oh boy…why even allow it to be opened in the first place? rivets and glue just make this design worse.. I think you need to have a negative number for your review system- thx for the work on busting open these devices.

i wish they would just allow the batteries to be easily replaced at the very minimum

Individual LEDs under each key cap are gone. Guess it can’t all be wins, I did like how much more precise the light was without bleeding out around it. Does the new one have more light bleed then?

I’m dissapointed about flash memory. The flash memory is soldered!!!! :(

Estoy decepcionado sobre el almacenamiento flash. El almacenamiento flash está soldado!!!! :(

What’s the difference between TSB4227VE8434CHNA11926 and TSB4227VE8437CHNA11926 SSD?

I’m not sure it’s technically correct to conclude that “the keyboard itself isn't any more repairable than the Butterfly boards” just because the keyboard assembly is riveted in place. The Butterfly keyboards were less repairable than Apple’s 2015 Scissor keyboards, which were also riveted in place.

The Butterfly keyboards didn’t allow you to remove/replace keycaps, so if debris got underneath the key, your only hope was to spray some compressed air around the edge of the key and hope for the best. The ability to remove a keycap, spray for debris, and then replace the keycap itself makes this keyboard at least a little more repairable. (The MacBook keyboard has never had replaceable keyswitches AFIAK.)

This is a bummer. I should have waited until this release, before I bought mine. I really want the 32Gb. I was hoping to be able to upgrade it.

At least batteries should be replaceable with removable stretch tape. If half the computer has to be thrown away to replace a keyboard or battery, this is not environmentally friendly.

Hopefully Apple can apply the same improvements to the 13” to make it a 14” and change how batteries are attached to improve repair ability.

UWB - Ultra Wide Band Chip anywhere?

Good job.

Why does it weight 2x an LG gram? Would love to see you tear down one of those and compare the weight of each part

What makes a PRO device PRO is not necessarily “upgradeability” (which is also true) but repairability and compatibility…

When you have a memory, storage or any component failure (battery, display, etc) and you have to change the whole unit (maybe at your own expense) this is not a PRO device, it’s just a very fancy consumer product.

When you have to change your peripherals (PRO expensive peripherals you have acquired through years) just because your new “PRO” computer has changed the connectors and forces you to buy converters, dongles and all kind of expensive $@$* just to connect your existing equipment to a computer from the same manufacturer, then you don’t have a PRO computer. Even if it does have “PRO” in the name.

When you are forced to buy new equipment every 2 or 3 years to keep pace with the always-changing technology, or just to cover repair costs, you are never capable of getting a return of investment. That’s not a PRO equipment.

I have been waiting for a fixed keyboard and 16 inch MacBook for a while. $@$*!& repairability, but it looks like I don’t have any other option other than buying it. Don’t want to go back to Windows, nor buying 2015 Macbook :(

Apple uses recycled aluminum for their bottom line, not to protect the environment from unnecessary waste. If you can repair you own MacBook Pro, then you don’t need to pay the Apple tax. Apple is terrified of losing a revenue stream. State of California, where are your right to repair laws? Laws for everything else. What a joke! Say one thing, do the opposite. My Lenovo Thinkpad (repairable) is more enjoyable to use, and gives me access to Ubuntu and Windows 10. Gaming and a work covered. My use cases for Macbook Pro, web browsing, email, imessage, and photo editing. Is the Macbook Pro worth the cost for mainstream users, not really. “innovation” (or reverse “innovation”) is being celebrated. Basically, it works like this, Apple makes a design decision for you in a vacuum. Then, you have to wait years and years for Apple to admit the mistake (if they do) and reverse it. If you have to buy a Macbook Pro, get it used for half the cost and help the environment from less Apple waste.

After nearly 8 years with my upgraded mid 2012 MacBook Pro Unibody, I decided it is time to get the 2019 16”.

With 4TB of SSD, 16gb ram and 2.7ghz Quad, there hasn’t been enough of a leap (or really a need) to get a new machine for my needs (lightroom, photoshop, indesign, illustrator). I’m uncomfortable with the all-soldered board - I’ve had 3 SSD failures on my current machine, but they were always an easy swap. Gone through 4 batteries as well.

With Ethernet, FW800, USB3, and ease of serviceability I believe this is one of the last truly Pro laptops from Apple. Unfortunately, quality parts are getting harder come by. The old keyboard needed to be replaced but is not as good as the original. Batteries from iFixit are failing much quicker than the Apple component. Cant even find a protective case for it these days.

I hope I can get the same amount of years out of the 2019 16”.

Shameless laptop, MUCH overpriced, no PRO at all, Will past………… A JOKE AT BEST

I won’t buy a new computer unless it’s repairable and upgradable. Apple is very close to loosing my 35 year allegiance (and I have purchased dozens of Macs over that period). The Windows notebooks my employer furnishes are not as pretty but they are way more repairable and upgradable. Apple charges more and used to offer top quality and longevity in exchange. Their last 4 or 5 years have been a downward spiral in both “advantages” accelerated by a string of buggy OS releases.

Pro is short for prostitute.

It just means that you get paid for doing it.

I expect a Pro device to be designed to minimise the chance of it needing repair.

Generally repairability is achieved at the expense of reliability.

Ifixit, great as they are, are biased on this topic as they make their money from device repairs. They have every motive to promote repairability over reliability.

Let’s park the name pro. This is a very expensive laptop. So it should work for 8 - 10 years. In order to do so, it must be possible to upgrade and repair. But it is not.

Besides, our earth is fragile and has limited resources. Repair helps the planet. But this fancy laptop can hardly be repaired.

Ooh Apple, why are you so money focussed in stead of creativity focussed? Where are all the new devices and creative designs that you used to make in the past? We only see more of the same: thinner, lighter, with better battery and with a subwoofer. But no new products at all. No new groundbreaking pro software either. Apple was fighting Big Blue/ The System back in the 80’s. I’ll guess Apple itself is now The System…

They COULD do better, but why would they?

Apple is the only company with their own wireless (no blame for delivering Airdrop), apple-branded SSD (what the heck), T2 “security chip”.

That have nothing to do with “Pro”. That said, “Pro” users most likely will modify their hardware to suit their needs (or swap out broken stuff to make it live longer) but as far as I know this is against Apple’s intentions.

Hey, they still use screws.

Here’s another perspective on the “Pro” label. One might say, “who cares about ease of repairs if you’ve got a paid service plan like AppleCare…however they do it, it’ll get taken care of”. In the PC world, the business line of Dell’s laptops (“Latitude” labeled) are designed to be *very* repairable, especially compared to their lowest end products. How does this help the “pro” user? Pro’s who use their laptop every working second of the day really *hate* to part with it for long, especially if it is still mostly functional. It means that when someone has a broken keyboard, we can arrange for a company rep to visit on-site (This is included in the sub $200 service plan) and they’ll sit at our conference table and replace the keyboard in under an hour (their toolset consisting primarily of a few phillips head screwdrivers). Compare that to taking their MBP to the Apple Store and being told they’ll have it back in 2 days (or so).

Overpriced paperweights. That is all these things are. The very idea that Apple makes it so difficult, if not impossible to repair your system, or even perform some of the most basic types of upgrades that virtually every other manufacturer allows you to make, is just a huge middle finger to their customers. I’m not gonna drop $2,500 on something that I can’t repair if something happens or goes wrong. I will stick with my $800 - $1,200 Windows machines that I know I can repair if needed. My current $850 lappy is still going strong after about 5 years of heavy use, and shows no sign of slowing down.

And Alex Bowden, Apple is equally, if not MORE biased in making sure that you are forced to purchase more of their products as often as possible, and they do that by making their devices unable to be repaired, or even upgrade-able. (Really? You can’t even let us upgrade the SSD now?)

I have to say the word “PRO” or Professional was or is an important factor in the ability to keep on going, or have the choice to make upgrades or any improvements along the way. As a person who has spent over 30 years in the “Pro” Audio recording business we have spent thousands of “Extra $” for the ability to repair, or upgrade as needed. And as quickly as possible! In the “Pro” markets, hardware, firmware and software upgrades are part of the deal. We anticipate the expected as well as the the unexpected. We do NOT spend tons of $ to “Use once, Then Throw Away “ I had considered buying the new 16” unit…. but now I shall pass after seeing what iFix-it has revealed to all of us “Pro” folks in the field. Another day, another dollar .

And yet Apple still refused to cool the VRMs properly. Those things will throttle like !&&* under full load, throttling the CPU and GPU. Why couldn’t they just put a copper plate on that covers the CPU, GPU, VRMs, and GDDR6? If I pay this much for it, I better not have an incentive to break into it with a screwdriver and a pack of thermal pads!

I don’t know how to put a thumbs up for definition of PRO for Grant Spedding & John Ward. Good jobs

What about the cable connecting the LCD to the logic board? With the 2016+ MBP 15-Inch the cable was fixed on the LCD side and overtime got pinched. Did they fix this with the 16-inch?

Update: Flexgate issue -> https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/21/18634...

Do you see the flexgate issue recurring in this new MBP? It seems that with new design comes problems and i’m skeptical that they may have overseen the display flex cable issue this year.

Any clarification would be appreciated

I have owned and used many Apple products since 1999 (a relative newcomer, I admit, compared to many). It has always been for me a love/hate relationship. But lately, there’s been a lot more on the hate side than the love side. This 16” MBP does nothing to change that perception. I currently am using two 15” MBPs, a company-supplied 2018 i7 Touch Bar model, and a personally owned 2015 i7 Retina. The former has been rather a disappointment all the way around, while the latter is likely the last MBP I will ever buy, unless Apple changes course. I cannot, and will not, support the concept that devices with a finite number of write cycles should ever be soldered to a motherboard, let alone the lack of upgradeability.

My 2015 recently received a 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD upgrade, and actually has better R/W performance than the 2018. Cost around $200. I don’t even want to know what a comparable upgrade would cost for the 2018.

Useful lifespan used to be an Apple selling point. Not anymore, it seems.

Apple’s trend towards soldered-on components and deliberately complicating repairs really makes me sad. I have tried to leave to other systems several times but I love the Apple ecosystem and always come back for it. The new continuity features are just amazing, especially SideCar… !&&*, I would spring for one of these new MBPs if they were more repair and upgrade friendly! but I’m not dropping $3k on something that, if a necessary component breaks a year later after warranty is up, will leave me out hundreds or thousands of $$ for costly repairs.

Apple wants people to just buy another one or pay a lot of $ for their Apple Care scam. Well, screw you too Apple, I’ll just keep buying older used Apple products on Craigslist and not give you any $ until you get your act together.

Guess I’m keeping my 2010 pro another year at least…

Curious whether this uses “TouchID 1” like the other Macbook Pros, or if we’ve gotten an upgrade to the faster TouchID 2 introduced in the iPhone 6S.

Hi! Thanks for the article. Can you please give a bit more details how to remove the speakers? Are they just glued?

I’ve been in both the broadcast and consumer end of electronic repair for several decades and the label “Pro” use to be tied directly to the accessibility and repair-ability of electronic equipment. Pro equipment was designed to be repaired and maintained with relatively easy access. There where call outs on circuit boards and tie points for test equipment along with straight forward disassembly and reassembly. None of that existed on cheap consumer, non “Pro” equipment. Apple has merged the “Pro” and “Consumer” moniker to some degree with the high price of “Pro” and the inability to maintain or repair that embodies cheap “Consumer” equipment. They have not done themselves a great service by taking this approach.

Robert Dorr

Hi! Thanks so much for your guide. Do you think is there any risk to speakers if you pass the vaccum cleaner over the spearks grill?

With regards!

Could we have more details on the 3-mic array? It seems not a single source is available on the Internet about it.

Is it possible to fit 2017” MacBook pro 15” components in the 16” chassis? Asking for a friend.

Any comments on the LCD panel: how they achieved thin borders and its stack up?

Hi any update on the LCD panel itself? I am interested on its thin borders and the overall stack up of the components. and the replaceability of the LCD panel.

I cracked my trackpad. I see you note it’s replaceable, can I use the trackpad from an 15 MBP?

I think the accelerometer was to prevent platter damage in a drop, there are on platters in this book, any idea why is the accelerometer there?

“Pro” means flexibility, and always has. It isn’t about whether the user does the upgrades themselves; it is about the power to upgrade a machine. This ability to continue to invest in your investment is part of what makes a machine “Pro.” I would rather pay an extra $1000 for a machine that is upgradeable, than for one that is not. Apple got it all wrong in this arena this time. Thin is overrated in a “Pro” product; Apple could have traded thinness for upgradability.

The only reason I would trade in my matte screen 2011 MBP is that a charge only lasts an hour with a new One World replacement battery. I have googled the problem but found nothing beyond the usual “check if an app is using a lot of power”. After reading this, I think I will have to suffer a bit longer unless one of you guys can help me out with an explanation.

where in the world is the FULL tear down video???

Tim Cook has slowly and deliberately undermined every reason to buy a Mac. He’s turning out to be Apple’s Steve Ballmer, no genuine passion for quality, just concerned about profits. But I’m not buying shares.

Came here to see if I could replace my mid-2009 with something viable for the same amount of years. It’s been through many hard drives, most spinning, and a few batteries. There have been times when I swapped a drive right out of a backup case and kept going. But the passion for quality and the company customer advocate was buried since my 2009 was made.

I hate dealing with the Apple Store, it feels like a contrived scam and I don’t want to give some big company my old hard drive with my data on it, nor do I want their techs to have access to it.

Thank you, iFixit, you’re doing dog’s work.

How on earth can Apple get away with attaching the battery in such a way that a battery replacement requires also replacing the top case, speakers and keyboard? Certainly they could have found a less user hostile way to attach a component with a finite life span.

“Apple have chosen this route for us and all to shave a few millimetres and grammes off laptops that Pro’s need to have as functional as possible.”

That is a lie that they want us to believe. Microsofts new surface books are not glued together anymore and still are the same size. It is complete BS that glueing stuff together makes the device more slim.

Apple is corrupted by greed. It is simple “planned obsolence” what they are doing. Their environmental greenwashing statements they post on their website are nothing but shallow lies. Time to change. I am not buying Macs anymore unless this practice has ended.

I have the 8TB model, and the flash storage isn’t Toshiba - it looks to be SanDisk. The chips are marked SDSBEGGKH-1T00 CN, and all 8 locations are populated (4 on each side of the motherboard), so I’m assuming that each chip is 1TB.

OK let’s put it this way. The Thinkpad competitors to this notebook would be the P series. The P series actually have a parts list with FRU part numbers. FRU means field replacement unit, ie. they send it to you so that you can pop open the case and swap the bad part with the good part. Makes in place repair within a couple of days possible. Depending on the warranty coverage you can actually get 48-72 hours on-site repair, where a tech comes ou tot you with a tool case and spare parts and pretty much fixes the laptop on the spot. That is pro level hardware support for professional gear. BTW, I own a 16” MBP, so I actually have a horse, or two (couple of thinkpads) in the race.

If you want the ultimate in portability I suppose you need to accept that certain things are glued/soldered. I can understand this being the case for parts which rarely fail. But when you rivet the keyboard, solder the memory and SSD and glue the battery, this makes no sense.

I can also understand that it is more economical for vendors to replace entire boards while under warranty: the service centers need less equipment, less regulations to comply with (ventilation and exposure to toxic fumes), the technicians need less trainings, it is faster and potentially more reliable on the long term.

But basic components that frequently fail (memory, disk drives, batteries) should be end-user replaceable or at least without specialized skills/tools.

I have a ASUS ZenBook Flip which is even thinner than a MacBook Pro (ASUS is 13.9 mm thin while the thinnest MBP is 14.9 mm). Yet, the battery, disk drive and memory modules for ASUS are easily serviceable (they are not glued/soldered/riveted).

Which sound chip does it use? Sound even through the 3.5mm jack seems nicer than on previous 15” macbooks or is it just me?

애플이 이번에 수리 난이도를 겁나 올리려고 작정했고 결국 성공했군.

What happen if we use desktop magic keyboard scissor mechanism(the thicker one) in Macbook Pro keyboard ?

Framework 16 is the laptop to go if you want high repairability

How embarrassing this is NOT the late 2019 i9. THE LATE 2019 has an 8 core CPU!

Did you notice how the SSD chips are exposed and not covered by a metal plate as previous 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 15"? Meaning this machine will be more prone to have SSD failure as its right next to the air intake of the machine on the sides. I cant even imagine anyone close to a humid area

Thumbs down apple!

I If I get this machine I will put either conformal coating or sillicon to cover those SSD chips and save myself a lot of headaches with repair costs when they blow up.