October 21st, 2009
iFixit: Disassembling the new MacBook unibody
Almost immediately after being announced, iFixIt.com did a teardown (YouTube video) the new “unibody” polycarbonate MacBook.
As has been previously noted Apple has added a LED display, upgraded processor, added curves, increased battery life. Apple has also quietly removed the FireWire port, IR port, and the useful external battery indicator. iFixit notes that Apple has made the new MacBook harder to disassemble by using a combination of Phillips, tri-wing, and Torx screws.
Points of interest:
- Apple’s certainly giving us quite the screw variety on this machine. We’ve found tri-wing, Phillips #00, T6, T7, and T8 Torx screws.
- The Bluetooth antenna has been relocated to the display assembly. This is likely an attempt to improve the MacBook’s notoriously dismal Bluetooth range. On previous MacBooks the Bluetooth antenna was located above the optical drive.
- The battery is 60 watt-hours, the same capacity as the 13″ MacBook Pro. The previous plastic MacBooks featured a 55 watt-hour battery and claimed a 5-hour run time. With this machine, Apple has added 5 watt-hours of battery capacity and two hours of claimed run time.
- The new MacBook’s battery boasts a power-to-weight ratio that’s 23.5% better than its predecessor.
- Some disassembly is required to replace the battery, which is readily accessible by ordinary users with the right tools.
- Apple removed the IR port for a remote control. As far as we know, that makes this MacBook the only currently-shipping Apple laptop that doesn’t support a remote.
- FireWire is gone! If you need FireWire, only a MacBook Pro will do.
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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