as I can tell based on what I read, for every design decision Apple has chosen to implement with this new Laptop. TB port > Ethernet/Firewire port. HDMI port > TB port with HDMI adapter, etc.

Yes you can't upgrade as easily, but you are presumably buying the computer based on your current professional needs. If those needs change, then perhaps rather than trying to carry out minor upgrades you should ask yourself at that point if there are better/more efficient devices that can accomplish your needs, and that make use of the best technology has to offer. If your answer at that time is yes, sell your current machine and upgrade.

 

[mfuchs88]

You can either have something small, or something proprietary. Not both.
.

But the whole point of the proprietary parts is for them to be small.. The standard parts are big, the proprietary parts are small. Therefore, you can have both. Correct me if I'm wrong here but I just don't fully understand your statement. Maybe someone can clarify.

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Wow. I don't know how I typed that. What I meant to say was:

You can either have something small, or something non-proprietary (using off the shelf components). Not both.

Thanks for the correction.

Never mind, I see I've been beat to it. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[HiRez]

This has resulted in iFixit dubbing the machine "the least repairable laptop we've taken apart"

I dub iFixIt's Repairability Factor "the least useful factor I've ever heard of".

 

[apolloa]

I just want to add my air of concern over the battery's! Glued in??!!!

I hope Apple have thought about this and made them so they CAN be replaced by someApple technician at least without scratching or denting the casing!!!

 

[pilgrim2812]

First disposable high-end laptop.

Since these systems cannot be repaired, buy the full 3 years of Applecare for your protection. Hopefully, your batteries will surpass the maximum number of cycles before Applecare expires. If you are lucky you will get another couple of years use before the 5 years period arrives where you can buy another Macbook Pro and write it off on your taxes.

 

[Nostromo]

As you can't do things yourself, you have to buy Applecare, and put it into the price of the machine, which is now $2500 for the entry level model.

Repairs must be crazily expensive.

 

[ussatlantis]

what an amazing piece of engineering.

 

[Makman8]

Okay lets be honest here, everyone buys iPhone's and iPad's that you can't really change in anyway except maybe a battery here and a screen there. I don't really see people complaining about upgrading the CPU, ram, graphics, storage, etc... I think we have just gotten so used to being able to have the option to change our computers at will, we don't want to think what its like without that option.

Now I love being able tinker with my computer if I think my HD is slow or I don't have enough ram. Heck back in the day I wish I could of upgraded my 12 inch Powerbooks crappy graphics card, but I couldn't . So instead I sold it and bought a newer Macbook Pro Unibody. But I didn't really complain about that because laptops don't really have graphics card updates, it was something I accepted.

Who knows, maybe once this becomes more common there will be more alternatives to expansion. But until then Apple hasn't discontinued anything yet, only gave us another choice when buying computers Fingers crossed.

 

[mully1121]

Fans are more reliable than optical drives and hard drives. The fan is just a motor, but the drives are motors with other moving parts in there.

In all of my experience, I've never seen a fan fail, but I've seen plenty of hard drives and optical drives die. My cousin's stupid Windows laptop came with a Blu Ray drive that broke very quickly. Luckily, it had insurance for water damage, so he dumped coffee on it and got a new one.

Well in my experience my optical drives have never had issues but I had to replace the fans twice in one year on my 2006 MPB (that's both fans, twice).

 

[bhtooefr]

Okay lets be honest here, everyone buys iPhone's and iPad's that you can't really change in anyway except maybe a battery here and a screen there. I don't really see people complaining about upgrading the CPU, ram, graphics, storage, etc... I think we have just gotten so used to being able to have the option to change our computers at will, we don't want to think what its like without that option.

Now I love being able tinker with my computer if I think my HD is slow or I don't have enough ram. Heck back in the day I wish I could of upgraded my 12 inch Powerbooks crappy graphics card, but I couldn't . So instead I sold it and bought a newer Macbook Pro Unibody. But I didn't really complain about that because laptops don't really have graphics card updates, it was something I accepted.

Who knows, maybe once this becomes more common there will be more alternatives to expansion. But until then Apple hasn't discontinued anything yet, only gave us another choice when buying computers Fingers crossed.

The difference is, due to the way cell phone contracts work, you only pay "$200" for a phone, so it's no big deal if you have to replace it every 2 years.

If you pay $2200, $3000, $3800 for a computer... it's a bit bigger deal to keep the lifespan as long as possible.