Teardown of Retina MacBook Pro Finds Low Repairability with Custom Components

Following yesterday's teaser teardown of the updated MacBook Air, iFixit has now given Apple's new Retina MacBook Pro the same treatment.

retina macbook pro teardown
Apple of course showed off a fair bit of the machines internals during the keynote in order to promote all of the innovations included inside, but iFixit's teardown still provides an interesting hands-on look at the internals.

Unsurprisingly, the Retina MacBook Pro is not designed to be user-accessible, with the slim form factor requiring a number of proprietary components that are designed and assembled for maximum space efficiency rather than upgradeability and repairability. This has resulted in iFixit dubbing the machine "the least repairable laptop we’ve taken apart".

Taking a number of cues from the MacBook Air, the new MacBook Pro uses RAM soldered directly onto the logic board, as well as custom solid-state drives that include a new connector incompatible with existing third-party drives on the market.

retina macbook pro logic board
Front of Retina MacBook Pro logic board with CPU (orange), NVIDIA graphics (red), and RAM (green)

Apple has even taken to gluing the large battery into the body of the Retina MacBook Pro, with iFixit ultimately giving up on trying to remove it for fear of puncturing a battery cell. The glued-in battery pack also covers the trackpad cable, making it nearly inaccessible and susceptible to damage if users attempt to remove the battery.

Otherwise, the internals of the Retina MacBook Pro are fairly straightforward, with a large and densely-packed logic board with left-side ports integrated, a separate I/O board for the right-side ports, the asymmetric fan touted by Apple, and custom speaker assemblies.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.1 With Liquid Glass Toggle, Slide to Stop Alarm, New Apple Intelligence Languages and More

Monday November 3, 2025 1:11 pm PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.1, the first major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.1 comes over a month after iOS 26 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.1 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
Early Black Friday Deals 2

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Sunday November 2, 2025 10:04 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...

Top Rated Comments

TimUSCA Avatar
175 months ago
If AppleCare wasn't justifiable before, it is now.
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tronic Avatar
175 months ago
So if you have any battery problems they essentially have to replace the entire machine?
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBP Avatar
175 months ago
Well i guess no MBP retina for me then :rolleyes:
Non removable ram and ssd sucks ass, absurd prices for memory/ssd upgrade in the online applestore
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xscapes Avatar
175 months ago
Can't upgrade the RAM yourself now.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pentad Avatar
175 months ago
I'm not happy with them moving everything to proprietary.


-P
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveN Avatar
175 months ago
I would have at least liked the ram and 'ssd' to be upgradable. Those are the only things I upgrade anyway. As the previous poster noted, it sure makes Applecare more justifiable.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)