This is one of my favorite iFixit teardowns. More humor, and more surprises (like step 13, where we learn something interesting about the speaker grills, no doubt a basic difference between the 13″ and 15″ models).
MacBook Pro 13″ Touch Bar teardown
This is one of my favorite iFixit teardowns. More humor, and more surprises (like step 13, where we learn something interesting about the speaker grills, no doubt a basic difference between the 13″ and 15″ models).
Wow, step 13 is fascinating. I’d love to know if it’s just cosmetic (unlike Ive I’d think) or something else going on.
I wouldn’t call it cosmetic. The speakers don’t have to be directly under the grills for the sound to come through them.
“The speakers are not located under the speaker grilles. The speaker grille doesn’t even go clear through the case.
These speakers likely blast their impressive sound through the side air vents.”
If they don’t go through the case I wonder what their purpose is?
Hmmm…somehow I missed that second sentence about not going through the case. They could be cosmetic.
Well, of course, we don’t know for sure, maybe there’s a thin piece of case there that vibrates like a subwoofer. Anybody’s guess. Cosmetic just does not sound like Ive to me.
I enjoyed the humor. “The port situation on the starboard side…”
But the speaker thing is pretty clear. High frequencies are directional and don’t move much air, so there is a high-frequency speaker pointed up under some through-holes in the speaker “grill” for accurate high-frequency sound. Low frequencies aren’t very directional but move more air and are much more tunable through acoustic design, so they blast sound through the side ports. I’d bet money they get some acoustical tuning help from their location, as well.