Unibody Vs. Aluminum MacBook
As of late 2011, all Apple laptops are MacBooks made from a single machined block of polycarbonate plastic or aluminum. These are called "unibody" MacBooks and were introduced at various times depending upon the model in question: all MacBook Airs have always been unibody, but the 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch MacBooks and MacBook Pros switched over to unibody from previous "aluminum" models.
Other People Are Reading
-
Apple Laptop Naming
-
Apple laptops have a history of being colloquially classified by the metals used in their manufacture, starting with the "Titanium" PowerBooks. The MacBook models that replaced the PowerBook inherited the term of being called "Aluminum" MacBooks, but have since been replaced with models made of "Unibody" construction. Most unibody MacBooks are made of aluminum, but these are not referred to as "Aluminum" models. "Aluminum" MacBooks designate the first MacBook Pro models that all used an Intel CPU, replacing PowerBooks that used a PowerPC CPU.
MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs
-
All MacBook Pros are either "Aluminum" or "Unibody" models, but unibody MacBook Pros are also made of aluminum. An "Aluminum" MacBook Pro commonly means a laptop that was released prior to the introduction of unibody construction. Meanwhile, almost all models of MacBook (that is, without the "Pro" designation) are made of polycarbonate plastic. Although recent MacBooks are also of unibody construction, MacBooks are usually called "White" or "Black" depending upon the color of their case. Meanwhile, while unibody construction was first used on the MacBook Air, they are usually referred to as "Airs" rather than calling them "Unibody," because that is true for the entire model line.
-
Unibody Differences
-
Apple claims that unibody construction allows the company to produce MacBooks and MacBook Pros that are lighter and thinner while retaining the structural strength of prior MacBook models. Some earlier models of MacBooks and PowerBooks had ports arranged on the rear of the laptop's bottom casing, but in all unibody MacBooks these ports are moved to the sides. The original unibody MacBook Pros retained the earlier models' removable batteries, but all recent models have an inaccessible battery permanently embedded in the case. This allows these models to have larger batteries that last longer between charges but prevent users from having to carry around swappable batteries.
Performance
-
All unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros have higher performance specifications than earlier "Aluminum" models, but most of these improvements are due to the more powerful components available in any later computer models. Only some of these improvements can be attributed specifically to unibody construction, while the rest are related to CPU, hard drive and other upgrades available in the newer unibody releases.
-
