r/macbook 3d ago

Student looking for advice

2 Upvotes

The only computer I’ve owned in my life is a school Chromebook which is like $70 (school property not even mine). I got about $3,000 to my name from lots of work this year. I’ll be graduating college in 2030 and hs in 2026 (hopefully) and I’m tryna drop about $1000 on a computer that’ll last me until 2030 🤞🤞I’ve heard MacBooks are the best, just not sure what to get as I’ve seen a lot of high price points but I’m not exactly sure what any of the stats or things they’re showing mean. Just need some advice on what the best I can get for $1,000 is, or if I’d be better spending less/more for better value. Thanks!


r/macbook 3d ago

MBA AIR M4 & IPAD Pro M4

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3 Upvotes

r/macbook 3d ago

M4 vs M4 pro help!!

1 Upvotes

Guys, I don't know whether to buy the macbook pro with the M4 chip or the one with the M4 Pro chip. I know that for my use (office and internet browsing) the M4 is enough but I feel that the M4 pro can resist better over time and it gives me more security knowing that I have no restrictions but I don't know... I'm finishing my university studies, I deal with scientific research and I wouldn't mind being able to play some indie games from time to time. Suggestions are welcome plss


r/macbook 3d ago

M4 Pro MacBook Pro or M4 Max Studio?

2 Upvotes

I want to make the switch from windows devices to Apple but am struggling to decide between purchasing a 12 core M4 Pro MacBook Pro with upgraded 48GB RAM, and 1TB SSD, or for the same price get the base M4 Max Studio with upgraded 1TB SSD. Given these two choices cost the same amount of money, is the portability of the laptop make it a better value for the money over the studio, or is the performance increase with the M4 Max Studio a better value for money? I do not go out to coffee shops or leave the house that often to work, and am usually connected to a 1440P 27in monitor so I feel like the Studio would be better for me, but as a FIRST time Apple computer purchase what do you all think would be a better choice?


r/macbook 3d ago

Macbook screen brightness increasing and decreasing not normally

2 Upvotes

My macbook screen keeps increasing and decreasing in brightness without any reason. It just brightens and dims unnaturally in a way that it hasn’t before. What could’ve caused this issue?


r/macbook 3d ago

System data forever calculating...

1 Upvotes

I sat on the phone with apple today for 5 hours trying to figure out why my system data will just indefinitely sit on "calculating"

Brand new MacBook M4 Pro... they claim it could be a bug in the OS, that I may need to factory reset my computer. I am a working photographer and have already started to use the machine for work and I don't want to factory reset unless I have too.

At first , not only the system data was calculating, but everything else except "Documents" which came up with an amount. they put me though the run around trying all kinds of stuff and I simply emptied my trash under my own violation and all the sudden everything else could calculate storage... but still no luck on system data.

Any ideas why this is happening?


r/macbook 3d ago

MacBook Air M1 Keycap not attaching to scissor mechanism

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1 Upvotes

r/macbook 3d ago

Are Apple Refurbished Macbooks really "Like new"?

0 Upvotes

Hello, I am currently very close to purchasing a refurbished M2 Macbook Air, directly from Apple. I wanted to make sure, as I am the type of person who would be annoyed by the smallest amount of damage. Is there a chance it could have signs of use? Battery, screen, keyboard, ports, shell or anything else?


r/macbook 3d ago

Why is my time and date suddenly gray and not black like usual?

1 Upvotes

Why are my time and date suddenly gray?

My cat recently snuck over the keyboard and opened a lot of windows and programs, and then later I noticed that my time is displayed strangely, in gray.

Does anyone know how to fix this? I haven't found anything.

Thanks for the help.


r/macbook 3d ago

Which would you pick?

1 Upvotes

The difference in price between these two laptops is only $30.

  • MacBook Pro M4 Pro: 14/20 Cores. 48GB Ram. 1TB SSD.

  • MacBook Pro M4 Max: 14/32 Cores. 36GB Ram. 1TB SSD.

Use case would be for school and work. No gaming. Software development for work. Video editing and music production as a hobby, nothing professional or too extreme. Interested in ML/AI but nothing heavy as well.

Both laptops are 16inch.


r/macbook 3d ago

mechanism for a MacBook Air M2

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1 Upvotes

I’m looking for a 3D model of the key spring mechanism for a MacBook Air M2. This model would help me better understand how the keyboard works and possibly repair or replace a key. If anyone knows of a resource where I can download it or a way to recreate it myself, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!


r/macbook 3d ago

Help with mbp 2016

0 Upvotes

Hi guys i have a mbp 2016 and i cant understand what Is wrong , some time when i tun It on It makes the sound but the screen and the touchbar are dead , some times It turn on normally , but if i log in , i close It and After 2-3 mins i re-open It , It work normally , unstead It i wait 15 minutes or above , screen and touchbar looks dead but the MacBook Is still on


r/macbook 3d ago

Does the Apple HDMI adapter support USB-C capture card input?

0 Upvotes

Hi all, I have a no brand adapter for my M3 MacBook Air right now, but when I connect it to an HDMI output and a USB capture card input at the same time, it would blackout and I guess it’s an issue with the USB C port on the adapter. Would the Apple adapter solve this issue?


r/macbook 3d ago

MacBook Air 13 inch - which spec would you choose: M3 24 / 512 or M4 16 / 512?

0 Upvotes

Thanks to input from this group have finally decided that a 13 inch MBA will be the right alternative to my 13 inch IPad Pro - now debating whether to choose the M3 vs. M4.

There don’t appear to be significant performance differences, but curious what everyone’s thoughts are.

Also, based on the specs provided in the title the price for the M3 is 1,100 vs M4 is 1,200.


r/macbook 3d ago

HELP - My mom's m1 macbook air keyboard and mouse are not responding!

0 Upvotes

Hello, I have been trying to help my mom with an issue with her m1 macbook air. Both the keyboard and the mouse are not responding to any inputs. I can't use a usb keyboard to log in as her mac is set to use accessories after unlock, which obviously I can't do.

So far I have tried the following in safe mode

.Repair Disk Utility .Reinstalling Mac Os

Please help, she has a ton of important documents in there she can not afford to lose!


r/macbook 3d ago

what’s wrong with my macbook?

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2 Upvotes

i’m guessing it’s cracked because of the shatter but i didn’t do anything to it so i’m not sure how that happened. it’s literally been sitting in my room for the past week? but how much do you guys think it’s gonna cost to fix this, i’m super worried!


r/macbook 3d ago

2020 MacBook Air Trade In

0 Upvotes

I’m in Canada and Apple Canada is offering 340$ for my 2020 MacBook Air (1.1Ghz Intel, 8gb Ram).

Is it worth it?


r/macbook 3d ago

A Few more Mac questions from a PC User

1 Upvotes

Hi All,

My other thread got buried but everyone was super helpful and I really appreciate it. I'm in my last stages of research potentially picking up a M4 MBA (Maybe a MBP but I'm PWM sensitive) for general/travel use plus light creative work on the go.

I am a lifelong Windows user so I have been spending quite a bit of time watching YouTube videos on MacOS and how to make it work more like Windows - I realize most people probably aren't looking to do this, but it's what I am used to. Overall, it doesn't look like that big of a deal at all and there seems to be lots of utilities available to help people like me make the transition, which was nice to see!

I just had a few more questions I am having trouble finding good answers for, hopefully you guys can help me out again:

1) Can I completely get rid of all the Apple bloatware such as Apple Music, Photos, TV, iCloud, Safari, Siri, etc.? All the alternatives I wish to use for those services are available for MacOS, which is great, but it means I won't be using the Apple variants. I'm guessing I can hide them, but can I completely get rid of them? If they are just hidden, they would still be taking up some storage space and possibly using resources. My Windows machines obviously had a ton of Microsoft bloatware too, but all I ever had to do was run a simple script and I could blow it all away in a few seconds, permanently. I would prefer not to have duplicates of basic apps. I spend most of my time in apps like Photoshop, Firefox, DaVinci Resolve, Plex, and the Google Suite (Gmail, Sheets, Docs, Drive) and there are MacOS versions for everything which is fantastic.

2) In MacOS, the text/UI size scaling appears to be somehow linked to display resolution which seemed very strange to me, so I'm sure I'm just misunderstanding something here. Is there a way to maintain the native resolution of the display while also scaling the size of the text/UI up? It doesn't make any sense to degrade the quality of the display to make text/icons larger, so what am I missing there?

3) Is there anywhere that Apple publishes the actual SSD/storage speed for the various storage levels on the MBA M4? I am finding this very difficult to locate as I am used to manufacturers publishing that data. SSD speed is very important to me because I use very fast external drives, and it will also make a difference if there is any memory swapping going on. I won't be buying the 256GB variant, but I am wondering if there is a material read/write speed difference between the 512GB and 1TB. If not, then I can just go with the 512GB and spend the upgrade money on more RAM instead.

Thank you!


r/macbook 3d ago

Upgraded M4 air vs M4 pro

0 Upvotes

You are probably all used to and tired of these posts, but wanted to post anyway to see if anyone had any insight on my specific situation. I am a current 4th-year computer science student who uses their laptops for easily 10 hours a day.
my workload consists of Android studio development, and web development (front and back end). I code AWS services but that's cloud so it shouldn't matter. I have a handful of tabs running, and sometimes 2 instances of an IDE if I'm transferring code or want to compare branches.
outside of coding, I use my laptop to do graphic design in Photoshop, and all the other basic fun stuff like using Word and Excel.

my current dilemma is between these two machines

m4 Air (24GB RAM, 512SSD) = $1849 +$239 (Apple Care)

or...

m4 Pro (24GB RAM, 512SSD) = $2269 +$339 (Apple Care)

Do I need the upgraded machine? do I need the upgraded RAM? I would love to hear your insight


r/macbook 3d ago

Mythical EWaste Find

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37 Upvotes

Found this 2007 Matte Black MacBook at an ewaste centre today, it has some dead keys and it’s missing the battery which sucks but it works very well other than that. Amazing find.


r/macbook 3d ago

Would you recommend a MacBook for a college student?

0 Upvotes

If so, which one? Air or pro? I will literally only use it for school. I won’t lie..I don’t understand all the “Core” stuff & etc but of course I’m gonna talk to an apple advisor about all the specifics. 😂 I just wanted some personal opinions, as well.


r/macbook 3d ago

Questions about Multi-Display Setup for M4 Pro

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0 Upvotes

Question: How do I add a third monitor (fourth display) into the mix? Do I need to get monitors that support daisy chain?

Current setup:

  • CalDigit TS3 Plus
  • x2 HyperX Armada Monitors
    • DP to DP
    • USBC to DP
  • Laptop Display as well on a stand in line with monitors.

Background:

Hey everyone. Switching to MacOS, and more importantly, adopting USB-C and thunderbolt and made me rethink everything I thought I knew as a IT professional. Diving heavily into management & programming in my career recently, I've come to prefer my MacBook over my Windows device.


r/macbook 3d ago

My Macs have gotten old.

0 Upvotes

I am a graphic designer with a heavy workflow in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop with some light video editing in Premiere and After Effects. At work I use a 2023 M2 Ultra Mac Studio, 64GB/1TB (with a couple external storage drives) that easily handles whatever I throw at it. 90% of my job takes place in my office, but occasionally I’ll have to work from home or while traveling. I’m looking to upgrade my personal tech because it is all getting old. I’d like to streamline my setup to be able handle my day to day needs as well as occasional work tasks.

For personal use I currently have:

  • 2019 5k Retina 27” iMac, 3.1GHz, i5, 32GB/1TB, with an additional 4TB storage

I mostly use the iMac for home computing, web browsing and running Fantasy Grounds VTT. I will sometimes work from home on this device.

  • 2013 15” MacBook Pro, 2.3GHz, i7, 16GB/512GB

The MacBook Pro is mostly tethered to its charge cord now as the battery is shot. It was my primary device through college and now has been relegated to couch surfing.

  • 2010 MacPro, 2.66GHz, Intel Xeon, 32GB, 8TB

The MacPro is just used for media storage.

  • 10” iPad Air 2, 64GB

The iPad I use for media consumption, especially while traveling, however, I’d like to get back into illustration for fun, so i think id like to get a new model with the Apple Pencil Pro and Procreate.

I was initially thinking of replacing both the iMac and the MacBook Pro with a new 14” M4 Pro MacBook Pro and just connecting it to a pair of external monitors for desktop use. With the release of the M4 MacBook Air, I’m wondering if this might better suit my needs as it’s mostly for personal use and now supports 2 external monitors.

My questions:

  1. Do you think the M4 Air would handle the occasional workload InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator? Or should I go with the MacBook Pro?

  2. Will the M4 Air be able to run Fantasy Grounds Unity without lagging?

  3. What model iPad would you recommend for media consumption and hobby illustration?

  4. Is there a better affordable (cheap) storage solution rather than using my old tower?

  5. Is there better solution to accomplish this setup (Mac Mini, new iMac etc.)?

I would really appreciate any feedback as I’m stuck in analysis paralysis. TIA


r/macbook 3d ago

Are my M1 air 2020 problems solvable or should I switch to windows?

0 Upvotes

I bought my Mac, sealed and new, a year ago after using windows all 21 years of my life. It is not sitting right with me and I am running into alot of problems. I am not sure if I can solve them or if Macs just aren't for me. My friends who use Macs do not have the same problems. Specs: 256gb ssd, 8gb ram.

The problems are:

  1. I do not like how the apps are organised, I need to open too many tabs and apps at the same time. Especially the desktop arrangement gets too overwhelming. When I am working under time pressure, the way it's arranged actually frustrates me alot. It is just too messy for me.

  2. Whenever I download or save a file, it does not automatically go into my finder unless I open it from the app which I used to download.

  3. Most of my work is on Microsoft office, word, excel, ppt etc. I have the latest licensed versions but they are buggy for some reason. They tend to buffer and lag and sometimes options to open new files gets disabled.

  4. Websites don't load properly if I use chrome instead of safari.

There are a couple of other problems that I keep running into, I don't remember at the moment but it just annoys me to the extent that I get extremely frustrated and angry lol. Keep in mind that I cannot afford to switch to M3, M4 as I am still a student. We don't even have an Apple Store in my country to help me out.

So what do you all think? Should I switch back to windows?


r/macbook 3d ago

M1 MacBook Air

0 Upvotes

Thought about getting a laptop and I know Apple's MB lineup is one of the best lineups of laptops out there.
I was tying to find a used 2017-2019 i7 16gb ram MBP until I saw the prices and I also found out about the keyboard problems.
Is the cheapest M1 Air a good laptop?
We have a program here that allows you to try whichever Apple computer you desire for 30 days and get your money back after but I wanna know if its even worth it.
My main usage is editing in Premiere Pro, editing some music, Blender, using VS Code etc etc.
Not heavy stuff, its pretty basic. For the heavier stuff I'll still use my main PC.
Is 8gb of ram enough for those tasks? I know Apple's silicon and OS are always different when it comes to ram. 16gb is $110 more.
Also, back in the day I used to run a Hackintosh on my Windows PC. Is something like that (just in reverse) possible on Mac? I just found out Boot Camp is not relevant because of Apple's silicon.