The Durability of the MacBook Pro Unibody
By John Arkontaky
The metallic silver aluminum body of the MacBook Pro looks futuristic. The unibody technology has been around since 2008 in Apple's MacBook laptop line. In the beginning, Apple touted the unibody design as a casing less likely to crack. Today, the unibody is one of the MacBook Pro's most distinguishing features. All laptops eventually go to the great recycling center in the sky, but the durability of the MacBook’s unibody can keep your Mac in fighting form and make the difference between a deadline-destroying incident and a harmless accident.
Design
The unibody architecture of the MacBook Pro means that a single piece of aluminum is used to fabricate the laptop’s casing. This includes the outside framework as well as the keyboard. To put this in perspective, other laptops can use hundreds of parts. This creates a solidified body, much like carving a statue from one block of marble would be better than piecing parts of a statue together.
Stability
There hasn’t been much change to the unibody design in recent years. The design has built a reputation for high standards of rigidity. The unibody exhibits high torsional rigidity and an extremely high resistance to pressure. You won’t see the frame bend inwards when pressing down on the keyboard, which is a common design flaw in some computers.
Resistances
The MacBook Pro’s aluminum unibody makes it resistant to everyday wear and tear. Tossing a laptop in a bag or briefcase every day would typically wear down the casing, but the MacBook Pro resists scratches and minor dings and dents. Also, internal hardware is built in a tight architecture, protecting the MacBook Pro from minor drops and other incidents that might compromise the hardware’s integrity.
Reported Issues
While the unibody design offers many benefits, there are some drawbacks. Most of these come with replacing parts or upgrading hardware. Replacing keyboard keys, for example, can be more problematic than with other laptops. Other than minor issues such as this, the unibody upholds a high standard for protection and aesthetics.
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Writer Bio
John Arkontaky's first writing assignments came out of covering local news for the "White Plains Times" in 2006. Since then, he has worked as a staff editor for "Electronic Design" magazine and as a writer and editor for various clients. Arkontaky holds a dual bachelor's degree in English and communications (journalism concentration) from the State University of New York, Cortland.