To make room for the Touch ID sensor alongside the Touch Bar, Apple seems to have trimmed a little mass off the heat pipe, left of the exhaust. Compare the 2016 "Function keys" version (top of image) to this year's model (bottom).

Should we be worried? Cooling already seemed like it was getting short shrift on these ultra-thin "Pro" laptops. The 15W TDP on this year's processor is no lower than the one from 2016.

We twirl away the pancake screw from the battery connector and kill power—with a little help from our Manta driver kit.

Where the 2016 model's modular SSD used to live, we peel back a sticker—only to find a soldered-down shield. Unsurprising perhaps, but still disappointing—one of the last upgradeable components on the MacBook Pro line is totally gone.