Hardware

Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch)

By · September 6, 2011, 11:36 AM PST · billdetwiler

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  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch)

    In July 2011, Apple released the 3nd generation MacBook Air. As with the 2nd generation Airs, the 2011 notebooks are available in 11-inch (A1370) and 13-inch (A1369) models. We cracked open the 1st generation MacBook Air (released in 2008) and 2nd generation MacBook Airs (released in 2010). And earlier this year, I cracked open the 13-inch 2011 MacBook Air.

    Follow along as we go inside Apple's ultra-thin laptop.

    To disassemble the new MacBook Air you'll need a screwdriver with Torx T5 and T8 bits and either a very small Phillips screwdriver or special pentalobe bit.

    For a more in-depth analysis of the hardware inside the MacBook Air, check out my post, MacBook Air (2011 11-inch) Teardown: Ultra-efficient internal design.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Box

    The 2011 MacBook Air is available in four basic configurations--11-inch with 64GB of storage, 11-inch with 128GB of storage, 13-inch with 128GB of storage, and 13-inch with 256GB of storage. Within each of these divisions, you can further customize the processor and RAM.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Opening the box

    Our $1,199 MacBook Air (11-inch) came with a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel i5 CPU, 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 128GB flash storage, Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of shared DDR3 SDRAM, and an 11.6-inch LED-backlit display.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Power adapter and product documentation

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Top

    Our 11-inch 2011 MacBook Air has the same dimensions as the 11-inch 2011 model. The 2011 Air measures 0.11-0.68 inch (H) x 11.8 inches (W) x 7.56 inches (D). It weighs 2.38 pounds.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Front edge

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Back edge

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 11.6-inch Display

    The MacBook Air has an 11.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display that supports several resolutions--including 1366 x 768 pixels (native).

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): MagSafe power connector, USB port, headphone jack, and microphone

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): USB port and Thunderbolt port

    Apple added a Thunderbolt port to the 2011 MacBook Air. Unlike the 13-inch Air, the 11-inch model does not have an SD-card reader.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Bottom

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 5-point petalobe tamper-resistant screws

    As on the 2010 MacBook Air and some iPhone 4's, Apple used tamper-resistant pentalobe screws on the 2011 Air's bottom cover. Using a small Phillips I was able to remove the screws, but not without damaging one of the screws beyond future use. I'll be looking for replacement screws before reassembling this laptop.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the bottom cover

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Internal hardware

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the battery screws

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the battery

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 7.3V 4680mAh Li-ion Polymer Battery (Model A1406)

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Battery removed

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the SSD screw

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the Samsung SSD

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 128GB Samsung MZ-CPA1280/0A2 SSD

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the Broadcom mini-PCIe wireless card screw

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the Broadcom mini-PCIe wireless card

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Broadcom BCM943224PCIEBT2BX mini-PCIe wireless card

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the cooling fan screws

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the cooling fan

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Delta Electronics KDB05105HC-HM04 cooling fan

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the left-side PCB screw

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the left-side PCB

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Left-side PCB

    The left-side PCB contains the MagSafe power connectors, USB port, and headphone jack.

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Cirrus 4206BCNZ audio controller

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Disconnecting the motherboard cables

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the motherboard screws

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the motherboard

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Aluminum body and display assembly

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Right-side speaker

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Left-side speaker

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Trackpad

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Silicon Storage Technology - SST 25VF020 20-4C-QAE 111335S-AB

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Cypress CY8C24x94-24L PSoC

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Broadcom BCM5976A0KUB2G

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Motherboard and heatshink

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the heatsink screws

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Removing the heatsink

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Heatsink

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Motherboard - Top

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Motherboard - Bottom

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 Processor with integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Intel E78296 Platform Controller Hub

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Intel DSL2310

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Texas Instruments 58864D

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Fairchild AB22AF FDMS 0355S and AB21AK FDMS 0348

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Samsung K4B2G0846D DDR3 SDRAM (4GB)

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): MAXIM 15092G

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Intersil 80 14AIRZ F119HH

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Texas Instruments 51916

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): SMSC USB2513B USB 2.0 Hub Controller

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): SMSC 1704-2 146696C CMY

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): F2117LP 20H RVP AE0268 1111JPN

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 25Q064A 13E40 99 PHL 7B122A2R66

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Texas Instruments TPS 51980

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Intersil 625 9AHRTZ F120BR

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): NXP 1112 /A 11231B

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 14AD D68B

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): 3148V 1R603 MPA

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Linear Technology 121 3957 B28281

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Parade PS8301 U08FUC ARTFH 2011 A2

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): NXP 04DP081A 1238.121 ZSD120

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Texas Instruments SN1010 017 TI 17K ATRP

  • Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch): Complete teardown

    As with the 2010 MacBook Air and 13-inch 2011 model, the 2011 11-inch MacBook Air is simple to disassembled, once you remove the bottom cover. Apple's use of tamper-resistant pentalobe screws, makes the Air very difficult to open.

    For a more in-depth analysis of the hardware inside the MacBook Air, check out my post, MacBook Air (2011 11-inch) Teardown: Ultra-efficient internal design.

    Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
    Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air (2011 11-inch)

In July 2011, Apple released the 3nd generation MacBook Air. As with the 2nd generation Airs, the 2011 notebooks are available in 11-inch (A1370) and 13-inch (A1369) models. We cracked open the 1st generation MacBook Air (released in 2008) and 2nd generation MacBook Airs (released in 2010). And earlier this year, I cracked open the 13-inch 2011 MacBook Air.

Follow along as we go inside Apple's ultra-thin laptop.

To disassemble the new MacBook Air you'll need a screwdriver with Torx T5 and T8 bits and either a very small Phillips screwdriver or special pentalobe bit.

For a more in-depth analysis of the hardware inside the MacBook Air, check out my post, MacBook Air (2011 11-inch) Teardown: Ultra-efficient internal design.

Photo by: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic
Caption by: Bill Detwiler

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By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the ...