This top-tier machine from Apple packs some impressive specs:

2.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7

8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory

256 GB of PCIe SSD goodness

Intel Iris Pro Graphics

720p FaceTime HD camera

802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking

Bluetooth 4.0

Easy-upgrade #2: Add a new AirPort card that supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Apple's go-to provider of 802.11ac support is again at work. The Broadcom BCM4360 on this AirPort card enables operation on the 5 GHz band at speeds up to 1.3 Gbps.

A Broadcom BCM20702 Single-Chip Bluetooth 4.0 Processor gets Bluetoothy things done for your convenience.

Also in residence are a pair of Skyworks SE5516 dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WLAN front-end modules.

One of the few differences: The 15" MBP now has a sleekified heat sink with just a single thermal pad, thanks to the more closely integrated GPU—which we attribute to the "Haswellification" process, as we call it.

The most noteworthy revisions come on the logic board, including the all-new Haswell Core i7 processor, Iris Pro Graphics, and Thunderbolt 2 support:

2.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) with 6 MB shared L3 cache and Iris Pro graphics

128MB eDRAM cache

Elpida J4208EFBG 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM (16 chips for 8 GB total)

Intel DSL5520 Thunderbolt 2 Controller

Intel Platform Controller Hub

Cirrus 4208-CRZ Audio Codec, similar to Cirrus CS4207

Back of the logic board:

SK Hynix H5TC4G63AFR 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM

Broadcom BCM15700A2

Cypress Semiconductor CY8C24794-24LTXI Programmable System-on-Chip

Texas Instruments TPS51980

The headphone jack is now soldered onto the logic board—break yours (easily doable through normal wear and tear) and you're looking at a thousand dollar repair

The moment of truth is now upon us—is the battery any easier to take out than the previous, horribly glued-in disaster?

We're holding our breath as we gently test the waters with a plastic card...

...And half an hour and several skinned knuckles later, we exhale that breath in a great sigh of disappointment. The battery has the same excessive adhesive, and is just as nearly-impossible to safely remove as before.

So much for evolution of design.

MacBook Pro with Retina Display 15" Late 2013 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

Proprietary pentalobe screws prevent you from gaining access to anything inside.

As in the MacBook Air, the RAM is soldered to the logic board. Max out at 16GB now, or forever hold your peace—you can't upgrade.

The proprietary SSD has changed to a PCIe format, but still isn't a standard 2.5" drive. However, it is a separate daughtercard, and we’re hopeful we can offer an upgrade in the near future.

The lithium-polymer battery is glued rather than screwed into the case, which increases the chances that it'll break during disassembly. The battery also covers the trackpad cable, which tremendously increases the chance that the user will shear the cable in the battery removal process.

The display assembly is completely fused, and there’s no glass protecting it. If anything ever fails inside the display, you will need to replace the entire, extremely expensive assembly.