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Tag: teardown

  • iFixIt performs teardown of 2011 Mac mini, finds room for second hard drive

    A teardown of Apple’s just-released Mac Mini reveals a similar design to the previous generation, though with the addition of the new processor, Thunderbolt controller and Bluetooth 4.0, while the company’s decision to remove the optical drive made room for a second storage drive.

    Apple released the latest version of the Mac Mini on Wednesday, adding next-generation Intel processors, improved graphics for up to twice the performance, and the high-speed Thunderbolt port. The company also released Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, new MacBook Airs and a Thunderbolt LED Cinema Display.

    Per AppleInsider, the cool cats at iFixit have taken apart the 2.3GHz Core i5 version of the new 2011 Mac mini, noting that the innards “look rather identical to the previous model.”

    As is often the case with the company, Apple has given and taken away. This time around, the Mac maker has made the controversial decision to remove the optical drive. But, with the centimeter and a half of extra space gained, the company has made room for a second hard drive or solid state drive.

    iFixIt suggests that users may be able to install a second hard drive by themselves, with the only deterrent being “the availability of a second SATA hard drive-to-logic board cable.” Apple does offer dual hard drive build-to-order options for its more expensive 2.5GHz i5 model and the quad-core 2.0GHz i7 server version comes standard with two 500GB HDDs, but iFixit’s teardown appears to show that users can add a second drive to the low-end model on their own.

    According to the report, the Mac Mini utilizes a similar Thunderbolt port controller to that found in the Early 2011 iMac. The desktop also contains the same Bluetooth 4.0 chip as the one discovered in the MacBook Air earlier on Thursday.

    The Mac Mini received a notable repairability score of 8 out of 10; the desktop contains no proprietary screws, nor does it use any glue that needs to be removed. The report found upgrades to the RAM and hard drive to be an easy task. Removing the power supply does take some more work, however, as all of the internals must be removed first.

    Benchmarks for the new Mac Mini reveal that the new models are “absolute screamers,” with the top of the line units running roughly twice as fast as last year’s models.

    If you’ve snagged the new Mac mini and have any feedback to offer, please let us know.

  • White iPhone 4 stripped down, differences in camera lens, proximity sensor discovered

    The white iPhone 4 has gone on sale and you stampeded and shoved the elderly out of your way to get your mitts on one.

    And now that you’ve got it, you should know what’s inside.

    Per Japanese Mac blog MacOtakara,there are a few modest changes to the inside of the device, most notably a modified camera lens and proximity sensor.

    “According to the report, which drew its information from various Twitter posts, the sensor remains the same, but the ‘magnitude of the incident light’ between the black and white iPhone 4 models is a different size,” the article notes. “Photo comparisons of the two devices seem to indicate that the rear-facing camera lens on the white iPhone 4 has been set farther back than its black counterpart.”

    Apple’s own promotional images of the white iPhone 4 reveal that the outer hole for the proximity sensor is larger than on the black model. It’s been speculated that both changes were necessary to avoid light leakage, which is widely believed to be the major issue that delayed the white iPhone 4 for nearly 10 months and drove iPhone owners just a bit nuts in the process.

  • iFixit performs full iPad 2 3G teardown, finds antennas similar to iPhone 4 units

    I think we all have a certain fondness in our hearts for iFixit, as they follow the habit we all had when we were six and took everything apart to see how things worked, even if it meant that our parents invariably wound up screaming at us for the destruction involved.

    On the plus side, iFixit is staffed by adults and releases some interesting finds.

    And they’re nice enough to clean up the things that they destroy.

    The latest iFixit teardown of the iPad 2 3G the differences between Apple’s different versions of the iPad 2, comparing the components of the Wi-Fi-only, GSM and CDMA models and discovering similarities with the iPhone 4.

    The comparison shows design decisions similar to the differences between the GSM and CDMA iPhone 4 models. For example, the CDMA version of the iPad 2 has one more antenna than the GSM model, just like the Verizon iPhone 4.

    Also like the Verizon iPhone 4, the CDMA iPad 2 features an integrated GPS receiver. On the GSM model, GPS is a separate chip from Broadcom, like with the GSM iPhone 4.

    The other major difference between the GSM and CDMA iPad 2 models is the inclusion of a Micro-SIM card slot on the GSM model. Located in the upper left corner of the device, the slot’s inclusion gives that model a unique design.

    The Micro-SIM tray is integrated into the headphone jack assembly for the GSM iPad 2. Since the CDMA iPad 2 does not have a space for a SIM card, it uses the exact same headphone jack assembly as the Wi-Fi-only model.

    Chips providing 3G connectivity for the CDMA iPad 2 include a Qualcomm MDM6600 Baseband/RF Transceiver, Qualcomm PM8028 Power Management IC, Toshiba Y890A111222KA, Skyworks 77710 Power Amplifier Module, and Skyworks 77711 Power Amplifier Module. All of these are also found in the Verizon iPhone 4.

    The GSM iPad 2’s 3G radio has an Intel 36My1EF with 128MB of Numonyx NOR flash and Elpida Mobile DDR SDRAM, Infineon 337Se833 Baseband Processor, Skyworks & TriQuint Transmit Modules, and Infineon 338S0626 GSM/W-CDMA Transceiver. It also includes a Broadcom BCM4751 Integrated Monolithic GPS Receiver, which is an update from the BCM4750 found in the GSM iPhone 4.

  • iFixit performs full teardown of early 2011 MacBook Pro, finds interesting new components

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    It’s been all of a day since the release of Apple’s new Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pro noteboooks, but already the cool cats at iFixit have performed a full teardown of the new models.

    Per the report, the guys found that the controller for Thunderbolt is the fourth largest chip on the logic board, after the CPU, GPU and logic board controller.

    “We believe the chip’s footprint is a testament to the potential of this port,” they said.

    iFixit ranked the new 2011 MacBook Pro a 7 out of 10 on its reparability scale. It noted that the new version allows for the battery to be disconnected without removing it from the laptop.

    The addition of a “spudger” makes disconnecting the battery easier.

    “It’s a nice design choice since you *should* remove all power before performing any repairs,” they said. “The unibody design also allows for easy access to most of the other components, so it won’t be terribly hard to replace things on the machine. The only tricky repair is LCD replacement, which could easily result in shattering the front glass panel.”

    Other noteworthy details from the teardown:
    – You can chain up to six Thunderbolt devices. In comparison, FireWire supports 63 devices and USB supports up to 127 devices.

    – The lower case is secured by Phillips #00 screws, while the battery is secured by Tri-Wing screws, just like the predecessor. There were no Pentalobe screws inside or outside.

    – The new MacBook Pro has the same 77.5 watt-hour battery as the earlier model, but Apple has decreased their run-time estimate from 8-9 hours to 7 hours, likely due to more stringent testing.

    – The Thunderbolt controller is the fourth-largest chip in the new MacBook Pro.

    – iFixit said they’re concerned about Apple’s quality control, as they found a stripped screw holding the subwoofer enclosure in place, and an unlocked ZIF socket connecting the IR sensor.

    – RAM has been upgraded to PC3-10600. That’s the same RAM used in the 2010 revision of the 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs, but faster than earlier MacBook Pros.

    – The wireless card received a make-over and now includes four antennas instead of three. Wireless connectivity is provided by a Broadcom BCM4331 “wireless solution.”

    – The wireless card bracket is aluminum, rather than the plastic found in earlier MacBook Pro revisions. The change was likely made for thermal reasons, as a pink thermal pad is visible and used to transfer heat from the Broadcom chip to the aluminum bracket.

    The logic board features four primary chips:
    – Intel i7 Quad-Core Processor
    – AMD Radeon HD 6490M GPU
    – Intel BD82HM65 Platform Controller Hub
    – Intel L051NB32 EFL (which seems to be the Thunderbolt port controller)

    The teardown uncovered a great deal of thermal paste on the CPU and GPU when the main heat sink was removed. The excess paste may cause overheating issues down the road, iFixit said.

    The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is still designated Model A1286. Apple has been using that same model number since October 2008.

  • Apple leaves out vibration feature on fourth-gen iPod touch

    In spite of earlier references on the Apple website to a “vibrating alert” for the fourth-generation iPod touch, the new device lacks a vibration motor.

    Per AppleInsider, Apple originally promoted the vibrator feature on the accessibility page for the iPod touch, but has since removed the reference.

    “If somebody wants to start a video call with you, you’ll receive an invitation — along with a vibrating alert — on your iPod touch asking you to join,” the page used to read.

    Teardown specialists at iFixit confirmed the lack of a vibration motor when they took apart the new iPod touch.

    “Contrary to Apple’s initial claims on their FaceTime marketing page, the iPod Touch does not have a vibrator,” reported the site.

    The part from the FCC teardown originally believed to be a vibration motor was discovered by iFixit to be a microphone.