At the presentation of Spring Forward, Apple has updated line of MacBook Pro laptops and Air, who received the new processors Intel Broadwell, faster SSD drives and trackpad Force Touch, which is able to respond to the pressing force.
IFixit team immediately got hold of one copy of each news to dismantle them and to assess whether they are suitable for repair in case of failure of key elements. In testing participated MacBook Air with 11- and 13-inch screens, and MacBook Pro with 13-inch display.It turned out that for dismantling new products requires special equipment, and replacement of broken parts and reverse assembly can cause a specialist even more difficult. This particularly applies to the MacBook Pro, which has been recognized by almost unfit for repair.
First underwent autopsy MacBook Air 11 Early 2015 (A1465).
Compared with the previous model, the internal arrangement of the key elements is not changed.
Were found inside the battery with 5100 mAh battery, dual-core processor of the fifth-generation Intel Core i5 graphics Intel HD Graphics 6000, 128GB drive, 4 GB of RAM LPDDR3, wireless module supports including Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Thunderbolt port 2 and two microphones. It is worth noting that the new processor Broadwell built on 14-nm process technology, which is 30% more energy efficient.
The strong point of the MacBook Air is the high availability of all components. The battery takes quite a lot of space inside the case, but it is easily detached. On the other hand, the use of proprietary components Apple until the screws for fastening parts, excludes the possibility of upgrading the notebook. Many of the elements are soldered to the logic board and moving them is practically impossible. As a result, MacBook Air 11 received 4 points out of 10 on the rating scale maximum maintainability iFixit, which is quite low.
As for the MacBook Air 13 Early 2015 (A1466), the situation is almost the same as in the low-end model. The main difference is the screen diagonal of the Intel SSD and the new generation (in the MacBook Air 11 SSD installed two years ago).
Here repairers are facing absolutely the same problems: almost all of the components are proprietary, exclusive free replacement. MacBook Air 13 got the same 4 points that Air 11. Experts warn that without special tools and specific skills laymen could accidentally damage the device.
Much more interesting is the case with the new MacBook Pro. In the hands of iFixit team got a 13-inch model A1502. In contrast to the MacBook Air, is set Retina-matrix with a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels. Device design and layout of the electronic "filling" is also virtually unchanged.
Installed inside the processor Intel Core i5, RAM 8GB LPDDR3, from 128 GB to 1 TB internal memory, graphics Intel Iris Graphics 6100, two Thunderbolt ports, USB 3.0, and a full-size HDMI I / O. The logic board with the cooling system is quite larger than in previous models, the location of the battery is slightly different, but in general the batteries also occupy a significant amount within the notebook.
MacBook Pro Retina Display 13 Early in 2015 received a total score of 1 out of 10 repairability. This means that the laptop in case of failure will be extremely difficult to repair. First of all, here are set all the same proprietary screws and electronic components, such as RAM and SSD, which hinder easy replacement and upgrade laptop after purchase. In contrast to the MacBook Air battery is very firmly glued to the body, making it difficult to move. In addition, the trackpad screw under the battery, so it can not be replaced without disconnecting the battery. Headache owner and repairers is the laptop screen, which is a thin layer of solid matrix and without protective glass layer of air between them, and hence in the case of damage to any part of the replacement will be subject to full screen. Needless to say that the cost of the display is relatively high?
Unfortunately, the team iFixit has not shared details of opening of the main novelties Apple - 12-inch MacBook with a passive cooling system and "smart" watches Watch.
To get acquainted with a detailed report from iFixit maintainability can be on the links below:
