r/macbook

I’m looking to get a Macbook Air M4 for when I start University in september. I’m doing a humanities subject so I know it’s more than enough. However, on the side I have hobbies such as content creation (shorter style videos not 20 minute YT video essays), art and animation. The only game I really play is roblox. These are things I’ve managed to do for 7 years on iPhones with max 128GB storage and an iPad with max 64GB without running into storage issues. The only new things I plan to do on this mac would be 3D modelling on Blender and learning basic coding.

I get 512gb Is definitely enough that I wouldn’t run into issues, but could I manage with 256?

Anything online is saying it’s manageable for casual student work but anything outside of that would require 512. It kind of reminds me when I wanted an iPad 2 years ago primarily for goodnotes and everyone online said the 10th generation was shit and just a slightly bigger screen to watch shows on and that I should get the air. I ended up getting the 10th anyways cause I didn’t think it was that deep and I’ve managed. So is 256 really as unmanageable as they make it seem? Wasn’t much of a laptop person so I wouldn’t know. Looks like i’m gonna get that anyways but i’d like to hear from people with it

I was planning to buy a new MacBook M5 Air, but recently I heard news that Apple will release MacBooks with a lot of important changes, like OLED screen and touchscreen. I don't really care for the touchscreen but an OLED screen would be a good upgrade. I would use the MacBook for basic tasks right now but my use would increase over the years, so it would be a bit inconvenient if I don't have a laptop rn but not terrible. So my question is, is it worth it to wait for a couple of years or buy a MacBook now? If there aren't going to be any revolutionary changes, I don't want to wait. I don't care if Apple introduces M6 chip or something like that but a 120 hz refresh rate on Airs or OLED display would make me wait longer.

Edit: I can only wait until 2028 since that's the year from when I will start to use my laptop more, so having a laptop would be very necessary by that year.

Hey everyone, I am looking for some advice on which of these two models to grab directly from Apple.

The options:

1. Refurbished 13" MacBook Air (M2, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — 1.089 €
2. New 13" MacBook Air (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — 1.339 €

The context: I am a graduate physics student, so if not on a unicluster, I'll probably be doing a fair amount of coding, simulations, and data work now and then.

The thing is I really like the matching space-grey setup I already have with the Ipad/Iphone and dislike the navy hue that the Midnight finish has when it's in direct sunlight (saw it in a store once, not a big fan). Unfortunately, space grey was dropped from the Air lineup after the M3.

Is it a terrible idea to buy an M2 in 2026 for my case? Or is the M5 jump so massive that I’d be crazy to pass it up for aesthetics?

I’m hoping the M6 might bring Space Gray back as an option, but for now, I’m stuck. Do you think the M2 still has enough legs for a few years of grad school, or should I just get the M5 in silver (or even midnight) and call it a day?

edit: both options are taken directly from Apple's online store!

My ipad pro M1 is struggling with a personal project I've been trying to do on it (said project involves constant switching between a couple of ~100mb pdfs, chrome, and google docs) so I've been tentatively looking into upgrading. I'm not willing to spend more than 750 usd and therefore will most likely buy used.

For this price I can obviously get a Neo but there are also options like:

air 15' M2 512/8

air 13' M4 256/16

air 15' M4 256/16

pro 2019 16' 512/16

pro 2021 14' 512/16

pro M1 14' 512/16

Would a M1/M2 air or pro do well where ipad pro M1 struggled? Should I get an older pro instead? Is neo better than all of them because it's newer? I would prefer a 14-15' screen but if Neo is just that good I could buy it new and have a warranty (it's also so damn pretty and it doesn't have the bloody notch, which is very nice) but if it still lags I'd rather spend $0 and stay on the ipad.

I'd appreciate any suggestions, TY!

I need a new laptop, previous one died (windows, 7 years old, it was coming)

Use Cases are basic: Job hunt, Claude for Prep, interviews, building documents, Spotify app in the background, binge watching content, etc.

Will be use for long hours consistently.

How’s the camera quality?

Why should or shouldn’t I go for it?

Hi there, I'm just looking for some options but has anyone done study and had that MacBook Neo as I was wondering if it sufficient to hold open multiple tabs at time for assignment work and that sort thing or if the MacBook Air is the better option.

I want to get my macbook cleaned, which I've heard is free, if you book an appointment with the genius bar. However, they mentioned that if they do mess something up during the cleaning, they aren't reliable and I will be liable for any damage.

So I'm kind of scared if it's worth it. My laptop does need a good clean, and I'm too scared to do it myself, but is it worth it? Has anyone ever had any issues with the free cleaning or is it just a small caveat they have to tell us like fine print?

Any advice helps!

I’m struggling to decide between the 15 inch M5 air and the 14 inch M5 MacBook Pro. For context I currently have a 15.6 inch Lenovo laptop with 16 GB of ram (it’s a circa 2018 Lenovo Yoga 730 and the keyboard is starting to fail). I am a PhD student in Theoretical Quantum Physics, so my typical workflow involves having some chrome tabs open (email, calendar, slack, Overleaf/LaTeX for writing papers, a few science journal articles open), Zotero with many science papers open for reading, textbook PDFs open, and I also run Python code for physics calculations which involve large linear algebra computations (that sometimes max out the memory on my current 16 GB Lenovo, and gets quite hot). I typically use stuff from the numpy/scipy libraries. I primarily use my laptop for my PhD work, but also use it to watch sports on weekends. Otherwise I typically watch YouTube/ all of my content on my iPhone (I don’t own a tv as I live in a small apartment).

The core reason I’m so conflicted is I am used to the bigger screen size, but also need something capable for my uses. I value portability since as a PhD student I’m often working in cafes, in another office / meeting space, in my office (which has 1 external monitor), or at home (which I don’t have room for a monitor right now).

When comparing the 15 inch air and the 14 inch pro side by side, the pro seemed too small for me as I often have side by side tabs with code and pdf. Despite this, I am aware that the pro is the better laptop overall, and I do worry about not having the fans if I were to get an air. I have a few questions that hopefully will help me make a decision.

1. Is 16 GB of ram enough for my workflow or will 24 GB be better for my coding/ for future proofing?

2. Will having fans matter?

I ask because upgrading the 15 inch Air to 24 GB ram will cost almost the same as the base 16 GB pro (which has all the nicer features, fans, and larger storage) BUT is still smaller than I’d like.

Any help is greatly appreciated, this will be my first MacBook.

This is my first Reddit post!

Hi all,

Due to the cost of MBP's I had decided on upgrading my 2018 MBP to an M5 Macbook Air (15" with 24GB RAM, 512GB). The cost of this is £1,399 with the discounts I can get - which I thought was a good deal.

I use FCP, Lightroom and Adobe Suite (PS, AI, Premiere Pro on occasions), then general use. For FCP and LR I edit drone photos and videos for fun so not paid work and just need to be able to do this without the slow speed and lag that my current MBP is experiencing (its an Intel chip which is now very slow!!). Based on many reviews I think that the Macbook Air should be more than capable of doing all this, especially with the 24GB of RAM.

However, this week I have seen the 512GB discontinued M5 MBP start being offered for £1,200 which is mind blowing for a model that was £1,600 not too long ago.

So, I now have no idea what to do:

- 14" vs 15" inch screen (14" is large enough especially with the better screen)

- 16GB RAM vs 24GB (does it really matter if the MBP has 16GB?)

- Fans with MBP (am i really going to notice the difference)

The thing I am struggling with is whether spending £200 less on the MPB is the best option - which I feel it is but not 100% sure whether the MB Air offers anything that should make me choose it.

I am a student I can't decide what to get both have almost same price with student offer and other I want it to be future proof I can use it in collage should I Wait for any flipkat sale or buy it right now and what should I get 16gig of in m2 with 500gig of storage or 8 gig of ram with 500 gig of storage or in neo 8 gb ram 256gb storage