Teardown Reveals New MacBook Pro Without Touch Bar Has Removable SSD

[Santabean2000]

I think the gluing of the battery in modern devices is a safety thing, Apple isnt the only one that does it in devices that dont have a typical user replaceable battery. There is always gonna be a slight bit of tolerance in where the battery sits, along with the ribbon cable usually associated with it, you want little stress on it all.

I think you'll find it's more about planned obsolesce... Same with the limited RAM options. Gotta keep people moving on, apparently.

I'm really unsure where to go now. I haven't bought a new Mac since 2012; I have the last cMBP 15".

The reality is that Apple no longer makes the Mac that I need, or at least not at a price that is justifiable. I can see me investing in some new, larger SSDs for my mini and MBP to extend their life for longer, but at the end of that time - then what..?!

 

[oldmacs]

I think you'll find it's more about planned obsolesce... Same with the limited RAM options. Gotta keep people moving on, apparently.

I'm really unsure where to go now. I haven't bought a new Mac since 2012; I have the last cMBP 15".

The reality is that Apple no longer makes the Mac that I need, or at least not at a price that is justifiable. I can see me investing in some new, larger SSDs for my mini and MBP to extend their life for longer, but at the end of that time - then what..?!

I'm in the same situation. However, My 2012 cMBP was replaced with a rMBP by Apple last year - I sold it and went back and bought a top of the line (i7) 2012 cMBP and put a 1TB SSD in - That should get me through 5 or so years, but after that...

 

[Floris]

"- Laptop automatically turns on when you open it regardless of pressing power button"

How do I clean my screen?
jk, apple>sleep

 

[RevToTheRedline]

I think you'll find it's more about planned obsolesce... Same with the limited RAM options. Gotta keep people moving on, apparently.

I'm really unsure where to go now. I haven't bought a new Mac since 2012; I have the last cMBP 15".

The reality is that Apple no longer makes the Mac that I need, or at least not at a price that is justifiable. I can see me investing in some new, larger SSDs for my mini and MBP to extend their life for longer, but at the end of that time - then what..?!

I think apples push for a post PC world is becoming more clear with the introduction of iPad's that out perform their certain notebooks, name the retina MacBook. combined with the obviously death of the Mac Pro and Mac mini, and this Imo incremental update to a popular pro product. I feel I'm typing on the last apple computer I ever will own. I grew up in the windows environment, was a huge system builder and dipped into programming a little on the windows ecosystem. eventually to the point of getting fed up with it all and moving to windows with the iMac listed in my sig. But I feel the day of going back to the windows platform is nearing when the use of my MBP ends. I can say right now I wouldn't be buying a 2016 MacBook Pro if this one died on me right now, EVEN when im very tied into final cut pro. If. need be Ill make the switch. I'm hoping in a few years Apple wakes back up.

 

[oldmacs]

I think you'll find it's more about planned obsolesce... Same with the limited RAM options. Gotta keep people moving on, apparently.

Basically! Lets glue a consumable part into the machine, so when it inevitably dies, the repair price is so high that the customer will just buy a new machine. This is why I laugh when Apple bangs on about how environmentally friendly it is. I applaud them for recycling and material use, but beyond that they're terrible.

 

[0388631]

I think the gluing of the battery in modern devices is a safety thing, Apple isnt the only one that does it in devices that dont have a typical user replaceable battery. There is always gonna be a slight bit of tolerance in where the battery sits, along with the ribbon cable usually associated with it, you want little stress on it all.

Glue also acts as a shock absorber. It's a dense product but also somewhat malleable when dry.

Not really - it isn't a standard SSD drive, it's one of those oddly-shaped ones. OWC currently sells the 1TB upgrade for $600, so no real cost savings. In the future, though, it could be useful.

These were roughly $1/GB a year ago, and close to $2 the year before. The price will drop as more manufacturers produce them. Just look at the landslide of SATA SSDs in the last 3 years.

 

[shareef777]

the rMB isn't a very viable option to compare with a pro device that should have removable features, of course RAM not being one of them for quite some time.

Well Apple hasn't really been treating their 'Pro' laptops as such recently.

 

[swester]

You mean one of the newer M.2 SSDs? The 1TB Sammy 960 EVO NVMe M.2 can be pre-ordered for $480.

That doesn't look like it fits the same connector as in the teardown.

 

[Nermal]

"Laptop automatically turns on when you open it regardless of pressing power button". That's actually pretty cool.

So long as there's an option to disable it. I don't really want the whole system to boot up when going through airport security (some airports ask you to open the lid).

 

[Kobayagi]

After reading lots of these comments since that lame keynote: guys, make me CEO of Apple and I promise, within 1 year, everyone will be happy!

We will all have thicker (yes, you read that right) MacBooks with useful ports, magsafe and sd-card slots. They'll have powerful gpus and 64gb ram for those who need it. And hey, we'll throw in a extension cable and make the Apple logo glow again.

We'll make a new Thunderbolt display and new Mac Pros and iMacs for you to connect them with. iPhones will lose the lightning port, because who needs that when there's usb-c and we'll include 2 of those on every Mac, just in case if you ever need one next to usb-a. Most importantly, we'll keep the prices lower so people can actually buy them. Less money but more volume is I believe better than less volume with more money.

But seriously, how freaking hard can it be to just give your customers what they'll actually want. Just for once don't be so extremely cheap. It's not like you're close to bankruptcy.

 

[BeSweeet]

Because the last new laptop (rMB) released did NOT. So the assumption most people had was they'd solder the SSD on. I always assumed it wouldn't be soldered on as support logistics would be a nightmare. That would mandate that anyone buying the machine have a TimeMachine backup in case of ANY potential failure. Memory dimm fails, all your data is gone. That's a pretty ****** proposition.

You're right -- the 12" retina MacBooks have the flash memory soldered to the mainboard. Everything else does have removable drives.

 

[RevToTheRedline]

After reading lots of these comments since that lame keynote: guys, make me CEO of Apple and I promise, within 1 year, everyone will be happy!

We will all have thicker (yes, you read that right)

I just can't wrap my head around why they needed to go thinner than the ~2015 models, is this really a complaint people have? the previous gen was thin enough to be a very portable pro machine. There are always ultra books like the retina MacBook for people that want just a light duty portable unit, but why all of a sudden apples race to thin the pro, in the name of removing things.

 

[oldmacs]

After reading lots of these comments since that lame keynote: guys, make me CEO of Apple and I promise, within 1 year, everyone will be happy!

We will all have thicker (yes, you read that right) MacBooks with useful ports, magsafe and sd-card slots. They'll have powerful gpus and 64gb ram for those who need it. And hey, we'll throw in a extension cable and make the Apple logo glow again.

We'll make a new Thunderbolt display and new Mac Pros and iMacs for you to connect them with. iPhones will lose the lightning port, because who needs that when there's usb-c and we'll include 2 of those on every Mac, just in case if you ever need one next to usb-a. Most importantly, we'll keep the prices lower so people can actually buy them. Less money but more volume is I believe better than less volume with more money.

But seriously, how freaking hard can it be to just give your customers what they'll actually want. Just for once don't be so extremely cheap. It's not like you're close to bankruptcy.

Yay!

IMHO Apple should offer thin options and options for people who want thicker and expandable.

 

[Kobayagi]

I just can't wrap my head around why they needed to go thinner than the ~2015 models, is this really a complaint people have? the previous gen was thin enough to be a very portable pro machine. There are always ultra books like the retina MacBook for people that want just a light duty portable unit, but why all of a sudden apples race to thin the pro, in the name of removing things.

Because they are insane. They compared it to the Air. Well, I have a 13" Air and the last thing I wish is for it to be even thinner. That means, losing usb ports, magsafe and the sd-card slot. YAY for the 3mm less machine. + The battery got reduced heavily. Don't have the numbers, but it's a lot smaller. They say you'll still get 10 hours because Skylake is more efficient, but I doubt it. We'll have to wait for a few tests.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Interesting. Looks like 13" entry is significantly different from the one with touchbar... According to Apple website, that one has two fans...

I reckon that's a mistake on the website. Two-fan model is likely the 15". Unless the extra oomph of the 2.9Ghz needs an extra fan.

 

[RevToTheRedline]

Yay!

IMHO Apple should offer thin options and options for people who want thicker and expandable.

^ THIS!! Now I wouldn't wanna go too crazy, but something in the way of like Razer just did with the new Blade Pro, its still a very manageable .8" which is very portable in my eyes, but its a monster powerhouse inside.

I know Apple wants to keep it simple and even more so than ever now since it looks like they offer a handful of computers now, iMac, MacBook Pro, and MacBook 12". But the Pro easily could have been setup as two different power levels, a thinner and usable system as it is now, and something a little thicker with options for people that want it, the MacOS ecosystem is still huge in the pro world. But apple is pushing themselves from it.

 

[inhalexhale1]

It's only because they sniffed all the glue before deciding on prices.

Haha, this is the best comment so far.

 

[RevToTheRedline]

Because they are insane. They compared it to the Air. Well, I have a 13" Air and the last thing I wish is for it to be even thinner. That means, losing usb ports, magsafe and the sd-card slot. YAY for the 3mm less machine. + The battery got reduced heavily. Don't have the numbers, but it's a lot smaller. They say you'll still get 10 hours because Skylake is more efficient, but I doubt it. We'll have to wait for a few tests.

I doubt the battery life too, its only 2 watts more efficient on the top end, its still a 45w cpu vs 47w. the GPU if optioned can be a bit more efficient than the m370x but we shall see, thats a lot less battery density for almost the same power draw.

 

[Kobayagi]

I doubt the battery life too, its only 2 watts more efficient on the top end, its still a 45w cpu vs 47w. the GPU if optioned can be a bit more efficient than the m370x but we shall see, thats a lot less battery density for almost the same power draw.

I see you have a top of the line 2015 15", I'm guessing you're gonna keep it for years and not upgrade? I'm seriously considering buying a 2015 model. I'm just not too sure about the Haswell cpu.
[doublepost=1477700267][/doublepost]

Yay!

IMHO Apple should offer thin options and options for people who want thicker and expandable.

Well, they kinda had that, with the MacBook being the thin one and the rMBP being the ''think" one, thats actually useful for work.

 

[JTToft]

I reckon that's a mistake on the website. Two-fan model is likely the 15".

- Don't think so. The design video quite clearly showcases the 13" with two fans.

Also check the physical proportions on the image above and the lack of a dGPU. Fits with 13".

 

[RevToTheRedline]

I see you have a top of the line 2015 15", I'm guessing you're gonna keep it for years and not upgrade? I'm seriously considering buying a 2015 model. I'm just not too sure about the Haswell cpu.

I wasn't in the market, but upset for people that were, which a lot of them were, admittedly the mid 2015 was a disappointment to some, not to me because I upgraded from a 2007 Core 2 iMac to this. But a lot of people were wanting to upgrade from 2010, 2011, 2012 MacBooks and what they were given to me doesn't feel any better and in some ways worse than the 2015.

I dont want to leave apple because final cut pro but If this 2016 and beyond is what to come, Ill likely be going back to an iMac.. as my main system.

The Haswell i7-4980HQ which was the best option in the 2015 is actually higher performance than the best option in the 2016 which is the skylake i7-6920HQ.. I can't find a single benchmark that the 4980 doesn't beat it. Course the skylake gave the option of TB3 which I wish I had.

 

[Promackid]

Based on the pictures of the 13" with touch bar's logic board that apple provides. It looks that it has a soldered in SSD unlike the base model 13" MacBook Pro. Comparing the picture of the board to the tear down pictures iFixit has of the 12" MacBook board it shows that the 13" With touch bar has some chips that look very similar to that of the SSD Controller and NAND of the 12". Also there is no where else that the SSD would be unless it is hidden somewhere in the battery area. Real Shame that apple is making a $1800+ "Pro" Machine that if it gets some water on, has a failed ram chip, dead GPU, ect. all your data is gone unless someone fixes the board itself and with apple hiding all schematics and items needed to fix the board this is a move in the wrong direction if you ask me.

 

[Count Blah]

I think you'll find it's more about planned obsolesce... Same with the limited RAM options. Gotta keep people moving on, apparently.

I'm really unsure where to go now. I haven't bought a new Mac since 2012; I have the last cMBP 15".

The reality is that Apple no longer makes the Mac that I need, or at least not at a price that is justifiable. I can see me investing in some new, larger SSDs for my mini and MBP to extend their life for longer, but at the end of that time - then what..?!

We are brothers from another mother. I am in the exact same boat, with the same exact attitude/plan.

See my sig
VVVVVVVV

 

[gertruded]

Well, what do I do now. My 2012 Macbook air is my main computer. Just can not justify the new pricing. Getting a refurb is one possibility, extending my use of Mac's for a few more years. But the in your face greed of the new pricing is just not acceptable.

I also need a new phone, but if I can't stay in the Apple system an iPhone is out of the question.

 

[JTToft]

Based on the pictures of the 13" with touch bar's logic board that apple provides. It looks that it has a soldered in SSD unlike the base model 13" MacBook Pro. Comparing the picture of the board to the tear down pictures iFixit has of the 12" MacBook board it shows that the 13" With touch bar has some chips that look very similar to that of the SSD Controller and NAND of the 12". Also there is no where else that the SSD would be unless it is hidden somewhere in the battery area

- I think that's exactly spot on!