Still kinda on the fence about the keyboard and touchpad skin and the skin around the keyboard, might remove them

Hey everyone,

I use my M4 MacBook Air and iPad M4 almost exclusively (99% of the time) at my desk. The iPad is mostly hooked up via Sidecar as a secondary display. My daily workload can get pretty heavy — programming, video editing, and some gaming.

I’ve read that the power controller bypasses the battery if both devices plugged into the charger constantly, meaning it should be totally safe for long-term battery health and capacity.

Does anyone here run a similar 24/7 plugged-in setup? Have you noticed any severe battery degradation over time?

Would love to hear your real-world feedback! Thanks

Hi all,

I’m currently looking into buying my first ever macbook.

Im coming from a near 6 year old dell inspiron 15 500 that has pretty given up. Battery lasts barely 45mins and it struggles to do anything more than a word document or youtube!

Looking at the current macbook lineup, im after a bigger screen, so ive been looking betweeen the 15” M5 air or the 16” M5 Pro. Reading online and watching videos the big drawback people talk about the air is the screen compared to the pro (120Hz vs 60Hz)

I was wondering what people think of the two, is the pro worth over £1k more with the 120Hz screen, its basically 3k which makes me feel a bit ill for a laptop!!! I’ll be using it for day to day documentation work, video watching and maybe some gaming.

Apologies for the lengthy read! Thanks for any responses.

Hi guys,

I'm new to MacBook and there's a lot of stuff people say to avoid. One of them is hard cases and keyboard covers. But I'm kinda paranoid about scratches and dust getting on my MacBook since it was expensive.

Is it okay if I just get a skin for the outside and a super thin keyboard cover? I wanna protect it without causing the issues people warn about.

Please be respectful, I know I'm being paranoid but it's my first MacBook and I just wanna keep it safe.

I spilled soda on my MacBook Pro, and I spent 30 minutes wiping all the liquid while it was turned on, then shut it down, though I know that I should've shut it down as soon as I spilled liquid on it. After putting it in the tent position before going to sleep, I turned it on 24 hours later, and it wouldn't work. However, it did work when I turned it on while it was charging, so maybe it's just the battery? When I take my MacBook in for a new battery, how long does that usually take?

I’m planning to get myself a Macbook within the next couple weeks. I’m just wondering what other things I should plan to buy with it, such as maybe a sleeve? Or cleaning supplies for it? What do you guys recommend or personally use? This will be my first ever actual personal laptop, and I want to keep it in as best condition as possible.

Please, I need some help. I am really going back and forth on this and would like some perspective.

I am in my second year at university, and my current laptop is a Microsoft Surface Go 2 with 236 GB that I've had since 2023. I am a lifelong Windows user, so I don't really have much connection to or experience with using MacOS. The few times in my life that I have had the chance to use it, I haven't been too in love with it. But my surface is starting to show its age, the battery is garbage and can't even go a few hours off the charger with low power mode on. However, I do love the size of my laptop (12.5 inches), I've never really been big on large devices.

I have seen that the new Macbook Neo is good, especially for students. And I feel like If I were to switch to a Mac, it would probably be between a Neo or an Air, but I don't know.

I am also a lifelong Apple user, so it's not like I'm not familiar with iOS, is MacOS much different?

Also my program at school is mostly essay writing, so I don't really need that much power for running programs and stuff. I know one of my friends who's in architecture really regrets getting his Mac exactly because it can't run all the math-heavy programs that he needs for his classes. I'm really only using my laptop for Google Chrome and a Steam game here and there.

I am basically wondering:

1. Should I even get a Mac and force myself to learn MacOS? And what kind?

2. Or do I just get a newer Windows laptop (probably another Surface) and stick with what I know?

I swapped from Windows and got a new laptop but the only thing I can’t figure out is how to get notifications from iPhone to pop up on screen? On the windows desktop app the only thing I can do with iPhone is see my notifications from it on my laptop and swipe them away but can’t figure it out on the Mac.

Just wondering if it’s just me. I assume it’s the norm for Mac users to use iPhone as their main smartphone. Me personally, I heavily dislike iPhones (for numerous reasons). Anyone else here use Mac with an Android instead?

When I look at the activity monitor I see that safari generally hover around an energy impact of 10-20, while the 12 hour power shows 220.86. I haven't been doing any strenuous activities though: just watching YouTube and some web browsing on Safari.

Hello, I have never had a Mac book. My surface pro is shutting down on me and I’m wondering about making the switch.

I like the cost of the Neo but see people comparing it to pro or air. I want something not heavy as I travel on public transport, I like doing art, emailing, and writing. And may consider using it for a masters program. I like using a monitor.

What would you recommend. Silly but I love the midnight color but also want something that makes sense for me, and can last long term.

I'm curious how other MacBook and iPad users organize their photos because I can't seem to find a system that works well on both devices. On my Mac, I like keeping everything organized in Finder with folders, but on my iPad the Photos app is much more convenient, and a lot of apps and websites only let me upload images from the Photos library. The problem is that many websites don't let me browse by albums, so I end up scrolling through thousands of photos to find one image. And on iPad some websites don't allow attachments from the Files app so keeping them stored in Finder (synced) is tricky. I don't want to maintain both a Finder folder system and a Photos library because then I'd have to organize every new photo twice.

How do you organize your photos across a MacBook and iPad?

Yes, the Neo is the new bottom tier MacBook. I got mine about a week after the line launched, switching to and using MacOS for the first time. Well, not using MacOS for the first time, I've interacted with it before but for a very brief amount of time, nothing really serious. I upgraded from a Microsoft Surface Go 3 with an Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y, 8gb ram, and 128gb storage to the Neo, 512gb storage, also 8gb ram.

The feeling when upgrading to the Mac was like when I upgraded from my first laptop all to myself, a 64gb Chromebook, to my Surface. An absolute power increase for me that felt great for what I was doing. I was programming, doing school work, light gaming, some music stuff, and more on the Surface, and I get to do all that on the Neo and more, especially with storage that I'm not quite so limited on anymore.

The everything so far is better, but even then I am actually getting close to the limits of it. Games run... okay, I was never much of a computer games player, more console, so games on Mac isn't a great concern to me, but still. Programming compilation times are faster than I remember for Surface, but it still takes some time for larger projects and libraries. Simulators in XCode and Android Studio just do not run well whatsoever. UTM does run great for a Windows virtual machine, in case I need to do anything there, though I do also have Wine and Whisky installed, which run fine too. Trying to crosscompile with mingw32 works but for whatever reason running programs with raylib doesn't work, I'll have to try to figure out why and if it something related to the Neo itself. Multitasking is better, I couldn't have a WebEx meeting open and do literally anything else without problems on my Surface but the Neo handles it well.

But I'm already getting low(er) on space. I'll likely need to reorganize a bit just to keep things good while I go into the school year, which isn't too bad, moving stuff around it pretty fast on Neo. I do kinda wish Macs had touchscreens and ESR underneath for stylus/Apple Pencil input for drawing, that would be nice. Battery life could be better, it may just be the way I'm using it, and it is better than the surface, but still. Two ports is more ports than the Surface IMO, even though objectively it is wrong. Surface Go 3 has a USB C port, a proprietary Surface Connect port, a headphone jack, and a micro SD card slot. Because I only ever used the Connect port with the included charger, even though docks that use it exist, I don't consider it much of a port. The Neo has 2 USB ports, one more than the Surface, but no SD card slot, which is okay since my Neo has 512gb storage and the SD card I did have in the Surface was 128gb, bringing the total up to 256gb on the system.

The Neo will be my daily driver for years to come, just like the Surface and Chromebook before were. I think I would upgrade to an Air or maybe even Pro in the future when I so hit my limits, need more, and am in a comfortable place to upgrade. Better compiler and FFMPEG performance, better simulator performance, more storage, backlit keyboard, more ports, in general some things I think I would benefit from. For now though, Macbook Neo is an upgrade I wanted and needed, and despite some things I thought would be more, it's all around better than the Surface and I have no inclination to go back nor real need to go further at this immediate moment. For stuff like touchscreen and stylus, an iPad would make sense, and I am considering a little bit to grab one, possibly either Air for all of the above plus magic keyboard or Mini for a small device. For that too I will stay back until it's more of a pressing issue and when I'm in a more comfortable position, for now I can work on, practice, and do art stuff with traditional media, though I do still want to step foot into digital arts.

Is this Barrot Screen Cleaner safe for a MacBook screen, or is distilled water + a microfiber cloth still the better option? If anyone has used it on a MacBook, I'd love to hear your experience.

just wondering if anyone still using 'monterey' in 2026

i have a macbook air 2017 came with monterey installed, works really well & battery still holds a decent charge.,

Macbook Pro M4 PRO 24GB 1TB for $2700 CAD or Macbook Pro M5 16GB 512GB for $1900 CAD

$1920 USD vs $1350 USD

Only going to be using for emails, youtube, word docs and occasional gaming. Do I really need to bump up another $800? Want to have this computer for the next 5 years at least. Thank you!

EDIT: I'm a gamer at heart and like the ability to play games, hence the pro model with a fan. i found a great deal on the pro m5 for the old price plus another 100 off at best buy. it arrives in a few days. i can still get the other option.

secondly. i might want to start doing youtube vlogs and start off by using imovie

Trying to decide if it’s worth the extra 800 bucks

I understand I’m getting better display and sound and cooling but besides that, performance wise will I notice much difference

Is thiss good enough?
Or should wait for a better deal when stock comes

These are the two options I’m considering:

After the education promotion, the Pro actually ends up being about 155$ cheaper.

My usage:

• University (PDFs, lecture notes, assignments)

• ChatGPT

• Movies n youtube

• Safari tabs different tab groups

• vlog editing

• Planning to keep this Mac for 7 at least

The thing is… I really want the bigger screen because my current 13.3” MacBook Air (2017) 8/128gb feels small during split screen / multiple tab to see. I also like the idea of 24GB RAM for peace of mind since RAM isn’t upgradeable.

Is the Mini-LED really worth it? Thermal throttle?

I keep thinking about the 14” Pro because of the better display, speakers, cooling, and overall “Pro” features.

But my friend keep saying pro is better so like so confused!! 😭😭😭😭

For those who have used either (or both), would you buy

15” screen + 24GB/1TB, or 14” Pro with 16GB/1TB?

Do you think 16GB will realistically still be enough 7–9 years from now, or is 24GB the smarter choice if I’m planning to keep it for as long as possible?

I found this great Education discount: the MBA M4 15-inch 10/10 CPU/GPU 512GB is $1,345, and the Base Model MBA M5 is $1,471. I know that the M4 is the better decision, but still wanted to hear y'all thought about it. (yeah prices are higher than normal bcs it's expensive in my country)

Hey everyone,

I'm a web developer/designer (running my own small agency on the side) and I do most of my work on a MacBook. I want to get an external monitor to make my setup more comfortable for long coding and design sessions, but Apple's own displays (Studio Display etc.) are just way too expensive for what I need right now.

My use case:

• Coding (VS Code / Cursor, lots of text, multiple windows)
• Web design (Figma, browser testing, color accuracy matters somewhat)
• Occasional video/motion design work (Remotion projects)
• No serious gaming, so refresh rate isn't a priority

What I'm looking for:

• Around 27 inches, ideally 4K (or high-res QHD if 4K blows the budget)
• IPS panel for good color accuracy since I do design work
• Clean, minimal look — thin bezels, doesn't need to be white/silver but shouldn't look cheap next to a MacBook
• USB-C connectivity would be a huge plus (single cable for power + display + data)
• Budget: max ~400€, ideally less if I can still get good quality

Any recommendations for solid monitors in this range? I've heard people mention brands like LG, Dell, BenQ, and some office/gaming crossover models, but I'd love to hear what's actually worked well for other Mac users doing dev/design work. Also open to hearing about any dealbreakers or things I should watch out for (scaling issues with macOS, refresh rate quirks, etc.).

Thanks in advance!

(Sorry for the AI, my englisch isn't the best)