Retina MacBook Pro 2012 teardown reveals that the laptop's stunning screen is impossible to fix when broken - much like the device that houses it
After tearing down Apple's MacBook Pro (2012 model with retina display) last week, the bods over at hardware repairs firm iFixit have turned their attention to the laptop's stunning retina display.
So what did they make of it?
Well, the firm's clan were astounded by the laptop's gears but were less than impressed with its repair and upgrade capabilities, PC Mag reports.
The firm found that the retina display, made by LG, is “a real bear to work on” – cables fed through the hinges were difficult to unfasten, apparently – with iFixit technicians being unable to disassemble it without cracking the screen.
As a result, if a user would to completely smash the colour-rich display, they'd need to replace the device altogether.
However, the company failed to score the screen itself a reparability rating due to the fact that the overall device was awarded one when it was taken apart by the same team last week. The MacBook Pro 2012 with retina display scored a reparability rating of just 1 out of 10.
Despite this, iFixit claims that Apple's engineers did well in assembling the kit together.
They said: “Apple did not design and build a 1.5 mm thin LCD panel. They did, however, do something exceptional with the design of this display: rather than sandwich an LCD panel between a back case and a front glass, they used the aluminium case itself as the frame for the LCD panel and used the LCD as the front glass.”
MacBook Pro 2012: Specs
There are several models of the MacBook Pro 2012, including a 2.3GHz version with a 256GB hard drive that costs £1,799, although there's also a 2.6GHz model complete with Retina Display and a 512GB hard drive for £2,299.
Also in the mix is an Intel HD Graphics 4000 and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M card.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro's retina display is just a fraction of a millimetre thinner than its predecessor's, but 25 per cent lighter and weighs in at a paltry 1.48 pounds, iFixit claims.
