Bought a refurb iphone 13 last year, loved it. now considering a refurb macbook air - anyone here gone refurb on multiple apple products?
So this might be a weird crosspost vibe but my refurb iphone 13 experience has been good enough that I'm now seriously considering doing the same thing with a macbook. (posted about the iphone last week on this sub if anyones curious for context.)
current situation - work laptop is a 6 year old hp thats barely hanging on. need to upgrade. looked at new macbook air m5 (95k base) and the math feels wild when refurb m2 macbook airs are floating around 55-65k in decent condition. m1 even cheaper.
for anyone here who has actually gone refurb on apple stuff more than once - does the same playbook work for macbooks as iphones?
im thinking:
- battery cycle count (the macbook equivalent of battery health %)
- serial number check on apple coverage page
- inspect ports, keyboard, screen for dead pixels
- written warranty in months not "no warranty as is"
is there anything mac-specific i should watch out for that doesnt apply to iphone refurbs? especially curious to hear from people who got an m1 or m2 refurb in the last year - do they still feel current in 2026 or am i better off paying more for m3/m4?