iFixIt Teardown Awards 12-IInch Retina MacBook Lowest Possible Repairability Score

iFixIt has posted its illustrated teardown of the new 12-inch MacBook Retina.

They note that this new MacBook is less than half the thickness of the last Apple notebook called just “MacBook” back in 2009, but that machine had a MagSafe connecter, Ethernet, a Mini DisplayPort, 2x USB ports, an audio port, an internal optical drive, and a security slot. The new MacBook has a single USB-C port and an audio port. This means, among other things, that if you want to charge your MacBook and use a USB device at the same time, you’ll need a $79 adapter.

Photo Courtesy iFixIt

They also observe that Apple has stuck to their recent tradition of using tamperproof 5-point pentalobe screws for the new MacBook, and it seems that most everything that’s not screwed is glued, with complex new cable routing and unorthodox spring clip fasteners. In other words, don’t even think of doing a Retina MacBook teardown or internal repair yourself.

iFixIt gives the new MacBook The MacBook 2015 its lowest possible repairability score: 1 out of 10 (ie: 10 being easiest to repair), citing proprietary pentalobe screws that make opening the device unnecessarily difficult, new cable routing makes the procedure even trickier; the USB-C port secured by tri-wing screws, and buried under the display brackets; and they warn that since it is the only port handling I/O, charging, and video out, it will receive more use and incur more wear than a typical single-purpose port. Moreover, the battery assembly is entirely, and very solidly, glued into the lower case, and the Retina display is a fused unit with no separate, protective glass, so if it ever needs replacing, it’ll cost you plenty, and the processor, RAM, and flash memory are hard-soldered to the logic board.

You can read the full teardown notes here:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Retina+Macbook+2015+Teardown/39841

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