I'm looking to buy a 15" Retina MacBook Pro, I'm looking at the website Models and they seem to be pretty inflexible (for instance the 2.3 GHz model you are locked into a 256 GB HD).
So I know this is a little preemptive, but I want to know how the hard drive is configured. For instance, on my current MacBook Pro I swapped out the standard hard drive for a 480 GB SSD. If the new thinner model has a standard SSD I will buy the 2.3 GHz model and add larger hard drive. My worry is it will use a proprietary hard drive like those found in the Air in which case I would be forced to buy the 2.6 GHz model just to get the larger storage I suppose.
Does anyone have any info on this?
Best Answer
The flash modules and controller of the SSD are blades (think naked SSD). They are not up to 3rd party configuration (at this time), but according to bmike, they are not soldered onto the main board and are actually discrete components.
However, there is no information as to what kind of proprietary (if any) configuration the blades come in, or whether they require an additional proprietary onboard controller (this may be likely given Apple's tendency to create speciality hardware for their line-up). So it most likely isn't the case that one could just crack open an existing SSD and use the blades within. A manufacturer would have to specifically design a unit for the new notebook. This isn't unlikely, but price will be the determining factor as it will be a speciality component.
It is also not clear at this time if Apple will make the components upgradeable, which is also a distinct possibility given how quickly SSDs are saturating the market place.
At best, it's a tentative "maybe."
You can read more about the new machine here: http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/design/