Must Read: Sorry, but bringing back the Start menu won't help Windows 8

Topic: Laptops

Inside the MacBook Pro Retina-display

Summary: The most stunning display to ever be attached to the lid of a notebook, but if you break it, replacing it is going to be expensive.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

The Retina display on Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro may well be the most stunning display to ever be attached to the lid of a notebook. But if you break it, replacing it is going to be expensive.

Repair specialists iFixit have carried out a full teardown on the Retina display panel. While there's no doubt that it is a marvel of modern engineering, it comes at a price.

Apple has managed to pack five times as many pixels into this panel compared to the older standard-display MacBook Pro notebooks, while still managing to shave a fraction of a millimeter off the thickness. To do this Apple has had to do away with the front glass on the panel -- which has the advantage of cutting down glare -- and used the aluminum case itself as the frame for the LCD panel.

This has essentially turned the notebook lid into a single, non-repairable unit. If you break the display, or if anything inside the panel dies -- and both of these things happen more often than you'd like to believe -- then the entire panel has to be replaced because the display is too fragile to be removed or handled outside of the frame.

Even the experts at iFixit, who are used to removing and handling fragile screens, managed to break the Retina display when attempting to remove it.

You'll also want to take care of those screen hinges. Apple has routed cables through the center of the hinges and not offered any means to remove them. This means that in the event of breakage, you'll have to replace the cables and hinges as a single unit.

This might seem like I'm being picky, but this sort of thing not only adds to the cost of replacement parts, it makes the repair itself more difficult and costly.

I don't normally recommend taking out a warranty, but given the complexity of this screen, combined with the inherent vulnerability of notebook screens, I would seriously consider taking one out if I were to buy a Retina-display MacBook Pro.

I'd hate to have to pay for a replacement panel out of my own pocket.

Related:

Topics: Laptops, Apple, Hardware, iPhone, Mobility, Smartphones

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

16 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Ouch!

    Wouldn't it be great to work for iFixit and get to break stuff all day long as part of your job? :)
    I wonder if we'll see a "will it blend?" on the new MBP+R ?
    Yourguide
    Reply Vote

  • MacBookPro

    MacBookPro ultrabook comes loaded with very unique features like high resolution display, slim design, extended performance capabilities etc. You can get more infromation about this at http://www.techyv.com/questions/macbook-pro-retina-display-worth-its-price
    benincraig1
    Reply Vote

    • Since Apple is slowly ditching desktops,

      how hot does the new MBP get?

      Don't tell me the aluminum casing channels heat, it doesn't - because the chassis is not secured to the CPU with a fine coating of thermal grease to bridge the microscopic gaps between both elements. If there's no direct connection then it acts as a container. And plastic is not as good an insulator as metal, which is partly why most cheap plastic laptops don't fry your goolies when you're doing video editing on them...

      Style over substance; the 2012 MBP's added grille vents and funky fans have not addressed the problem to where it will, under load, not get hotter than the $1300 plastic Windows PC...

      At least, unlike the 2011 model, the PSU (95w) is large enough to handle what the CPU needs so it won't throttle because of voltage concerns. It might if it gets too hot, but not due to lack of the power requirement...

      In short, figure out your needs, do your research, understand basic electronics and their lifespan under the conditions needed, and see if you can afford a replacement after x years, with or without an extended warranty...
      HypnoToad72
      Reply Vote

      • Portable does not mean comfortable

        I'm not going to make a good/bad judgement call here, I don't like the new MacBookPro with Retina but you might.

        I suspect that the perceivable heat will be similar to that of the existing MacbookPros. You have it backwards, by the way. Metal is a much poorer insulator and a much better conductor of heat. That's why the aluminum gets so hot on the MacBook lines. Also, I've had many plastic laptops get extremely hot on the bottom during normal use, and much more so during high CPU/GPU intensive tasks. The Dell Vostro I'm writing this on is a good example as is the Dell Inspiron netbook I have at home as well as a few HP portables I have used recently.

        This is exactly why Apple and Dell and HP started calling them 'notebooks' or 'portables' rather than 'laptops'. Apple has been doing that since at least 2001, and I first noticed Dell doing it since 2002. All manufacturers now include statements that you should ONLY use these machines on hard, level surfaces because they get hot.
        use_what_works_4_U
        Reply Vote

      • Pretty good

        As a test, I ran Diablo III at 2880x1800 with most settings turned up and got around 20 fps when a couple dozen monsters were attacking. Playable. But the interesting thing was I played it with the machine on my lap and it didn't get too hot, which is a huge improvement over my 2010 MacBook Pro 17".

        The hottest I've gotten it was streaming an H264 video. The fan is more white-noise-ish than previous fans, so a bit harder to perceive.

        So from my perspective, the ducting, asymmetrical fans, more efficient CPU, and auto-switching of Intel/Nvidia graphics based on demand all control heat noticeably better. (And in a smaller package.)
        1wayne
        Reply Vote

      • it runs cool

        I don't have a temp sensor yet that works, my two I had are not working with the new model... but the whome machine is noticably cooler than my older 15 and 17" Macbook Pros, but thats mainly because Apple designed a nice cooling system in these, with side vents and stuff like they never did before.
        doh123
        Reply Vote

      • Time for a physics lesson

        You don't need thermal grease to bridge microscopic gaps in order to transmit heat effectively via conduction. If that were the case, you'd never be able to fry eggs in a skillet on your stove. In addition, the CPU is not in a vacuum, so there is a direct connection: it's called the air inside the case, which is actually pretty good at carrying away heat (that's why you blow air over things to cool them down).
        baggins_z
        Reply Vote

      • You don't own one, I do

        I just got my MacBook Pro with Retina Display in and it runs much than my old body style circa 2007 MacBook Pro and pretty cooler than my 2009 uni-body MacBook Pro. One thing that a lot of people are not taking into account is that you have a quad core processor, 16GB of Ram, and 1GB of premium NVDIA GPU. The system is balanced to use these resources with the SSD drive so well that it just does not produce a ton of heat that I can feel. I am sure it does, but the new cooling system seems to work well. I am buying Apple Care; I don't care what Adrian says, I always buy Apple Care. You spend over $2000 for a laptop, you better insure it. Although I have only had to use it once; for the battery on the 2007 MacBook Pro battery.
        MichaelWells
        Reply Vote

    • The New Macbook Pro with Retina Display Has Problems

      Check this out:
      http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apple-Please-Recall-Retina-Macbook-Pros-with-LG-Displays/515441551804955

      This has been my experience so far, as well as that of many others.

      Very disappointing.
      HappyXWindowsUser
      Reply Vote

  • Extended warranties

    I've never sprung for extended warranties on desktop systems of any stripe, because in all cases the box was easy enough to get into and I could always find commodity components to replace everything except perhaps a motherboard (and in some cases, when the motherboard went you had to get a replacement from the OEM or just buy a new machine). But for personal laptops/notebooks, I have paid for extended warranties every time, simply because there are enough non-standard components that risk damage for me to want to purchase insurance against failure.
    ssaha
    Reply Vote

  • Why don't you try this?

    my neighbor's mother made $16059 last week. she is working on the computer and got a $509600 home. All she did was get blessed and follow the information shown on this site http://ow.ly/btPCI
    mccoy20
    Reply Vote

  • Apple users are used to this..

    They will happily buy new shinny unit rather than repairing.
    thandermax
    Reply Vote

    • Shut up, troll

      <nt>
      .DeusExMachina.
      Reply Vote

  • Don't buy Apple Care

    W h a t i s n o t C o v e r e d ?
    4.1 Hardware Service. The Plan does not apply to:
    (i) Installation, removal or disposal of the Covered Equipment, or the provision of
    equipment while the Covered Equipment is being serviced;
    (ii) Damage caused by (a) a product that is not the Covered Equipment (b) accident,
    abuse, misuse, liquid contact, fire, earthquake or other external cause, (c) operating
    the Covered Equipment outside the permitted or intended uses described by the
    manufacturer, or (d) service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by
    anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider
    (???AASP???);
    (iii) Covered Equipment with a serial number that has been altered, defaced or
    removed, or has been modified to alter its functionality or capability without the
    written permission of the manufacturer;
    (iv) Covered Equipment that has been lost or stolen. This Plan only covers Covered
    Equipment that is returned to Apple in its entirety;
    (v) Cosmetic damage to the Covered Equipment including but not limited to
    scratches, dents and broken plastic on ports;
    (vi) Consumable parts, such as batteries, except in respect of battery coverage
    under APP for iPod or unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials and
    workmanship;
    (vii) Preventative maintenance on the Covered Equipment; or
    (viii) Defects caused by normal wear and tear or otherwise due to normal aging of
    the product.
    Dive Bum
    Reply Vote

    • As opposed to?

      While I am not a big fan of extended warranties, you post this list like it is some sort of smoking gun or indictment of Apple. Can you list a similar extended warranty from another company that is significantly better?
      .DeusExMachina.
      Reply Vote

  • New Macbook Pro with Retina Display: Very Disappointing

    This...

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apple-Please-Recall-Retina-Macbook-Pros-with-LG-Displays/515441551804955

    ...has been my experience so far.

    I am not impressed.
    HappyXWindowsUser
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close