Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Macbook Pro
17" MacBook Pro houses mega battery
As usual, the fine folks at iFixIt immediately took apart the newest piece of Apple hardware to arrive at their offices, a unibody 17" MacBook Pro. The whole process was detailed with step-by-step photos, some of which reveal an internal battery roughly the size of a baby dolphin.In case you're curious, and we know you are, that's a 7.3V 95Wh (12820 mAh) battery, Apple model #A1309. It contains no mercury (Hg) and weighs in at 1.5 pounds (0.7 kg)! The folks at iFixIt note, "It's only a matter of time until you'll be able to buy this battery online from companies like us."
It reminds me of the battery that came in the clamshell iBooks (in size at least). It sure looks easy to replace...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
David said 1:14PM on 2-19-2009
I imagine that getting to it without voiding the warranty will be the tricky part.
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iGO said 1:36PM on 2-19-2009
By all indications, as iFixit conveys in their take-apart, there is no way to show that you have removed the battery IF you are careful.
At minimum,
it will allow end-users to replace their own battery with Apple brand or third-party brands (which should be available way before 1000 recharges), which many should welcome.
Especially if they know how to follow directions, use a screwdriver and be careful.
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Joe said 2:32PM on 2-19-2009
If you're going to buy an original Apple battery anyway, you might as well let the folks at the store replace it for you. If I had a laptop as expensive as an MBP, I certainly would not risk f-ing it up, and voiding the warranty just to save a few dollars by replacing the battery myself.
As far as I recall, Apple doesn't charge any service fee for installing batteries on the new aluminum models - it all comes with the price of the battery itself.
vandil said 2:38PM on 2-19-2009
"Non-removable" battery in Apple terms means something the non-technical users of Apple products might now want to try. The same sort of people who wouldn't want to pry open a Mac Mini with a putty knife.
Good to see that technical Mac users can simply buy a replacement battery and swap it out 3-4 years down the line (OWC will no doubt have a cheap replacement module for order by then).
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andrew said 8:30PM on 2-25-2009
its not "non-removable", its "non user-replaceable", which means that replacing it will void the warranty
its not like apple says this as some sort of suggestion for what users should do with their products...
NK said 2:52PM on 2-19-2009
I don't really see the non-removable battery as really that big of an issue. How many people will probably still have their new laptop 4 to 5 years down the line?
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Shunnabunich said 6:04PM on 2-19-2009
*raises hand*
I bought the 17" PowerBook G4 I'm typing on in early December of 2004 and it still works beautifully. Besides, I won't likely be able to afford a new machine for the foreseeable future, so it's a good thing it's such a trooper. That reminds me, I've been meaning to look at replacement batteries; after 266 load cycles, this one's down to 28% capacity. :P
vandil said 4:01PM on 2-20-2009
I still have my 17" PowerBook G4 1.67GHz. It's battery life isn't what it used to be, for sure, but I find that whenever I use it, I am in a location where I can plug it in. Be that on the porch, a plane, the bed, or wherever.
So, I just plug it in.
Peter said 6:22PM on 2-19-2009
I wonder if the battery has the integrated electronics that the normal removable ones do?
The "lifetime" and "calibration" issues could be interesting if the battery is just a bare battery rather than a "battery package" with the other stuff integrated into it.
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SlowFlight said 3:57PM on 2-19-2009
Any word on the tightness of the hinge? i.e., the 15" hinge was designed to be easy to open and close, but that resulted in screens flopping near shut when tilted at certain angles (or in turbulence on a plane). I took mine back because it was driving me nuts (that and the glossy screen was annoying). I'd like to know if the 17" screen flops as well.
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Happy Camper said 12:19AM on 2-20-2009
DO NOT BUY APPLE - their customer service is terrible!!!!!
DO NOT BUY APPLE - they lack transparency!!!
DO NOT BUY APPLE - they have technical difficulties that they do not admit to!!!
DO NOT BUY APPLE - you'll never get your product despite their pathetic promises!!!!
Don't get the Macbook Pro. Apple's arrogance is ridiculous. They screwed up on the delivery estimates over 3 times - i am still waiting close to TWO months with every peripheral you can imagine but no laptop. This is unacceptable. Never gave a reason and no apology.
This company must be producing sub par products as they are facing continuous delays - this is extremely worrying since they pride themselves on leading technology. Their customer service representatives are amazingly arrogant. Spoke to about 5 of them and they all had the same arrogant unapologetic approach to the delay.
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magi said 10:09AM on 2-20-2009
Are you kidding? Look at
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/19/latest-survey-apple-customers-happiest/ as a recent happy example.
I bought a new 13" MB last week. Could not be happier. By the way, my battery lasts for at least 6 hours.
Sorry you're having trouble, but I suspect there is more to the story.