Apple goes out of its way to build devices that are difficult to strip apart, and its latest laptop: the MacBook Pro with Retina Display continues along this path. There is practically no internal upgrade that can be performed on the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Everything from the chipset, to the graphics, to the RAM, to the Flash memory is welded together and guarded by Apple Propriety pentalobe screws.

The key problem here seems to be the battery. Apple teardown experts upon taking apart the MacBook Pro Retina Display said "Great news. The battery is no longer screwed into the machine. Horrible news. Apple chose to use the dreaded g-word. Glue!"

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And that seems to be the sticking point for EPEAT, which places high regard on being able to strip down devices and recycle them at the end of their use. And the MacBook Air Retina Display most likely points to the future of the MacBook range in general (Apple typically works technology from its Pro range down to the rest of the MacBook range). So maybe it was a case for Apple of leave before its entire range was pushed.

The deeper argument of whether Apple is right to produce devices that are so hermetically sealed will rage on. After all, it may be tricky for individuals to strip apart the MacBook Pro and add replacement hardware and upgrade features, but that's a design and personal shopping decision. You get a computer that's faster, lighter, smaller and arguably more reliable; you lose the ability to upgrade the internal RAM and hard drive.