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The big problem I have with Apple is that they sometimes have the tendency to be a bit too restrictive for apparently no good reason. Their most recent MacBooks

by ugh 16y ago

The big problem I have with Apple is that they sometimes have the tendency to be a bit too restrictive for apparently no good reason. Their most recent MacBooks have no door which allows you to quickly replace the battery which is fair enough (it’s a feature I personally don’t really need anyway). The battery, however, is still pretty much the same as before. There is not much you can do wrong replacing it all on your own when it stops holding a charge (which will happen sooner or later). It’s not harder than replacing the hard drive or RAM, really. Yet, contrary to the hard drive or the RAM, you lose your warranty replacing it. Were my battery to stop working I would have to drive 400km (two times 100km to the nearest place Apple deems worthy and back) and be unable to use my MacBook for a few days. When the same thing happens to my current 2007 MacBook Pro (this actually happened to me a few times but that is another story) I just have to call Apple and they send me the battery. All I have to do is hand the UPS guy my old battery. Apple, don’t treat me like an infant. You are selling me a product called MacBook Pro, trust me with disconnecting a freaking cable! I like your small cars (iPad, iPhone) but it would be very nice if I could continue to buy nice trucks from you.

mcav 16y ago
I was under the impression that the latest MacBook Pros had different, more embedded batteries to enable them to have that 10-hour battery life, and that was why they can't be user-replaced.
- ugh 16y ago
  They do have different batteries but you can remove the new one by unscrewing three screws and disconnecting a cable [+]. The battery has even a pull tab which allows you to easily lift it out of the case. That’s a little more involved than previously when you only had to open a latch and pull out the battery but it’s pretty much exactly as hard as replacing the hard drive. [+] Here is iFixit’s guide: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2010-Battery/3024/1 http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15...
  - jesseendahl 16y ago
    It was my understanding that parts that are officially consumer replaceable parts need to be more structurally sound for safety compliance (e.g. in case it is dropped when it is outside the machine), and that this extra battery casing takes up significant space—space that could otherwise be used for more battery. Aha, here we go: "With the MacBook Pro, Apple engineers went further. To make the lithium-polymer battery even bigger, they looked for extra space within the enclosure. And they found it in an unlikely place — the removable battery itself. Removable batteries take up a lot of space. They require infrastructure that takes up space. The batteries themselves have to be encased in bulky plastic housings to withstand the wear and tear of handling. Those housings take up more space. And the notebook enclosure has to include mechanisms for a separate battery compartment, such as latches and a door. All those parts take up space that could be used for the battery itself." Source: https://www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery/ https://www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery/
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - jrockway 16y ago
      Apple's marketing copy gives a plausible reason for their design decision that makes them look good? Shocking. Apple's site is not going to say, "if the battery was removable, we couldn't charge $99 to replace it," which is probably the real reason.

by ugh 16y ago

mcav 16y ago

I was under the impression that the latest MacBook Pros had different, more embedded batteries to enable them to have that 10-hour battery life, and that was why they can't be user-replaced.

ugh 16y ago
They do have different batteries but you can remove the new one by unscrewing three screws and disconnecting a cable [+]. The battery has even a pull tab which allows you to easily lift it out of the case. That’s a little more involved than previously when you only had to open a latch and pull out the battery but it’s pretty much exactly as hard as replacing the hard drive. [+] Here is iFixit’s guide: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2010-Battery/3024/1 http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Pro-15...
- jesseendahl 16y ago
  It was my understanding that parts that are officially consumer replaceable parts need to be more structurally sound for safety compliance (e.g. in case it is dropped when it is outside the machine), and that this extra battery casing takes up significant space—space that could otherwise be used for more battery. Aha, here we go: "With the MacBook Pro, Apple engineers went further. To make the lithium-polymer battery even bigger, they looked for extra space within the enclosure. And they found it in an unlikely place — the removable battery itself. Removable batteries take up a lot of space. They require infrastructure that takes up space. The batteries themselves have to be encased in bulky plastic housings to withstand the wear and tear of handling. Those housings take up more space. And the notebook enclosure has to include mechanisms for a separate battery compartment, such as latches and a door. All those parts take up space that could be used for the battery itself." Source: https://www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery/ https://www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery/
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - jrockway 16y ago
    Apple's marketing copy gives a plausible reason for their design decision that makes them look good? Shocking. Apple's site is not going to say, "if the battery was removable, we couldn't charge $99 to replace it," which is probably the real reason.