The cool cats at iFixit have just published their teardown of the 13-inch 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro, the results indicating larger battery and speaker components, which appear to have come without an increase in overall weight.
The notebook has been upgraded from a five-cell, 49.2 watt-hour battery to a 58 watt-hour six-cell part. The battery is indeed slightly heavier, up to 232.7 grams (8.2 ounces) versus 196.7 (6.9 ounces). Updated speakers are both “longer and narrower,” to the point that they bump up against the logic board.
Per the report, Apple appears to have pared down the weight of the top case as a means of compensation for the weight increase.
The teardown also highlights the T2 co-processor, which handles functions such as “Hey Siri,” security, and boot procedures. Apple has also included a modified power adapter, model A1947, which features more shielding as well as added impact-resistant foam, at the expense of switching from a metal USB-C port to plastic.
The 13-inch 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro remains difficult to repair, as the unit features a soldered processor, memory, and upper case. The battery, keyboard, and speakers form a single unit, although the trackpad can now be fairly easily removed by extracting extracting several Torx screws.
Other improvements in the notebook include Bluetooth 5.0 functionality as well as the first use of True Tone color balancing on a Mac.
Take a gander at the full teardown if you get a chance and if you’ve picked up the new 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro and have any feedback to offer about it, please let us know what you think in the comments.
Via AppleInsider and iFixit