[mkaltenecker]

I think many people misunderstand where the glue is in the Retina MacBook Pro. They say things like “The display is glued to the case.” which is wrong.

The display assembly (the actual screen where the lights shine true) is glued together. I’m not sure but I think that part of the display is always pretty tightly integrated, probably even glued together. (I tried to find information on that and I would be very glad if someone could point me to resources about how laptop displays are usually built.)

The difference with Apple’s design (as far as I understand it) is that the frontmost layer of that assembly is also the front glass of the screen. Other laptops with glass in front of the screen put an extra layer of glass in front of the display assembly. The Retina MacBook Pro doesn’t have that extra glass. (My understanding – but please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m really not sure and I would like to know more – is that old displays had a sort of plastic outer layer, now Apple uses a glass outer layer. But that’s not that a big deal, as far as I know, since on the inside all LCDs use glass substrate also – so it’s not as if Apple introduced glass into the display assembly, some was always there, they just added more. But maybe I’m wrong about that.)

That display assembly is screwed – not glued – to the case. Behind it are the LEDs and light diffusers.

Here is a teardown of the display: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Retina-Di...

The battery is glued to the case - but it seems to that it is eminently removable with the application of some force. If you don’t care about breaking the laptop (since you want to recycle it) that should be no big deal. I mean, Apple replaces the battery for $200, no questions asked. I don’t think they replace the whole Retina MacBook Pro every time they do that, so they must remove the glued-in battery, and that inside a working laptop. If Apple can do it, so can you (especially with a laptop that’s beyond repair).

[grecy]

> Apple replaces the battery for $200, no questions asked. I don’t think they replace the whole Retina MacBook Pro every time they do that, so they must remove the glued-in battery, and that inside a working laptop. If Apple can do it, so can you (especially with a laptop that’s beyond repair).

This is the best explanation I've seen. Somehow everyone has forgotten this.

[incision]

That's what I told my coworker when her car was in the shop.

She can have the transmission in her Honda replaced for about $3300 (10% of the sticker price), or do it herself.

Silly girl, she must have forgotten.

[grecy]

I'm not sure if you comment is supposed to be sarcastic... ?

I don't see how replacing a transmission in a car is related to getting a glued-in battery out of a laptop for the purpose of recycling (the main discussion here) ?

[mkaltenecker]

(Not at all relevant to recycling, but $200 ain’t a bad price. You can expect to pay about $150 for batteries from other manufacturers, and those are often not as high-quality batteries. Batteries are expensive. In general, not just from Apple. It just sucks that you have to send your damn laptop in and not be able to access it for some time.

[keenerd]

> I mean, Apple replaces the battery for $200, no questions asked. I don’t think they replace the whole Retina MacBook Pro every time they do that.

I'd like to point out that no one has had a RMBP serviced yet, so everything you've said is entirely speculation. As is the following:

They will replace the entire RMBP.

The only user customizable part is the data on the SSD. Why go to all the trouble of taking the laptop apart when Apple could just move the data and give you a new one? Much faster turn around time. (And fixes any other dings/dents. Yay Apple!) It will be interesting to see how they deal with unorthodox customization, such as stickers on the exterior of the case. Probably will separate those out and give them the special full service treatment.

After they ship you your new laptop, they will take apart the old one and unglue the battery - but only so the unit can be resold (as refurbished) as part of a student discount service.

They probably won't even take apart the laptop and swap the SSD - just dd the whole thing over their fast little thunderbolt port. In theory, they could offer battery replacements in the Apple Store - the sales rep just has to connect the two laptops, start the sync and wait 3.5 minutes. No skilled labor involved.

From a bottom line perspective, this makes too much sense not to happen. They'll be making money on every step of the process and the majority of customers will love it.

[mkaltenecker]

So you completely agree that it's possible to replace the battery in a working rMBP and that it is not in any way permanently affixed to the case? The rest are irrelevant (for the purpose of this discussion) implementation details.

Yay!

[keenerd]

No, I think they will replace the aluminum case and the battery as a single unit.

[mkaltenecker]

But why the hell should that be the case? Look at iFixit’s teardown. It didn’t look at all like the battery was firmly glued in.

[sil3ntmac]

The 'glue' in retina displays (based on my experience with the iphone 4's lcd) fuses the front glass to the LCD screen. Usually you can separate the protective glass and the LCD screen, but not on a retina display. That is why if you crack the glass in front of an iPhone 4's LCD, you have to replace the entire LCD (~$70) and not just the glass (~$10).

[mkaltenecker]

That’s what I tried to explain. There is one less protective layer in the Retina MacBook compared to other MacBooks – but the same amount of protective layers compared to matte MacBook Pros. I don’t think it makes a difference.

In the Retina MacBook Pro the glass is an integral part of the display, not some separate piece glued on just cause – as far as I understand it. If it weren’t there, there would be a piece of plastic glued to the display. (And since LCDs already contain glass elsewhere I don’t think the extra glass changes the equation much.)

[makomk]

Supposedly Apple replace the upper case, keyboard, touchpad and batteries as a single disposible unit. Cheaper than replacing the whole laptop but not terribly good for the environment.

[abrowne]

They replace the top case (with keyboard) when they replace the battery, but I highly doubt they just bin the whole thing. They can send the part for refurbishing, remove the battery, and reuse the top case.