In the latest MacBook Pro with Retina display from Apple (AAPL), the battery is glued to the case. Apple made it almost impossible for an average person to replace the battery.
From a teardown report from iFixit, it appears that Apple went out of its way to make sure that even professionals could not remove the battery. It took iFixit two days to remove the battery and in the process the battery was punctured.
I have ended up replacing the battery at least once in every laptop I have ever owned. A typical lithium battery becomes less than satisfactory after 300 to 500 charge cycles. The life of the battery depends on how the laptop is used. The non-removable battery in MacBook Pro means that some users will simply need to buy a new computer instead of just replacing the battery.
It is certainly a great strategy on the part of Apple to sell more products, but what about the environment? The environmental impact of electronic devices is a widespread concern as is evidenced by the popularity of EPEAT. EPEAT is a global registry for greener electronics. EPEAT is used by a large number of companies, government agencies, and educational institutions across the world. EPEAT provides comprehensive environmental ratings of computers and electronic devices.
Apple, an early supporter of EPEAT, has withdrawn its products from the EPEAT registry. Companies such as Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), and Sony (SNE) continue to be members of EPEAT…Read more at Forbes
