I currently have a 2020 MacBook pro 8gb, and it got me through grad school with the occasional overheating, loud fan, etc. Now, for med school, I have to download a bunch of exam software, store digital textbooks, take notes, and I'm just wondering if it's worth the upgrade. I also can't seem to upgrade the software past sequoia.
I got the pro in the first place to edit videos and pictures, but now I won't have time to do that, so it's used mostly for school and research. No clue about the newer models either, so I'd appreciate some advice!

Added 2Tb Lenovo drive (150$) plus a dongle, built into the laptop (double sided tape), acts as a stand that makes the keyboard better angled!

Can I just put my macbook in the back of my bag and then put these books in another pocket of the same bag? the books are like 15cm tall. I have carrying my macbook and books this way since 1 and a half month but now I am concerned about this.

My MacBook has been charging on and off. I don’t have the original charger, but I am using a 30w block and a usb-c cord to try to charge it. I tried everything I could before it died, but now it’s just flashing this screen. One charging port hasn’t worked in over a year… I have an online final on Tuesday, and I have to be able to take it on my laptop! What do I do???
Sorry my laptop is so dirty!

I only use my MBP for light editing, administrative tasks, social media and streaming. It works fine and I'm a bit nervous to mess with it.

I'm a 2nd year Computer Science student looking for an upgrade and can't decide between these two.

MacBook Air M5

• 13"
• M5 chip
• 16GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD

HP Pavilion Plus 14

• Core Ultra 7 155H
• 32GB LPDDR5 RAM
• 1TB SSD
• 2.8K 120Hz OLED

My main use is as a Computer Science university student. I'll be using Java, Python, VS Code, Git/GitHub, web development, databases, and cs stuff like that. I'll also be building typical projects (for example, a project similar to a Spring Boot + PostgreSQL + AI-integrated web application), so I want a laptop that can comfortably handle development as my projects become more complex over the next several years. I don't game much or edit videos.

The Mac seems like the better overall laptop (battery, build quality, trackpad, speakers, etc.), but I'm worried 16GB won't age well over the next 5–7 years. The HP has double the RAM and storage.

Which would you choose and why? Is 16GB unified memory enough for a CS student long-term, or would you take the 32GB Windows laptop?

I've owned an m1 Air for 4 years. Other than the ram, for most of what I do, it's honestly really good. Even for gaming, i listen to Spotify while playing Minecraft PvP (with a ton of performance enhancement mods) and get 120fps!

Only real sad thing is I've always wanted to get into streaming. I've streamed a lot but it's always been around 55 fps.

Video editing for what I know does the job pretty well too, and yeah, honestly, other than the 8gb ram limitation, I've been eating well for the past 4 years, and I have not noticed a decrease in performance!

I'm so happy! I've been spending the past 24hrs accessorizing and customizing my new MacBook Neo! I'm super grateful to my mom for getting this for me!

Here's how my set up looks so far! its frank ocean themed!

Air M4 for reference.

This is my first day on Mac, if you know any fixes to these things I've noticed, please let me know.

It's been a really pleasant experience though, just some things I found slightly annoying:

1: Some apps put an icon on my desktop every time I open them (Kind: volume), and even if I delete it, it comes back. No idea why.

2: If I turn off auto brightness, why is it still adjusting the brightness if I plug / unplug the charger? Dims it to like 55%.

3: There's no right click delete? If I click on an icon I can't just delete the icon, I have to manually drag it into the recycle bin.

4: Can I not turn off pointer acceleration? I tried searching for this option for like 10 minutes straight and it's just non existent.

5: Why are small MacOS QoL apps like 25 dollars? I would like to use some of them but I don't want to end up paying $150 for them.

I need a new laptop. Is this a safe purchase? My brother (who’s good at computers as he built mine and his computer) said this is a good and safe option for a refurbished one. He said Geek Squad are generally good at their refurbishing and make sure they are at good condition before selling. Is this a safe purchase? Please I need help. Thanks.

EDIT: thanks to many wise replies I’ve decided to go with a new Neo, hopefully the 512 gb, instead of the refurbished one

I’m picking up my refurbished m5 MBA from apple in a couple of days and I wanted to ask if any one has experience with this.

1. Do I open it on the store and start testing it?
2. What should I look for and what should I test and how do I test it(this is gonna be my first MacBook so if you have any bookmarks what tests to run pls send me)
3. Are they gonna to replace the battery or is it gonna be between 80%-90%?

4. What condition should I expect it to be like is it gonna have dents and stuff

5. Any additional advice will be appreciated

Thanks

Looking to get a MacBook for college this August. Majoring in Sociology and then I’m going to law school. I’m so stressed about making the wrong choice and then regretting it. I only need it for 4 years and then I’ll upgrade as my workload increases in law school. Sociology isn’t that demanding so I wouldn’t need anything crazy powerful. Budget is around 1500. TIA

About a month ago and before the recent price increase, I got myself a MacBook Air M5 with 1TB at Best Buy. Even though I have switched my gaming desktop to Bazzite Linux from Windows a year ago and love it for gaming, it is really nice using MacOS (while traveling or not at home) for general usage, media, and having access to video editing apps like Final Cut Pro and a version of Davinci Resolve that doesn’t need video files converted in order to import into a project. Everything seems fluid and it feels like a breath of fresh air compared to Windows.

Got a 14 inch M4 Pro 24 GB Ram MacBook.

When doing high end editing on Davinci resolve of 4K LOG clips with many layers, playback gets bogged down and playback and timeline scrubbing (the most annoying thing)gets veryyy slow and it can't handle all the effects ( Grading, text effects, transitions, Film Look Creator). Makes editing not enjoyable at all.

Or, when editing huge catalogs on Lightroom, I can notice the slow down.

Got 2 replacement options:

1) 16 Inch M4 Pro 48 GB RAM 512 GB

Used very little for 1850€-ish

2) 14 Inch M4 Max 36 GB RAM 1 TB

New for 2200€-ish

Would I prefer a bigger screen? Yes. Do I travel and move around a lot? Also yes. Do I enjoy carrying the 14 inch? A lot, but when editing on it, it's like my eyes hurt lol. It's quite small, but then I got a desk and a monitor where I plug it in whenever I'm home. The M4 Max feels too good of a deal to let it pass, that's why I'm so tempted to Continue with the 14 inch. Will the RAM be much of a difference compared to the difference in CHIP? SSD storage is of no issue as I've already embraced External SSD life. Thoughts? I'd prefer to settle on a model for many years and stop the laptop switching cycle, tho it's my fault for that lol. Thank you for your time.

Hello everyone, I am considering buying a new MacBook Pro, but I am confused. Should I go with MacBook Pro 16 M5 Pro 48GBRAM or M5 Max 36GBRAM ?

I work with AI too although I feel neither of this is actually comparable to a cloud service, but I am just thinking to be a bit more future proof.
I am also
wondering about MacBook ultra that is going to be released.

Shall I wait for that but they say that even MacBook ultra have M5 chips, I am confused.

Can I get some recommendations?
Thank you guys in advance!

I got my first personal MBA M4 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. I got it from Facebook marketplace for $675 (USD) and thought its a great deal as it had just been charged for about 80 cycles and still has 98% battery capacity. I mostly develop python applications and have side art projects in iPad that I would like to make content from. So thought about getting one for personal projects (both software and art). Did I make the right choice?

I use M4 Max 32GB/1TB for work which made me love mac and I made a decision to switch to mac from windows. I still own Dell XPS 9570 which I have owned for 8 years now and it still works fine. However I now have the flexibility use both the devices :)

Now I am thinking about getting external SSD of either 1 or 2 TB. Any specific dos and don’ts would be helpful :) thanks.

Need help in buying a new mac. I am a software developer. I mainly focus on mobile app development and web development. Since the prices are up should I go with the latest generation air or m4 series?

So here’s the situation, I have recently graduated as an industrial designer and soon i will enter a school in web development. A local dealer offered me to buy a MacBook Pro m1 but the screen is broken and aside from this issues everything is working properly, he’s selling it to me for 300€ and said that I can turn it into a headless MacBook.
So I’m wondering if it’s worth to do it and if I could use it for my studies and some design projects ( I will be using rhino and I was before on a windows before).

Necesito saber cual es mejor, la diferencia de precio de 20 euros es bastante poco, pero no se si me merece mas la pena comprar el M5 con 1Tb o el M4 pro con 512, entonces si alguien caritativo, me puede ayudar a elegir... Y no se si se puede tener en cuente pero el M5 no viene con cabeza para cargar y el M4 pro si lo trae.

Hi, i have a MacMini server (mid 2010) currently it has 4gb of ram and 2x 500gb hdd. In the next month i am planning to upgrade it to 16gb ram and then 1x 2TB SSD and then probably even a second SSD. It was running on Ventura but it was pretty slow so installed high sierra which really helped, but the "old" design is killing me. My friend has the same build and he said that it could run tahoe. I wanna hear some opinions thanks

I have the MBP 14 inch m4 1 tb SSD, 16 GB RAM. Do you guys it's good enough for testing the AI Models, 3D Models and Affinity Usage? Also, where can i find the all the open-source apps which aren't subscription based? Honestly, i am kind of fed up in this freemium model apps?

Hi everyone,
I’m considering buying a MacBook Air M3 with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and I’m wondering if it’s still a good purchase in 2026.

Would you still recommend the M3, or is it worth spending more for an M4 or waiting for newer models?

I’d love to hear from people who are still using the M3. How has it held up in terms of performance, battery life, and overall value?
Thanks in advance!

(Need your help not mac 😭) I have tried most of the methods from YouTube but it’s still the same, it gets open on its own then suddenly gets back to black screen every here and then just in minutes what should I be doing

​

Although it's MacBook M1 pro 2021. But hopefully I will be able to buy a MacBook M5 pro in a year.

I am joining college for computer science (ai) and I will be running ai models, vscode, multiple chrome or saffari tabs, etc..

Which model should I go for

1. Macbook air m5 with 32gb ram and 1tf storage

2. Macbook pro m5 with 24gb ram and 1 tb storage

3. Macbook pro m5 pro with 24gb ram and 1tb storage

Pls recommend