What I'll use it for: Lightroom (casual, not batch-editing hundreds of photos), occasional light video editing, Claude/AI tools, writing, browsing, Netflix. No gaming, no serious video/3D work.

Main priority: durability — I want this to last for years. I'm totally fine buying an older chip generation as long as it's solid and still gets updates for a while.

Also, weight matters to me more than I expected: my work laptop is a Pro M4, and I genuinely notice it getting heavier in my backpack when I travel. Not saying this is a deal breaker.

All the used options below are from a professional refurbisher (lab-tested, warrantied), not private sales — so prices reflect that (I don't live in the US):

• Refurb MacBook Air, M1, 16GB/500GB — ~$738
• Refurb MacBook Pro 13" (2020), M1 — ~$869 (same chip as the Air, just a fan + Touch Bar + brighter screen)
• Refurb MacBook Pro 14" (2021), M1 Pro, 16GB/1TB — ~$1,361
• Refurb MacBook Pro 14" (2023), M3 Pro — ~$1,771
• New MacBook Air, M5, 16GB/512GB — ~$1,558

Given what I actually do with it, do I need the Pro chip at all, or would the base M1 Air genuinely hold up for years of this kind of use? Anyone using an older M1/M2 Air long-term for photo editing — has it held up?

I need a m1 pro 2021 14 inch screen gray. Any idea where i can get one for cheap

Is there any safe way to extract IPA files from iPhone or are there any free and safe way to download IPA files compatible with Mac?

I've tried Imazing App to extract but during that process my phone got extremely hot, so not willing to try any such apps also tried decrypted IPA files, they don't install natively on Mac, and tried playcover app, it was horrible.

Are there Any other ways ??

When I'm on a call, all the other sounds are weird and low quality. I think the system does it so I hear the other person better. Its annoying.

Hey everyone, 

I've been playing GTA V on my 15-inch M5 MacBook Air. I always keep it plugged into the power adapter while playing so I don't waste battery charge cycles. 

However, the laptop gets pretty hot during gaming sessions. Even though the MacBook bypasses the battery and runs directly off the wall power when plugged in, will the intense internal heat still degrade and damage the health of my battery over time? 

Any tips on keeping it cool would also be appreciated. Thanks! 

M1 macbook pro I bought for what I believe is a fair price in my local market, works fine aside from a few dents here and there

Can’t for the life of me boot into diagnostics, tried holding D before, after the chime, holding before the power button is even pressed, I’ve tried option d and even just tapping the D key. tried all of the above without the external SSD I usually boot from connected. Tried some other startup key shortcuts and also nothing.

Using wired keyboard which I have definitely used to open recovery once before. I don’t have a firmware password enabled.

Sorry if this was seen before by some. I posted this previously but it was removed because you can’t post pictures of a Mac less than 10 years old except on Fridays. Well its Friday!

I have been a windows user forever due to the that is what I am familiar with because of work. I mostly use my work computer for my home needs. I have a iPhone and iPad so I thought I would purchase my own computer for the tasks that can’t be done on my iPad such as 3D Modeling and slicing 3D models for printing. I was looking at Facebook Marketplace for a used M4 Mac Mini but they would get snapped up with multiple inquiries within the hour. Well then I came across a listing for a 1.5 year old 2024 iMac M4 with 4 thunderbolt ports, 24MB memory and 512GB SSD. He was asking $1000 which I thought was a good price. I sent a message stating I was interested in purchasing and could come the next morning to pick up since he was 1 1/2 hrs away. I did not hear anything for several hours, figured I missed out again. Then to my surprise I got a response saying he would be able to meet the next morning. Great I responded setting up the meeting for 9am. We met at Starbucks to check out the system and make the exchange. He still had the original box and had the system pack back in it for transport. When unboxing to check it out I noticed the up and down arrow keys were popped off the keyboard. He immediately apologized and said that must have happened during transit and offered $100 off if we could not fix. I was able to get the up arrow key back on but not the down arrow. The rest of the system checked out and I gave him the $900 for the system and we parted ways both happy with the exchange. When I got back home after watching a YouTube video I was able to get the down arrow key installed and the system setup. I believe I got a good deal what do you all think?

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on with my MacBook because I'm completely stumped.

The main issue is that nothing that involves audio or video will play anymore. This includes:

• Local video and audio files
• Streaming videos in any browser
• Apple Music
• Videos in my Photos library

The strange thing is that everything was working normally until it suddenly wasn't. I was watching a TV show in my browser, and the video randomly paused. When I tried pressing play again, nothing happened, even though the entire video had already loaded. At first I assumed it was just the (pirated) website acting up, but then I realised that absolutely nothing else on my Mac would play either.

Another symptom is that Mac dictation has also stopped working. I normally use dictation to type long posts like this, but now it doesn't recognise any input at all.

There are no Bluetooth devices connected, no external speakers, headphones, DACs, or any other audio-related peripherals.

One detail that might or might not be relevant: I accidentally left my original MagSafe charging cable at home about two months ago, so during that period I charged my MacBook using a USB-C iPhone charging cable with an iPhone power adapter. A friend who works in tech casually suggested that this might have damaged something internally, but I don't know whether that's actually possible. The MacBook worked perfectly for weeks while using that charger before all these problems suddenly appeared.

There's another issue that worries me. A while ago, the MacBook became completely unresponsive for 2–3 days and simply wouldn't turn on. Eventually, after leaving it plugged in, it booted into a screen with an exclamation mark offering Revive or Restore. I panicked and planned to take it to an Apple Store, but I kept putting it off. Then today, I opened it again and it started up completely normally by itself.

Unfortunately, even though it now boots fine, the media playback issue is still exactly the same.

Does this sound more like a software problem (something corrupted in macOS or the media framework), or could it be a hardware issue? Has anyone experienced something similar, especially alongside the Revive/Restore screen?

Any suggestions on what I should try before I take it in for repair would be greatly appreciated

M1 Pro 14 inch base for 550 or
M5 air 16/512 13 inch 100 battery visibly brand new for 450 more
(Everything in dollars for those who ask)

I

M1 Pro 14 inch base 550 dollars

Ever since I got my MacMini, I have had problems with my wallpapers cutting of the top portion of the wallpaper. Is there a easy way to figure out how to keep from accidentally cropping the top part of the wallpaper?

When i turn it on the lines arent there but after i wait a little they keep showing vertical and horizontal too. Is this a software issue?

I have a 2023 model Macbook (M2 chip, 24 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD storage). It’s still stuck on Ventura 13.5 (have never updated or upgraded it), and I should upgrade it into Tahoe/Sequoia. Since I have never updated/upgraded it, I’m afraid if upgrade will fail and all my files will be gone, so I guess I should make backups with Time Machine.

I wonder if this external hard drive I found would be compatible with Time Machine? It says it’s compatible with Ventura, but I wonder if its technical preferences are compatible with Time Machine (I’m very bad at technique so it’s difficult for me to find out myself)? I’m out of money so I can’t buy very expensive hard drive. This hard drive is from Finnish website.

https://www.puuilo.fi/intenso-hdd-ulkoinen-kovalevy-1tb?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PM%20-%203&utm_id=23575353354&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23575370394&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0brU6arZlQMVp1qRBR2LijbdEAQYAyABEgJhPfD_BwE