Tools
These are some common tools used to work on this device. You might not need every tool for every procedure.
Background
The MacBook Pro 15" was the first MacBook Pro model released in January 2006 and has more models than any other display size. The first 15 inch MacBook Pro shared a lot of design elements from the PowerBook G4, but made use of an Intel processor as opposed to the PowerPC G4 chips. However, due to making the case thinner, they had to downgrade the disc drive, which functioned slower than the one in the PowerBook G4. This new design also featured a built-in webcam and was the first to integrate MagSafe charging ports, which would safely detach the power cord if yanked. The first wave of MacBook Pros actually had a 32 bit architecture, but a refresh came in October of 2006, which upgraded the processors to Intel Core 2 Duo, allowing the laptops to run in 64 bit. These early Pro models had not yet adopted the single-piece touchpad design and still featured a trackpad click button taking up the lower portion of the trackpad.
The 15 inch MacBook Pro was updated in 2008 to a unibody design, in which the entire chassis was constructed from a single piece of machined aluminum. The early unibody models still had a user-removable battery, which touted five hours of use per charge. Still, in mid-2009, the design was changed to use the same non-removable battery included in the 17 inch MacBook Pro released earlier that year. This model was also the first to see the single-piece, multi-touch enabled trackpad in line with more contemporary models.
In 2012, Apple released the Retina display MacBook Pros, with the 15-inch version seeing upgrades to the processors, USB ports in the form of USB 3.0, and a high-resolution screen. This model would also include an HDMI port and the switch to MagSafe 2, which had a slightly thinner form factor. This model also differed from the previous iteration in that the memory modules were soldered to the motherboard, preventing upgrades, and the battery was adhered to the case, complicating replacement.
2016 saw the next significant design change in the Touch Bar model, which featured a thin OLED touchscreen in place of the function keys on the keyboard. This model would depart from the MagSafe charging standard to USB-C, as the design also forwent any other interfaces in favor of four USB-C ports. Included in this design was the choice to solder the storage to the motherboard in addition to the memory, and a stronger adhesive holding the battery to the chassis, further complicating repairs. This model uses the “butterfly keyboard,” which has many known issues, some of which Apple has formally recognized.
Identification
Users can find help with identifying their MacBook Pro laptops here.