iFixit Tears Down the New 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Pros [Photos]

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Posted October 25, 2013 at 3:07pm by iClarified

iFixit has performed its teardown of the new 13-inch and 15-inch Retina Display MacBook Pros.

Unfortunately, both notebooks score a 1 our of 10 for ease of repairability.

MacBook Pro with Retina Display 13" Late 2013 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
● Proprietary pentalobe screws continue to make opening the device unnecessarily difficult.
● The battery assembly is now entirely, and very solidly, glued into the case, thus complicating replacement. Additionally, the battery now covers the screws and cable holding the trackpad in place. It is impossible to replace the trackpad without first removing the battery.
● The Retina display is a fused unit with no protective glass. If anything ever fails inside the display, the entire ($$$) assembly will need to be replaced.
● The RAM is soldered to the logic board, following the lead of the MacBook Air. Pay for the upgrade now, or be stuck with 4 GB forever. There is no chance of upgrade.
● The proprietary SSD is now in a PCIe format, but still isn't a standard drive. Cross your fingers for future compatible drives; for now, you're stuck with what you've got.

iFixit Tears Down the New 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Pros [Photos]

MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15" Late 2013 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
● Proprietary pentalobe screws prevent you from gaining access to anything inside.
● As in the MacBook Air, the RAM is soldered to the logic board. Max out at 16GB now, or forever hold your peace—you can't upgrade.
● The proprietary SSD has changed to a PCIe format, but still isn't a standard 2.5" drive. However, it is a separate daughtercard, and we’re hopeful we can offer an upgrade in the near future.
● The lithium-polymer battery is glued rather than screwed into the case, which increases the chances that it'll break during disassembly. The battery also covers the trackpad cable, which tremendously increases the chance that the user will shear the cable in the battery removal process.
● The display assembly is completely fused, and there’s no glass protecting it. If anything ever fails inside the display, you will need to replace the entire, extremely expensive assembly.

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seaforte - October 26, 2013 at 4:11pm

on a more positive note - Apple laptops rarely need repair AND Apple's customer service is usually an order of magnitude superior to the rest of the market.

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SEQ2 - October 25, 2013 at 3:36pm

Damn lucky I maxed out my order for the 15". After reading this, I'm going ahead with the purchase of AppleCare for this baby. Thanks iFixIt!!

JSON - October 25, 2013 at 10:38pm

Good choice. Better to over estimate and get more than you THINK you will need. In 2 years you may be very well glad when you realize you were wrong in thinking it was enough. Starting to feel like a large iPad though... no repairs, no options beyond what you choose from the beginning.