Teardown of Apple's latest MacBook reveals slightly larger battery

iFixit conducted a teardown of Apple's latest laptop, released this week, to discover the slightly tweaked battery, which provides an extra 350 mAh of power. The teardown also revealed that the battery in the mid-2010 MacBook, model number A1342, is compatible with the unibody MacBook refresh issued last October.

The change to the battery required a closer look, as the solutions provider noted that the new battery is identical in size and shape, and also has the same model number: A1331.

"Even so, it still makes continued use of Tri-Wing screws to secure the battery in place," the report said. "Why Apple? Why? Why can't you free us from the oppression and tyranny that is Tri-Wing screws?"

iFixit's look inside found that the mid-2010 model continues to use the same Panasonic UJ898 8x SATA SuperDrive found in the previous model. It also sports GeForce 320M graphics, a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor — two low power additions also undoubtedly instrumental in the reported 10 hours of battery life.

The new hardware also supports HDMI with audio output. It has the same mercury-free LED-backlit screen found in the late 2009 model.

Apple quietly refreshed its low-end $999 MacBook on Tuesday. Only days before, the hardware was pictured in a leak from Vietnam.

For more, see iFixit's complete teardown of the mid-2010 Apple MacBook.