New Unibody MacBook Pro Teardown

iFixit has popped open Apple’s new, Core i5 MacBook Pro (15 inch) and has been able to list quite a few differences, compared to the older MacBook Pro models. A summary of such changes is available courtesy of 9to5mac, which posts the following interesting tidbits from iFixit's mid-2010 MacBook Pro teardown.

- Apple has stopped using five-point Torx screws found on other MBP 15" Unibodies in favor of Tri-Wing screws.
- The battery is now rated at 77.5 Wh. That's just a tad bit more than the 73 Wh battery found in last year's 15" model, but not enough to explain the 1-2 hour battery life improvement Apple is claiming for this machine.
- Sound improvement: Apple changed the design of the speaker assembly slightly, moving from a single plastic enclosure to separate plastic enclosures for the speaker & subwoofer that are connected by the speaker leads.
- The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth board location has changed to more closely resemble the MacBooks'. Because of the metal enclosure of the MBP, Apple added an antenna on the opening of the Superdrive!
- New Intel BD82HM55 S LGZS Platform Controller Hub. - assumed chip is switch between the Intel and NVIDIA graphics.

On April 13, 2010, Apple updated the MacBook Pro line with faster processors, next-generation NVIDIA graphics and a beefed-up battery. The popular 13-inch MacBook Pro now sports a new NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics, or at least so says Apple’s benchmarking, and a built-in battery that, according to Apple, offers ten hours of wireless productivity. The new, 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature Intel Core i5 and i7 processors and Apple’s new, automatic graphics-switching technology that toggles seamlessly between powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and energy-efficient Intel HD graphics processors.