13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Teardown Reveals Minor Improvements in Accessibility

iFixit has already performed one of its traditional high-quality teardowns on the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, noting that while those looking to repair their machines face many of the same challenges seen with the 15-inch model, there are a few changes that improve accessibility somewhat. 

One of the most interesting changes relative to the larger model is a battery layout that leaves the area underneath the trackpad free of battery cells. In place of battery cells in that location, Apple has elected to mount the 13-inch model's flash storage, a move that allows access to the trackpad for replacement if necessary. 


Another one of iFixit's major criticisms of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro design was the glued-in battery cells that were found to be extremely difficult and time-consuming to remove without puncturing the cells. In the new 13-inch model, two of the six battery cells are housed in a metal tray that includes no adhesive, while the remaining four cells still required roughly 15 minutes of work to pry loose from the case. 


The teardown of the 13-inch model otherwise yields few surprises compared to the larger 15-inch model, and the similar challenges of soldered RAM, proprietary screws, integrated display, and glued-in battery have led iFixit to award the 13-inch model a repairability score of 2 out of 10, one point higher than the 15-inch model.

Apple Records Q4 2012 Earnings of $8.2B on $36B in Revenue, Tops $150B in Sales for Fiscal 2012 [Call Ended]

Apple today announced financial results for the third calendar quarter and fourth fiscal quarter of 2012. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $36.0 billion and net quarterly profit of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $28.27 billion and net quarterly profit of $6.62 billion, or $7.05 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Apple had provided guidance for this quarter of $34 billion in revenue and earnings of $7.65 per share.

Apple reported total revenue of $156.5 billion and net profit of $41.7 billion for fiscal 2012, both company records. In fiscal 2011, Apple earned $25.9 billion on $108.2 billion in sales. 

Gross margin for the quarter was 40.0 percent, compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, and international sales accounted for 60 percent of revenue. Apple's quarterly profit and revenue were both company records for the September quarter. Apple also declared another dividend payment of $2.65 per share payable on November 15 to shareholders as of the close of trading on November 12. The company now had $124.25 billion in cash and marketable securities.


Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 26.9 million, up 58 percent from the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 14.0 million iPads, up 26 percent year-over-year. Apple sold 4.9 million Macintosh computers, a unit increase of 1 percent over the year-ago quarter, as well as 5.3 million iPods, representing a 19 percent unit decline year-over-year.

“We’re very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline.”

Apple's guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 includes expected revenue of $52 billion and earnings per diluted share of $11.75. 


Apple will provide live streaming of its Q4 2012 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights. 

Earnings Call Highlights

- New September quarter records for iPhone, iPad and Mac unit sales. Highest Sept quarter revenue and profit ever.
- Sold 4.9 million Macs, 1% growth year over year compared to IDC estimates of 8% contraction of global computer market.
- Portables make up 80% of Mac unit mix, highest ever.
- 3-4 weeks of Mac channel inventory, off from 4-5 weeks of preferred.

- iPod Touch accounts for more than half of iPods sold.
- iPod share is 70%+ of market, still top mp3 player in most countries.

- iTunes Store produced record results of $2.1 billion.
- New iTunes launching soon.

- 58% year over year growth of iPhones, versus 35% for smartphone market over the quarter.
- Demand for iPhone 5 continues to outstrip supply.
- 9.1 million iPhones in channel inventory, up 800k from last week. Below target 4-6 weeks of iPhone channel inventory.
- Touting how Canon and Amtrak use the iPhone, as well as reporters from BBC, CTV and the Wall Street Journal.

- iPad sales were ahead of Apple's internal expectations. Strong year over year growth across all geographies.
- Talking about enterprise companies using iPad including Volkswagen (more than 30 internal iPad apps).

- Sold 44 million iOS devices in September quarter.
- New quarterly record for app sales.

- Made a number of improvements to Maps in the past month, won't stop improving.

- $4.2 billion for Retail stores. Up 18% year over year. Store's best iPhone launch ever. New quarterly record for Mac sales, moving 1.1 million Macs. 18 new stores in 10 countries including 1st store in Sweden. 390 stores total. 94 million visitors vs 77.5 million last year. 19,000 visitors per store per week.

- Tax rate of 25.2% for fiscal 2012.
- Cash of $121.3 billion at end of the quarter, up $4 billion from prior quarter.
- Paid $2.5 billion in cash dividend in August.
- $2.65 / share dividend comes out in November.
- Entered share repurchase program, may also repurchase shares in open market share transactions.

- Strongest product pipeline ever.

Apple Already Sold Out of Initial White iPad mini Pre-Order Stock

Apple started pre-orders for the iPad mini and 4th Generation iPad early this morning at 3AM Eastern / 12AM Pacific. As noted in our forums, the initial stock of White iPad minis sold out quickly in the U.S. Within the first 17 minutes, ship dates for the white iPad mini slipped to 2 weeks from the original "Delivers 11/2". The black Wi-Fi iPad mini remains available for delivery by November 2nd. 

Of course, its hard to tell how much of the stock out is related to high demand vs. low supply. We suspect stocks may have been low as others have noted that countriesoutside the U.S. listed "2 week" delivery times from the first moment the white iPad minis went on sale. 

As typical, Apple will also offer the iPad mini in retail stores on launch day. Apple keeps a sizable stock of devices to be available on the official launch day of products. The Wi-Fi iPad mini will be available in retail stores starting on November 2nd. Meanwhile, the cellular version is promised by mid-November.