iFixit has already given us a look inside the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, and now they’re back to dismantle the part everyone’s most interested in: that 15.4-inch, 2880 x 1800 display. As you might expect from the machine that earned iFixit’s lowest repairability score yet, getting inside the display assembly was not an easy task. The extreme economy of space lets Apple fit a lot inside a case that’s slightly thinner than that of the standard MacBook Pro and reduces the weight, but it also means that if one part (even a hinge) breaks, you’ll end up replacing anything from some cables to the entire assembly.
iFixit tears down the new MacBook Pro’s ultra-thin Retina display
iFixit has taken apart the Retina display assembly of the new MacBook Pro, finding a fragile 1.5mm screen.
iFixit has taken apart the Retina display assembly of the new MacBook Pro, finding a fragile 1.5mm screen.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
iFixit also experiences firsthand one of the things we learned when the MacBook Pro was announced: the whole display assembly is an LCD. “Rather than sandwich an LCD panel between a back case and a front glass, they used the aluminum case itself as the frame for the LCD panel and used the LCD as the front glass,” they explain. That means the entire panel is only about 1.5mm thick, so slender that it broke when the team tried to pull it free. Under the top layer is the standard set of films used to diffuse and polarize the strip of LEDs in the back. We already knew much of what the team would find, but seeing the full set of disassembly photos is still impressive.
Update: iFixit says in a tweet that markings on the inverter soldered to the LCD read “LP154WT1,” suggesting a panel sourced from LG.
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