iFixit

The back of the logic board revealed:

• Hynix H5TC2G83CFR DDR3L SDRAM 2Gbit 1600MHz chips
• Hynix H5GQ2H24AFR - 2.5GHz 2Gbit GDDR5 memory chips
• Texas Instruments Stellaris LM4FS1AH microcontroller with integrated ARM core
• Renesas R4F2113 H8S series CISC MCU
• Maxim MAX15119 Apple-specific IMVP7 CPU/GPU power controller
• Cypress Semiconductor CY8C24794-24L - a Programmable SoC

The headphone jack is held in place pretty snugly, but that doesn't stop us.

This is where you plug in headphones or speakers. We're not sure why you wouldn't want to share the magic of Apple's specially-engineered speaker system, though…

…and right on cue, out come the speakers.

Apple claims that their custom speakers make the most of "every cubic millimeter" inside the MacBook Pro. For $2200, we sure hope that they wouldn't be plug-and-play.

The dual DXEC02 bottom-port Knowles MEMS microphones (with Job Id/Tape Numbers) lie underneath (or on top of?) the left speaker assembly. They use an "adaptive beam-forming algorithm" to cancel out background noise to make it easier to talk to your computer make calls via Skype and improve the speech recognition performance.

A few cables and hefty display hinge screws hold the display assembly in place, but not for long.

The Retina display LCD is situated in the display assembly, and it's not going anywhere. Chances are if anything related to the display goes bad, you'll be replacing the whole kit'n'caboodle.

• Don't forget that the display assembly also includes the FaceTime Camera, WiFi antennas, and Bluetooth antennas.

Someone really did not want the battery in the MacBook Pro to come out of the upper case.

We tried valiantly with our iFixit 6 Inch Metal Ruler to free the battery from its aluminum confines, but to no avail. Rather than risk puncturing a lithium-polymer battery cell, we left the power source in place.

To complicate matters further, the TrackPad cable lies underneath the battery. Attempting to pry the battery off the upper case could easily sever the fragile cable, which would be bad.

MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15" Mid 2012 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

Proprietary pentalobe screws prevent you from gaining access to anything inside.

As in the MacBook Air, the RAM is soldered to the logic board. Max out at 16GB now, or forever hold your peace—you can't upgrade.

The proprietary SSD isn't upgradeable either (yet), as it is similar but not identical to the one in the Air. It is a separate daughtercard, and we’re hopeful we can offer an upgrade in the near future.

The lithium-polymer battery is glued rather than screwed into the case, which increases the chances that it'll break during disassembly. The battery also covers the trackpad cable, which tremendously increases the chance that the user will shear the cable in the battery removal process.

The display assembly is completely fused, and there’s no glass protecting it. If anything ever fails inside the display, you will need to replace the entire extremely expensive assembly.