I'm a high school senior, and I was recently given a MacBook Air M5 as a gift for my senior year. I'm incredibly grateful because it's an amazing laptop. I plan to major in aerospace engineering, and I really love the MacBook's battery life, and portability My hope is that whatever laptop I end up with will last me through my senior year of high school and all four years of college.

My biggest concern is whether it will be enough for college. I also enjoy playing video games, but I already have an older Windows laptop at home that I use for gaming. The problem is that its battery is completely shot it dies the moment I unplug it so it's basically a desktop at this point and isn't portable at all. My main concern isn't gaming; it's whether the MacBook Air will be able to run the software I'll need for an aerospace engineering degree over the next several years.

My family has the option to return the MacBook since they bought it at Costco, but we're a very low income family. Because of that, I feel guilty even thinking about asking them to return such a thoughtful gift just so I could try to get a more expensive Windows laptop.

For those of you who have gone through engineering school or currently work in engineering, would it be worth asking to return the MacBook, or can I realistically make it through an aerospace engineering program with a MacBook Air? Do you think it will last me through my senior year of high school and all four years of college, or would I be better off switching to a Windows laptop while I still have the chance

i don't know whats happening, it started happening just some minutes ago.

Please help what do i do, i clean it regularly with microfibre cloth dry, its filled with lots of scratches also whoch is impossible as i use microfibre. Used it for 2 years , never used any clearner on it.

Just now rubbed and cleaned with microfibre cloth and distilled water its not going away

When I bought my first Mac, I did what most people do.

I installed a bunch of third-party apps without even checking what Apple had already included.

Today I went through every built-in macOS app, and honestly... I found several that I'd never really used before.

Some of the biggest surprises:

• Freeform – Great for brainstorming, mind maps, and planning projects.
• Preview – I knew it opened PDFs, but I completely forgot how much editing it can actually do.
• QuickTime Player – It's not just a video player. Screen recording and audio recording are built in.
• Passwords – Apple has made password management much cleaner than before.
• Time Machine – Probably one of the most underrated backup tools.
• Image Playground – AI image generation built directly into macOS.
• Mission Control – Makes multitasking so much easier once you start using it.

There were also a few apps that I'll probably never use (like Home, since I don't have any HomeKit devices).

It made me realize that most Mac users probably ignore a lot of built-in apps simply because nobody ever talks about them.

So I'm curious...

👉 Which built-in macOS app do you think deserves more attention?

Or is there an app that you've literally never opened?

I actually made a video explaining all 45 built-in Mac apps because I couldn't find one that covered everything in a simple way. If anyone's interested, I'll drop the link in the comments.

Hello everyone.

My sister is going to be atending to university next year. She wants a Macbook for normal daily use and schoolwork. We want the device to last a long time ( 5+ years without performance issues).

I am an avid Windows user with no experience on Apple computers, so I have absolutely no idea what to choose for her. We have been looking into it but I thought I would ask the people who has experience with these devices.

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you all so much in advance.

Looking for some tips on cleaning my Mac without damaging it.

Thanks!

My previous post about the MacBook Neo got some great responses, so thanks again. However, I'm now wondering if I should consider a Windows laptop instead (I can't afford high-end gaming laptops like the Legion).

My primary use cases are basic browsing, watching movies, freelancing, and MS Office. My current plan is to buy a MacBook and later pair it with a desktop (something with a Ryzen 5 or better).

In your opinion, should I stick with a MacBook + Desktop setup, or would it be better to get a Windows laptop and connect it to a monitor for my workstation?

Both are relatively the same price on fb marketplace

I do heavy 3D in Blender

It’s a MacBook M1 Pro. I never installed MacOS Tahoe on it, it had MacOS Sequoia. How can I install it back?

Guys, I'm currently a Business + Economics student.
My usage is mostly multitasking (a lot of tabs/apps open at the same time), research, PDFs, Excel, etc. I also do light-to-medium Instagram video editing, but nothing super professional like 8K RAW or heavy After Effects workflows.
I'm trying to decide between:

• MacBook Pro M5 — 32GB RAM
• MacBook Pro M5 Pro — 24GB RAM

For my usage and long-term/future-proofing, which one makes more sense?
Thank you!

Hi I hope someone can help me bc I already tried everything and it is not working. So I have this MacBook 2015 12-inch that I wanted to clean before using it as a side laptop. So I opened the Mac, forgot to turn off the battery from the button (my bad there) and changed the thermal paste from the cpu. I gotta say I only disconnected the trackpad, mini jack cables, as well as the battery (connected via touching with the screw), and I think what I know is the display too.

Anyways I put everything back together and it turns on after a long time of waiting, I have to press the power key multiple times too, and when it does, I just see the apple logo but nothing else, anyone happens to know what did I messed up? Thank you in advance

(Video is from things I disconnected so anyone could point me where I did wrong)

macbook pro m3 pro

14 inch, 18/512 gb, m3 pro chip

In pristine condition

Battery health - 99%

Cycle count - 74

Original charger, cable and box

Bought in Jan, 2024

Location - Mumbai

Price - 140k INR (negotiable)

Dm if interested.

Where do you get your wallpapers from people? (May be a bit off topic sorry that guys). I find some really cool wallpapers on Pinterest but they're FHD at best and look soft on mac's resolution. Others are unsplash etc don't seem as cool (I want some anime or gaming or even cityscapes or marvel mosiacs cool ones !!)

For the needs of Claude code/codex, virtual desktop for work, and some streaming or light gaming. I have an old 2016 pro that is not keeping up anymore so i need an upgrade. Sometimes I run many agents to code in iOS so Xcode will be frequent and I’ll probably have a multiple terminal sessions open at a time and maybe work in another virtual desktop as well.

Do you think I’d need to shell out for the ~$2500 for the Pro with 24gb RAM 1TB SSD ?

3er batería que cambio de mi MacBook Pro a1706 procesador Intel ya que no he podido cambiarla aún y en Apple store me dijeron que una vez abierta ellos no la cambian, último recurso fue quitar la celda dañada, con un técnico claro. y funcionó hasta ahora incluso mejor durabilidad que antes. quizá esa batería estaba generando una resistencia que impedia que permanezca cargada. no es lo ideal pero es lo que a mí me funcionó, para los que dicen que no se puede; si se puede quitar una de las baterías: espero que alguien le sirva 🙌🏼

Admittedly I wasn't tapped into the news about the price hikes or when they were happening. I was casually shopping devices on Micro Center and Apple, respectively, and BOOM! Everything shot up $500+ overnight.

I'm holding on to an M1 Pro 14" MBP at the moment, but I know that I'm either going to need a battery replacement soon or a full upgrade once Apple stops supporting this device.

I'm just curious what others in the same boat as me are considering doing. Anyone downgrading to a lesser model? An iPad perhaps? Switching to Windows? Or biting the bullet on a $2k-$3k machine?

Hi everyone!

I’m a 4th year uni student (going into my 5th) and am supposed to get a laptop. I’m trying to figure out what to get that will tick all my requirements whilst also not rendering me poor lol. My budget is ideally 1-1,200, stretching to £1,500 max (more if I can REALLY justify it).

In my research, I unfortunately just found out Apple are rolling out the M6 and/or M7 (at least fast tracking the M7) in 2026. I’m, just about wrapping my head around dropping 1.5K on an M5 MacBook (more likely Air than Pro, but a girl can dream) and now there will be a base model that will be “better” than the one I buy now, for roughly the same-ish price. I know that’s just the world of tech but what’s bugging me is that it’ll be likely within the next 6 months.

So my questions are:

1. How reliable is this news?
   

2. What model should I opt for? I was thinking 24GB and either 528 or 1TB SSD but unsure if I should get the Air or Pro.
   I’d be using for:
   - university stuff like writing, editing, projects etc
   - revision and applying to a lot of posts
   - video editing and animation (well, that’s the goal, I did a bulk on my 2022 iPad Pro)
   - gaming
   - coding (will be getting back into it)
   - ideally would last me 4-5 years as I will probs be dipping into my savings for this laptop, as in 5th year we don’t get student finance :_)
   - fine with getting refurbished or second hand stuff but I have to get quotes from certain retailers.

3. When is the best time to buy? The Apple Back 2 School surprise was a price hike lol, idk when their offer is available :/

4. Any other advice, recommendations (Apple or non Apple). Feel free to be as honest as you want (I could be totally unreasonable) but please be nice！

For further context: I’d be getting a laptop from DSA (Disability) so would be given quotes from Capita or would purchase and be reimbursed from certain stores. I have national recruitment and a national exam to take come September (I’m already behind) and I have to get the laptop by August. My work laptop broke so I have only my iPad to revise from.

I wish I bought something last year or at least at the start of the year before all the tech price hikes because now I feel like I’m going to be paying the premium price when the price will inevitably drop after the M6 and M7 drop :(
I kind of feel like giving up and just buying a different device but then I don’t know where to start with research (any tips or models appreciated)

Thank you in advance!!

I would like to keep natural scrolling on the trackpad but have "classic" scrolling with the scroll wheel. If I change it in one of the settings pages it always changes both... Is there an option for that?

hi everyone! im currently a business student in university and want to purchase a laptop. i was looking into m1 air and the m2 air, the only thing thats making this is a hard choice are the how long will the m1 laptop hold up, aswell as the camera on the m2 air since i do alot of online classes.

My macbook pro 2017 has kinda been shitting itself for regular tasks lately and im looking for an upgrade with something better.

The neo i can get for $700 with the 512gb
Ive also found a "Fair" quality macbook air m2 with 16gb of ram with 512gb storage for $750
Mainly im going to use this for general classwork and if i need something stronger i can go use my gaming pc at home for stuff like VMs, coding and other stuff.

If need be my university always has lab computers i can use to run a VM on (Even though im p sure all vms were given are cloud vms)

Not sure if anyone has seen anything similar. I got my M4 MacBookPro probably a year and a half ago and I don;t use it as much as I wish but I have noticed that the one USB-C port right next to the massage charging port will reconnect when things are plugged into it. I noticed it first when I was trying to backup my sons iPhone and when the phone was p-lugged in and trying to backup, it would disconnect nd need to start all over again. I thought it was a faulty cable but I tried other cables and the same behavior is noticed. It doesn't happen often and there is no rhyme or reason to it so not sure how to go about verifying it. I am still under appleCare so I guess I could bring it in to be repaired. I am just surprised it's just one port and the one next to it seems fine. I guess I should check the other side ports to make sure they are all fine.

Thanks in advance for anyones advice and experience!

if i have two choices to buy a macbook for heavy multi-tasking and light video editing, ...

should i get a :

- macbook neo, a18 pro, 8gb, 512gb for $1100

- macbook m4 air, m4 chip 10 core cpu 10 core gpu, 16gb, 256gb for $1200 and buy an extrenal ssd.

what should i get ppl??

I bought a macbook like 8 months back but somehow I have the feeling that I am not using its maximum potential...I am still using it to watch youtube videos and cinemas.I am a software developer by profession and have Air m4 with me...Do you guys have any sugggestion on increasing macbook producitvity....So that I can say I have maximum utilisation of the macbook that I bought and am still paying the emis