We know a few things that Apple has included in the new MacBook Air lineup launched at WWDC yesterday– fourth-gen Intel Haswell chips, faster 802.11ac, 45% faster flash storage, dual microphones– but there could be a few other tweaks hiding inside that Apple didn’t announce live on stage. To get a better look inside, the folks over at iFixit have decided to give the 13-inch model its ritual teardown treatment.
Inside iFixit found a slightly larger battery, which on top of the new Haswell chip likely contributes to the increased, up to 12-hour battery life in the new MacBook Airs. The new model has a 7.6 V, 7150 mAh battery compared to the 7.3 V, 6700 mAh inside the previous generation.
Some other changes it found in the new MacBook Air:
- smaller SSD module
- Updated AirPort card
- No separate GPU
- New heat sink clamp
- Opposite-facing speaker cable connector
- Samsung SSD
- Samsung S4LN053X01-8030 (ARM) flash controller
- Eight 16 GB flash storage chips labeled Samsung K9LDGY8SIC-XCK0
- Samsung K4P2G324ED-FGC2
iFixit gave the new machine a repairability score of 4 out of 10, noting issues such as proprietary screws, proprietary SSD & RAM, and lack of upgradeability:
