One of the biggest problems people have with the iPhone is that you can’t take out the battery, so it was no surprise to hear the “are you kidding me?” reaction when Phil Schiller told Mac fans at Macworld that the battery would be integrated into the new 17-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple yesterday released pricing and details about how to replace your new 17-inch MacBook Pro battery when it finally throws in the towel and no longer holds a charge. So what are your options? Obviously, with the battery sealed in there, you’re not able to do this kind of job yourself. It can however, be done at an Apple shop and same day as long as you call ahead of time and make an appointment. You can also go with the more bothersome option of mailing it in and being sans laptop for 4 business days. Not exactly favorable if you use your computer enough to kill the charge time in the first place.
That said, the sealed in battery option is definitely greener. Apple just lists one basic charge for replacing your battery, which includes removal of the old one, installation/cost of the new one and environmentally responsible disposal of the dead battery. The environmentalists will no doubt be happy.
Pricing for the replacements are as follows:
UK : £139 inc. VAT
U.S. : $179 pre taxes
CAN : CA$219 pre taxes
EUR : €179 inc. VAT
JAP : ¥19,800 inc. taxes
AUS : A$299 inc. vat
CH : 1498 RMB inc. vat
Check out Apple's support pages for more.