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Retina MacBook Teardown Reveals iPad-Like Battery Connector, Details Force Touch Trackpad

After Apple revealed the new 12-inch Retina MacBook at its March "Spring Forward (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/09/apple-new-macbook-2015/)" event, the performance and speed of the sleek-but-slightly-underpowered machine came into question by many. Unlike the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the Retina MacBook comes with an Intel Core M Processor and provides only a single USB-C port to double as an accessory and charging port.
 
 Today, iFixit answered some of those early questions in its teardown of the new MacBook (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Retina+Macbook+2015+Teardown/39841), revealing a few unsurprising details of the base model MacBook, which includes a 1.1GHz processor, 12-inch Retina display, 256GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300. What the company did find that was surprising was a battery connector hidden under the logic board, just one of a few internal comparisons to Apple's iPad line made with the new MacBook.
 
 (http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/04/lcQHAf1GR2HSRrab.huge_-800x600.jpg)
 Next, iFixit looked at Apple's new method of tapered battery cells, finding the glued-down cells particularly challenging to remove and replace. Finally emerging from the MacBook's innards, the company discovered a 7.55 V, 39.71 Wh, and 5263 mAh battery, what iFixit calls "just a hair more" powerful than this year's 5100 mAh 11-inch MacBook Air.
 
 Lastly the teardown focuses on the MacBook's much-touted Force Touch trackpad, which iFixit calls a "slimmer, daintier version" of the 13-inch MacBook Pro's trackpad. Delving further, the repair website found a Broadcom BCM5976 touchscreen controller, ST Microelectronics 32F103 ARM Cortex-M based microcontroller, and Linear Technology LT3954 LED Converter with Internal PWM Generator as the main trio of chips running the new trackpad.
 
 (http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2015/04/GI13MMPrYbAmLoHu.huge_-800x600.jpg)
 All of iFixit's breakdown resulted in a repairability score of 1 out of 10 for the new MacBook, a 10 being easiest to repair. The company points to Apple's proprietary pentalobe screws surrounding the outside case, the tricky-to-remove tapered batteries, and the processor, RAM, and flash memory being soldered to the double-sided logic board as main reasons for the score.
 
 iFixit's full teardown (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Retina+Macbook+2015+Teardown/39841) is worth a read, showing intricate details of the Retina MacBook's double-sided logic board and new USB-C connection port. The 12-inch Retina MacBook went on sale (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/10/macbook-now-available-for-order/) on Apple's online store last Friday, April 10, along with pre-orders of the Apple Watch.
 
 Although the base 1.1GHz version of the MacBook appeared to many as an underpowered machine, recent benchmarks (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/13/1-2-ghz-retina-macbook-geekbench/) of the 1.2GHz model showcased decent speed and power boosts over its entry-level counterpart. No doubt more will be known when consumers begin receiving their MacBooks in the mail, especially regarding the 1.3GHz model, currently at a mid-May dispatch date due to its made-to-order upgrade parts.
 
 
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Source: Retina MacBook Teardown Reveals iPad-Like Battery Connector, Details Force Touch Trackpad (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/04/15/retina-macbook-teardown/)