The 16-inch MacBook Pro has a mysterious 'lid angle sensor'
Is it a simple replacement, or does it do something more?
The 16-inch MacBook Pro still has some mysteries left after its initial teardown. Both MacRumors and iFixit have confirmed the presence of a "lid angle sensor" that appears to replace the usual Hall effect sensor (measuring the magnitude of a magnetic field) used to detect whether the laptop is open or closed. It's not certain what's different, but there's also a magnet in the hinge proper. An Apple support document asks technicians to calibrate the sensor to consider a display repair successful.
We've asked Apple if it can elaborate.
The iFixit team has speculated that the sensor might be more sophisticated and track both the frequency and angle of lid openings to help the company diagnose certain problems -- say, stress on the display cable. It might have an easier time pinpointing systemic flaws.. However, it's not clear that's the case. For now, the one certainty is that Apple has used the 16-inch MacBook Pro as an opportunity to refresh many aspects of its design, not just obvious changes like the screen or cooling.
