Hey everyone!
Kelsea here.
Is it me, or does it seem like Apple is trying to shake things up this year?
First they got rid of the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, then they ditched all the standard
laptop ports in favor of only Thunderbolt 3, and now they’ve replaced the age old
function keys with a cool new touchbar.
While all of these changes may get easier to deal with over time, how will they affect
the repairability of the Macbook Pro?
Well we’ve got the 13” MacBook Pro[a] on our Teardown table and we’re ready to
find out.
As we just opened up the MacBook pro with function keys last week, we know just how
to get into this new Pro.
We remove the pentalobes, pop the clips, and lift the lid off with a familiar sliding maneuver.
We tackle the trackpad first and are happy to see that it can be removed without taking
out the logic board.
We can also happily report that the trackpads from these respective models are identical,
and likely cross-compatible.
The Trackpad has its own set of chips including the ST Microelectronics ARM Cortex-M3 MCU
and the Broadcom Touch Controller.
In order to remove the battery, the fans, and the speakers we had to first take out
the logic board.
Did you notice we hadn’t yet mentioned removing the SSD?
Well here’s why, your flash storage now comes as these SanDisk NAND flash storage
chips meaning replacing or upgrading your SSD is no longer an option.
We also find the Intel Core i5 processor with Intel Iris graphics 550,
what is likely the custom apple t1 chip that pairs with the touchbar and the 8 GB of Samsung
made DDR3 DRAM which is also soldered to the logic board.
To see the complete list of chips we’ve identified, head on over to the teardown at
ifixit.com.
We’ve seen fingerprint scanners on laptops for quite a while, but this is the first time
it’s been on a MacBook Pro.
We pinch off the sapphire crystal plate and take a look at the hardware consisting of
a button coupled with capacitive sensors.
Yay for biometrics.
Rest in peace magsafe you were a good pal.
Next out is one of two USB-C ports that can handle charging, displayport, thunderbolt,
and USB 3.1 Gen 2.
With that port removed we can finally get to the fans.
These fans measure 43mm in diameter which is slightly smaller than the one we found
in the entry level macbook pro but this model comes with 2.
Once we remove the fans and pry out the speakers, which are interestingly not located under
the speaker grills, we’re left with this 49.2-watt-hour battery
This battery assembly is entirely, and very solidly, glued into the case, thus complicating
replacement.
Let’s hope these Pro batteries are less excitable than the Note 7’s.
Lastly we come to the Touch bar which is solidly glued to the upper case.Breaking out the iOpener
we are about to show you how to..break the touchbar.
Our efforts to separate the OLED panel from the upper case resulted in the digitizer separating
from the display and some slight chipping of the OLED.
Our dreams of a repairable touchbar are crushed for now, hopefully we find a better way to
do this in the future.
We’ve come to the end of our teardown, so it’s time to reflect on repairability.
How did the 13’’ MacBook Pro with Touchbar score?
It got an 1 out 10 and here’s why...
On the upside: The trackpad can be removed without first removing the battery.
But on the downside: * Proprietary pentalobe screws continue to
make working on the device unnecessarily difficult.
* The battery assembly is entirely, and very solidly, glued into the case, thus complicating
replacement.
The processor, RAM, and flash memory are soldered to the logic board.
The Touch Bar adds a second, difficult to replace, screen to damage.
The Touch ID sensor doubles as the power switch, and is paired with the T1 chip on the logic
board.
Fixing a broken power switch may require help from Apple, or a new logic board.
And that’s our Teardown!
For the complete teardown including tons of beautiful high quality images head on over
to ifixit.com.
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and repair videos.
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[a]13'' MacBook Pro with touch bar?