Repair site iFixit took apart the new Apple MacBook Air and discovered, unsurprisingly, that Apple would really rather you didn’t. The notoriously secretive company used a proprietary screw on the outside of the machine, which iFixit eventually got around by filing several flathead screwdrivers. From there, just about everything but the Air’s notable SSD (solid-state drive) was soldered down. That included the RAM, which prevents the notebook from being upgradeable. Also notable on the Air, even before the team pried off its back, is the inclusion of a USB drive for software reinstallation (as the Air doesn’t have an optical drive), the power button’s relocation to the keyboard and the shrinking of the power adapter. Less obvious without a Torx screwdriver: the SSD is completely custom, “putting another nail in the coffin for user-serviceability,” reported iFixit, which awarded Apple a low 4 out of 10 for “repairability.” Take a look at what iFixit found in the MacBook Air, which was introduced Oct. 20. (Images 1, 4 and 5 are courtesy of Apple.)
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Apple MacBook Air Teardown: iFixit Goes Where Apple Prefers You Don't
by Michelle Maisto
Apple MacBook Air
Apple introduced new 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air notebooks Oct. 20. They offer a choice of 1.4GHz or 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 64GB or 128GB of flash storage and 2GB or 4GB or DDR3 SDRAM. “Go for 4GB,” advises iFixit, as the notebooks can’t be upgraded.
Solid-State Drive
A major difference in the new MacBook Air is that Apple replaced the hard drive with a solid-state drive comprised of six chips—four 16GB flash chips from Toshiba, a Toshiba SSD controller and a Micron DDR DRAM cache chip.
Battery
The inside of the MacBook Air is dominated by the battery, which comprises six individual lithium-polymer cells. The 11-inch Air is said to offer five hours of battery life, while the 13-inch model gets seven. Both feature 30 days of standby time.
MacBook Air
The 11.6-inch display on the smaller MacBook Air features a resolution of 1,366 by 768 pixels. iFixit found that Apple also “substantially enhanced the rigidity of the display assembly.”
Apple MacBook Pro
According to iFixit, the WiFi/Bluetooth chip in the new MacBook Air is the same as the use used in its line of MacBook Pro notebooks, pictured here.
Apple MacBook Air
Apple’s “tidy little package” all undone is pictured here. In conclusion, iFixit reported, “We wish Apple would stop intentionally preventing users from upgrading and repairing their devices.”
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Repair site iFixit took apart the new Apple MacBook Air and discovered, unsurprisingly, that Apple would really rather you didn’t. The notoriously secretive company used a proprietary screw on the outside of the machine, which iFixit eventually got around by filing several flathead screwdrivers. From there, just about everything but the Air’s notable SSD (solid-state drive) was soldered down. That included the RAM, which prevents the notebook from being upgradeable. Also notable on the Air, even before the team pried off its back, is the inclusion of a USB drive for software reinstallation (as the Air doesn’t have an optical drive), the power button’s relocation to the keyboard and the shrinking of the power adapter. Less obvious without a Torx screwdriver: the SSD is completely custom, “putting another nail in the coffin for user-serviceability,” reported iFixit, which awarded Apple a low 4 out of 10 for “repairability.” Take a look at what iFixit found in the MacBook Air, which was introduced Oct. 20. (Images 1, 4 and 5 are courtesy of Apple.)