Introdução
It's a teardown-o-rama! We're on teardown Round 3 this week, and we just won't stop. Our next contender: the newcomer MacBook Pro 13" Retina Display. This year's edition is a lightweight, but we're sure it'll pack a punch. No matter what it's packing, it's no match for our teeming teardown tacklers. Join us as we battle our way into Apple's latest laptop.
But wait, there's more: punch in your Facebook, jab(ber) on your Twitter, and catch a hook with your Instagram, and make sure you never miss a round.
O que você precisa
Vídeo de Apresentação
-
-
We've done this seven times before, but biting into a 13-inch professional-grade Apple is always a juicy treat.
-
Let's check out the latest tech specs:
-
13.3-inch 2560-by-1600 pixel (227 ppi) retina display
-
2.4 or 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Optional 2.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 available)
-
4, 8 or 16 GB DDR3L on-board RAM
-
128, 256, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD storage
-
Intel Iris Graphics
-
Thunderbolt 2, USB 3, and full-size HDMI I/O
-
-
-
Right away we spy something unfamiliar: Model A1502 has never before been seen in the wild. Does that mean this critter's all new? We're about to find out.
-
Starboard-side ports include:
-
SDXC Card Slot
-
Full-size HDMI with 1080p output
-
USB 3.0
-
More ports on the port side!
-
Another USB 3.0
-
2x Thunderbolt 2
-
-
-
By now, we're not even surprised to find the lower case held in place by pentalobe screws. Just ... disappointed.
-
It looks like this new revision has lost its cool—or at least half of it, as we're now down to a single fan.
-
Apple's holiday redecorating didn't stop there: rearranged cabling, a displaced SSD, and a drastically revised battery now deck these halls.
Does anybody notice there is a small connector sitting right above the SSD in step 3? I just noticed it after opening my own MBP. What's it for? Diagnostic? It's gone in 2015 models.
-
-
-
As ever, Apple warns of tragic consequences if we attempt to service, remove, or engage in polite conversation with the battery.
-
Warning, schmorning—you know how we feel about these labels.
-
First rule of disassembly: disconnect the power. There is no shock like forgetting where the power lies.
-
We pop off the battery connector, but that fancy new battery controller board ain't goin' nowhere.
-
Those little screws, they do nothing! The board hosts some tricky wires that are soldered and routed to hold it in place. This assembly is turning into a serious brain teaser.
-
-
-
We spudger our way through the antenna cables and extract the slumbering AirPort card.
-
Don't worry—we promise to put it back before it wakes up.
-
It may reside in the same right-side location as ye olde model, but this here Broadcom BCM94360CS is a different animal.
-
New 802.11ac Wi-Fi tech claims triple the performance of 802.11n.
There are three antennas, I think. They can be seen on the first picture at step five.
Are these antenna's going into the plastic part underneath the screen?
-
-
-
Taking a peek under the covers of the revised AirPort Card, we find:
-
Broadcom BCM4360 5G Wi-Fi 3-Stream 802.11ac Gigabit Transceiver
-
Broadcom BCM20702 Single-Chip Bluetooth Processor with a High Performance Integrated 2.4-GHz RF Transceiver
-
Skyworks SE5516 Dual-Band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN Front-End Module
-
-
-
SSDs may not spin like other hard-disk drives, but the one in the 13" MacBook Pro Retina sure does like to hop around!
-
This Pro comes with a base 128 GB of flash storage, with the larger models sporting 256 or 512 GB.
-
Notable bits and pieces:
-
SanDisk 05131 016G 16 GB NAND Flash (total of 8 x 16 GB = 128 GB)
-
Marvell Semiconductor 88SS9183 SSD Controller
-
SK Hynix H5TQ2G63DFR DDR3-1600
Since you have torn down both the new 13" and 15" rMBPs, can you advise whether the PCIe SSD modules are cross-compatible between models (and with the mid 2013 Airs)? I.e do they use the same PCIe connector and are they the same physical size?
I would hope after much chopping and changing that Apple has finally settled on a common module design, making it easier to repair / upgrade one of the few remaining user-replaceable parts.
i just bought a MBP today, and i think the SSD size will be a problem for me in some years because i bought the 128GB model, do you think that i would can buy a new SSD in the future?
So, is the SSD in fact upgradable and can someone give example of where to get modules?
It is indeed upgradeable, Transcend is on to it. But as long as the SSD-controllers are rare it will take some time.
What's that RAM module here? I've seen the main RAM solded on de MB...
-
-
-
-
Wingardium leviosa! The I/O board cable practically floats out of its sockets.
-
Our handy-dandy
magic wandPro Tech Screwdriver makes speaker screw removal seem like magic. -
Another swish and flick and the speakers are charmed out of the rear case.
-
We're happy to report that these speakers-who-must-not-be-named are fairly easy to remove—no dark magic required.
How easy is the speakers removal? But it is difficult to return back
Can you help
-
-
Ferramenta utilizada neste passo:iOpener$17.99
-
To make matters worse, the screwed-in battery caddies of yesteryear have moved over the trackpad, burying the poor thing alive.
-
We launch the rescue effort with our friends, iOpener and plastic card; after a hearty swig of patience, we set to work.
-
Victory! At long last, the awkward battery assembly is wrested from the case.
Hi iFixers,
Spilling half a glass of sparkling water on a MBP-13" retina (late 2013) is not best idea. Washing and drying all PCBs got it back to work for few months, but recently battery stoped charging. I noticed few pins around one SMD chip of battery charging controller were corroded. I got an iOpener kit and a new battery.
I can say iOpener is fantastic. Although I did not use much plastic card part of the tool kit as it is difficult to insert between case edges and smallest batteries on each side. Instead I used a rectangular painting palette knife (2 1/2 x 1/2 in) which is quite flexible and perfect dimension. It took me around 30 minutes to get old battery pack out, reheating iOpener 4 or 5 times, inserting palette gently under each cells (one by one) and slowly rocking palette underneath to gradually cut melted glue layer.
MBP works again as a new one, charging happily.
Thanks to iFixit guys....
Pierre d, Aug 12, 2014
Hi,
Where did you buy your new battery? My battery stopped working after I dropped water on my computer.
Thank you,
-
-
-
Take a look at that six pack!
-
Here's the muscle: coming in at 71.8 Wh this 11.34 V battery is ever-so-slightly down on oomph from last year. But thanks to other improvements, Apple claims a 9-hour battery life during normal use.
-
With the battery free, we finally get a better look at the connector.
-
It's certainly nice to see a more conventional battery connector, rather than the earlier revision's contact board shenanigans. But at what cost, Apple?
-
-
-
We spudge off some sticky foam screw coverings and remove the heat sink to find...goopy thermal paste.
-
The CPU and GPU share the same large die on the right, and the southbridge(PCH) on the left
Occurs to me that replacing thermal paste would be 6 out of 10 repairability. Do you concur?
The GPU does not make any contact with the heat spreader. It will have a sudden death leaving the main board as a wreck. Stupid design.
Typing this on a well-worn 7 year-old Late 2013 MacBook Pro and my GPU hasn’t died yet
-
-
-
With the heat sink gone, it's time to cool off! Well, time to take the fan off at least.
-
The brushless Nidec fan isn't blowing us away with any new innovations, but we appreciate its efforts to keep things from boiling over.
-
-
Hey hello,
Have question about the pins on the Logic Board you have 5 of it totally they are with spring like a button where are they for? 1 of mine is broken can that be the reason my mac is not booting any more?
Regards,
Base
Flexible ground contact with the rear case. Macbook should boot without them, as it can boot without the rear case.
-
-
A few measly connectors are all that stand between us and total logic board liberation; they are dealt with harshly.
-
The MBP's secrets can run, but they can't hide. Also, they can't really run. That would be a cool upgrade, though.
-
-
-
Here it comes, the component we've all been waiting for: the logic board! Here's what we've got for ICs:
-
Intel SR18A Core i5-4258U Processor
-
Micron D9PXV 4 Gb (512 MB) DDR3L SDRAM (total of 8 * 512 MB = 4 GB)
-
Cirrus 4208-CRZ Two-Channel Low Power HD Audio Codec
-
Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller
-
Fairchild Semiconductor DD18BB 220A
-
Texas Instruments 58872D TI 37 CF61 E4
-
K03P0 2L4 62DP
-
-
-
Back side of logic board:
-
Micron D9PXV 4 Gb (512 MB) DDR3L SDRAM
-
MXIC MX25L6406E 64M-bit CMOS Serial Flash
-
Texas Instruments Stellaris LM4FS1EH Microcontroller
-
Cypress CY8C24794-24LTXI Programmable System-on-Chip
-
Broadcom BCM15700A2
-
P13WVR 12612NEE
-
Linear Technology LT3957 B29255
-
-
-
Next to come out is the MagSafe 2 port.
-
We're happy to see that the power adapter resides on its very own connector, meaning that if you need to replace it, you won't need to replace any extra parts along with it.
-
While it still holds the same MagSafe 2 technology, the connector has been updated slightly from previous versions.
-
Flying through components, we come to the dual mic—hidden under a rubber cover. The time for eavesdropping is over, mic; you've been exposed.
-
-
-
Don't worry—steel is weak to fire—we attack with iOpener; it's super effective!
-
Under that hefty metal armor, we find much the same trackpad as in the 2012 edition.
-
ICs include:
-
Macronix MX25L2006E 16M-bit CMOS Serial Flash
-
Broadcom BCM5976 Touchscreen Controller (as found in the earlier versions and the iPhone 5)
-
-
-
The usual black rubber conceals the display hinge screws and some new adhesive.
-
We let this display off with a warning, but if you're dying to see inside, how about a blast from the past?
-
This display, as with its predecessors, must be replaced as an assembly; there's no parting out this bad boy.
-
-
-
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.
I guess the device would have to be completely unrepairable or you'd need to damage other components to get to the defective one. Having to remove the glued-in battery (!) to get to the touchpad fringes on that...
The MacBook is not totally unrepairable; it's just very complicated.
Heng,
From the Ars Technica review of this iFixit teardown: "the CPU and GPU on one long die and the chipset in a second, smaller die". From the iFixit photo the CPU/GPU chip has the thermal goop on it to connect to the heat sink and the chip set does not. This makes sense as the CPU/GPU die is a much bigger power/thermal hog than the chip set.
I have the same model (128G). My technician says he can take out the 128G and put a 512, 8G RAM or a 256, 8G RAM. Is this true?
yes it is possible... you can do it by yourself... you have just to follow the guide until the step 7, replace your 128 gb ssd with another one...
be careful to buy the right ssd... on the very top of this page there is the bottom "PARTS", there you can find the ssd and chose the one that you prefer! when you have to reinstall the OS X, no problem because at the first start you can download it directly from the apple server!
Giorgio -
Thanks Giorgio,
I needed the assurance. This means a lot. Thanks again
-
32 comentários
Not sure if this is something you guys at iFixit have considered as far as environmental impact is concerned (and I could be wrong here as i don't know the process myself). If something needs to be replaced on an Apple product and is returned under warranty or Apple care then the entire unit is replaced for the customer. The defective unit is then repaired, refurbished and resold to the consumer at a refurbished price. That still results in that particular piece of technology being out there in use and not on a scrap heap.
Again I'm not sure if I am missing something in the process here but this seems like a decent way to keep technology in circulation and off the scrap heap, at least if it's covered under warranty or apple care.
Hello Garreth!
I think what’s missing is the ability to fix it yourself to save some cash when it’s out of warranty.
Abdoz A -
I just had to change my 2011 macbook pro 13 inch battery as it was getting pitiful, if there is no way of easily changing the battery it will probably be the last macbook I buy
Is the CPU user replaceable or is it soldered onto the board?
Thanks Apple. Not only are Mac OS and iOS converging but you are turning your laptops into iDevices, ensuring consumers will buy new laptops when they realize that 4 gigs of RAM and/or a 128 GB SSD are not sufficient to run certain apps.
Surely it should not be so difficult to make SDRAM slots and a SSD slot accessible and your designers should be able to come up with a way that will not mess up the aestetics.
Add a 5 YO kid, a sick Lego mini-figure (from now, the patient), an ambulance to move the patient and a hospital, and it will end up in...
YES! A BROKEN SCREEN! My MBPr13 Late 2013 was the hospital, he laid the patient on top of keys 9 and 0 and "closed the chamber". A 700$ hit. Realized how it happened, because of the small circle marks left on the keyboard protector
It's possible to have two hard drives on this model?
well, at part 20, you have wrong angle at your SSD, it should be....
I've owned stores in florida and ohio. I'm old. I must say though, throughout the years mac and microsoft have earned the epithet of being nothing more than profiteering low-down capitalists that we ought to put down permanently (for a myriad of reasons). Linux is the closest thing to an answer I've yet to find out there (ironically barely a hint of being an option in this "free-trade" system of plutocracy which has us all scrambling between rocks and hard places).
As for mac, they earn a higher level of distrust. Why would the enterprising entity want to use unorthodox screw heads if not for manipulation for higher proceeds? We all know the answer but dare not break free from the mold to point our customers in a better direction. Why would an entity want to keep its own customers from accessing (changing/replacing) their own battery or upgrading their own ram or replacing their own drive?). Racketeering with a stolen op sys; Imagine buying a house only to be locked out later. Thanks ifixit
Why for there are 9 indentical DDR3L SDRAM chips if there are only 8 and 16 GB RAM models? if each chip is 512MB so it results in 8.5 GB RAM instead of 8. Is this a rescue one like the spare wheel on a car?
Do you carry the replacement display for this model, i can’t seem to find it on your site
Hi Omar, here is the product page. They’re currently out of stock, but you can be added to the notify list.
I am not going to lie, but the whole time I was reading this teardown process I was laughing out loud the whole time. The Harry Potter references were just spot on! Thank for fantastic teardown.
