15-inch MacBook Pro mystery connector connects to special apparatus for emergency data transfer
Apple's tool for migrating data from a new 15-inch MacBook Pro's SSD soldered to the motherboard has been spotted, and utilizes the unused connector discovered in tear-downs of the hardware.
First spotted by 9to5Mac, The tool uses a logic board holder for the problematic machine, with two data cables running from a central box that resembles the third generation Apple TV, and may be the one seen in a U.S. Federal Communication Commission document from September.
One end of the central box connects to the "connector to nowhere" on the motherboard first spotted in tear-downs of the 15-inch MacBook Pro earlier in November.
The central box connects to another computer through a USB-C connection, but if this is USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt 3 is not clear at this juncture. The tool will have to be used in the event of a failure involving any component with deep motherboard integration, such as Wi-FI, Touch ID, the SSD itself, or a GPU issue.
Initial reports claimed that Apple would provide the service only to those under the original warranty or AppleCare, but AppleInsider has learned that Apple will offer the data transfer service to any repair necessitating motherboard replacement at no additional cost beyond the flat-fee component and labor cost itself.
Overall, iFixit says the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is incredibly difficult to repair due to its non-removable SSD, glued-in battery, impossible to replace OLED Touch Bar and integrated Touch ID power button.
First spotted by 9to5Mac, The tool uses a logic board holder for the problematic machine, with two data cables running from a central box that resembles the third generation Apple TV, and may be the one seen in a U.S. Federal Communication Commission document from September.
One end of the central box connects to the "connector to nowhere" on the motherboard first spotted in tear-downs of the 15-inch MacBook Pro earlier in November.
The central box connects to another computer through a USB-C connection, but if this is USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt 3 is not clear at this juncture. The tool will have to be used in the event of a failure involving any component with deep motherboard integration, such as Wi-FI, Touch ID, the SSD itself, or a GPU issue.
Initial reports claimed that Apple would provide the service only to those under the original warranty or AppleCare, but AppleInsider has learned that Apple will offer the data transfer service to any repair necessitating motherboard replacement at no additional cost beyond the flat-fee component and labor cost itself.
Overall, iFixit says the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is incredibly difficult to repair due to its non-removable SSD, glued-in battery, impossible to replace OLED Touch Bar and integrated Touch ID power button.
Comments
Apple gets 1 point for thinking ahead to computer failure (due to software or hardware corruption).
Apple loses 2 points for making hardware non-upgradeable.
Apple loses 3 points for tying user data not only to the operating system & software but to the hardware itself.
I key IBM philosophy from the 80's was to keep software (be it OS or programs) separate from the data and never, ever mix the two. It worked. It made their mission critical business systems pretty much bullet proof.
BUT: A failure of ALL PC OS's (except OS/2) has been to mix the software and the data -- so when the software gets corrupted you lose both software and data. The trouble is: software can always be replaced. User data cannot.
Now Apple is compounding the problem by mixing software and hardware and user data.... When one fails they all fail.
... The mystery socket is a rather weak work around for a weak design.
That concept works on IPhones & IPads because the need for extreme portability trumps the need to protect user data -- and besides, those devices don't contain volatile user data (mostly just pictures). But, can it work on a laptop where a user depends on the integrity of the data?
The answer is obvious: automatic online backups to the ICloud.
... But then: Why not just store the data in the ICloud? (Ooops! Google already thought of that. It's called "Chromebook"!)
......... I think the next 5-10 years should be an interesting evolution....
All this provides is a connection to the soldered SSD. It's irrelevant whether the FBI (or anyone) connects to your SSD with this connector or does a direct connection to a removable SSD. They would face the exact same hurdles to access your data. This doesn't make it easier or harder, just different.
Its a reliability thing more than performance. With a socketed SSD you have three possible failure points: the solder connections on the motherboard to attach the socket, the solder connections between the SSD chips and the board they are attached to and the socket terminals themselves. Soldering the SSD chips directly to the motherboard eliminates two of these.
Then there's the freedom Apple gets in how the SSD chips are mounted. They may be able to extract additional performance based on routing of the signal lines and their proximity to the processor/bridge. There's also cooling to consider. Mounting directly to the motherboard would cool better than a separate board that's plugged into a socket. And based on tests of similar SSDs (the M.2 form factor that's becoming popular on desktops) that all show thermal throttling, then any extra coooling you can provide is important.
So multiple benefits with only a single drawback (user repair ability). I'm sure Apple knows the predicted failure rate for their SSDs and how often they would need to replace an entire motherboard for a failed SSD. And based on this they made an engineering decision to solder the SSD.
Relying on Apple or another company to rescue your data after a catastrophe occurs is asking for failure.
But I guess is this already possible with the cloning of removable SSDs. Just curious if somehow this special connector is able to unlock the encryption by using a stored token? I highly doubt that is the case, though.
2) When was the last time you had an emergency issue where you had a dead board but data on your device that needed to be retrieved? You know the iPhone and iPhone don't have this option, right?
3) Calm down and think of this like an external monitor for a notebook. I've read that less 1% ever connector an external monitor and yet all notebooks come with that option in some regard just in case. I would bet that there's a considerably even smaller chance of a solid state board dying and someone note having a backup or desperately needs that SSD wiped before shipping.