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MacBook Air Teardown
Introduction
We disassembled this laptop on February 1, 2008.
Teardown
Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.
Step 1 — Teardown
We were relieved to discover the MacBook Air ships in more than just a manila envelope.
Step 2
The MacBook Air adds yet another power adapter to Apple's impressively-varied lineup, and is the first Mactel to run on 45 watts.
A comparison, from top to bottom:
iPhone (5-watt)
iPod (8-watt)
MacBook Air (45-watt)
MacBook (60-watt)
MacBook Pro (85-watt)
Step 3
The new MagSafe power adapter has been rotated 90 degrees to handle the Air's extreme thinness.
The earlier MacBook power adapter works, but won't fit when the Air is placed on a flat surface.
Step 4
The more traditional ports are hidden in a bay that drops down to reveal:
One USB port.
One headphone jack.
And one micro-DVI port.
The placement of the ports means that the Air doesn't play nicely with bulky connectors. To get your Air to sit flat on the desktop, you'll need either a dongle or slim connectors.
Step 5
Laptop on laptop action.
The Air makes the MacBook look like the new iBook.
Step 6
As you'd expect with a computer so devoted to aesthetics, getting to the "user-installable" parts is going to be a bit more challenging than usual.
The bottom case is held down by 10 screws:
Six 3mm #00 Phillips.
Two 5.4mm #00 Phillips.
Two 7.9mm #00 Phillips.
Step 7
Removing the lower case proved a surprisingly pleasant task. Thanks Apple.
Step 8
Look! We found the battery.
Unfortunately, it's no longer considered a user-installable part by Apple and is attached to the case by 9 screws:
Four 3mm #00 Phillips.
Four 3.8mm #00 Phillips.
One 7.3mm #00 Phillips.
Notes
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