Unibody MacBook unzipped
IFixit disassembles Apple's latest laptop
Apple’s new unibody white MacBook was only officially unveiled a few hours ago, but US repair-and-parts shop iFixit has already taken the machine to bits.
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One of the all-new MacBook’s most notable features is its MacBook Pro-esque unibody polycarbonate enclosure, which – according to iFixit, allowed Apple to update the MacBook’s aesthetics with “contoured edges that fit right in with the rest of the unibody line-up”.
IFixit’s teardown also revealed that Apple has removed FireWire support and the IR remote port from the unibody MacBook, while also replacing the Mini-DVI with a Mini DisplayPort and the former two audio jacks with a single audio in/out port.
Apple’s latest MacBook – which carries the new model number “A1342” – now boasts an impressive seven-hour battery life, iFixit said. The machine’s battery life brings it in-line with the run-times of the 13in and 15in MacBook Pros.
Apple's new unibody MacBook, taken apart by iFixit
The unibody MacBook’s battery – which has been upped by 5W/h to 60W/h - is held in place by “both tri-wing and Philips screws”, which – according to iFixit – could be an indication from Apple that it doesn’t want buyers removing the machine’s battery.
IFixit also discovered that the new battery is lighter than the previous MacBook’s battery, which goes some way to explaining why the new machine weighs in at 2131g – 136g lighter than before.
Unlike the earlier plastic MacBook, AirPort and Bluetooth both share the same board – iFixit said. The logic board and heat sink also come out as a single part, again taking lead from the unibody MacBook Pro’s construction – iFixit added.
The new MacBook shown sports an NVidia 9400M GPU and Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz CPU
Some of the unibody MacBook’s smaller changes include, iFixit said, the lack of rubber feet on the machine’s bottom plate and a 50g reduction in the weight of the display assembly - compared to the previous plastic MacBook.
In all iFixit found that the new unibody MacBook is “quite a nice machine to disassemble”, but more information about the firm’s teardown is available online now. ®
COMMENTS
Can you imagine...
Dell or HP coming up with alternative display connectivity and getting away with it without howls of protest?
Apple are such control freaks. Will this make me buy an Apple display, ummn no. Especially at their prices.
Yes, I know you can buy DisplayPort to DVI converters, but I shouldn't have to shell out extra to plug into my standard monitor or TV.
ir
allows me to control my macbook pro with the apple remote - i rather like that :D
The Devil's in the detail
I'd been pricing up a MacBook when I found out another one was on the cards.
The price hike is because it now ships with a 250GB drive rather than a 120GB. It does, however, work out £10 more expensive than the previous version.
But, even better than that, most Apple resellers are currently offering £100 off a new MacBook Pro or iMac if you bring in an old machine so you can get the MacBook Pro for the same price as the MacBook. Simples.
ridiculous pricing compared to mac book pro
title says it all ... ;-)
The missing of firewire is really irking
It has firewire, it doesn't... it has firewire, it doesn't...
This is just another generation of MacBook to be skipped...
Using Firewire over USB for external drives is really preferable for transfer rate, for the reduced CPU utilization, and daisy-chaining drives for multiple mirrored sets.
