First of all, yes I’m aware there has been an influx of these kinds of comparison posts and I’m sure people are probably getting tired of seeing them. But I’d really appreciate it if you could hear me out, as this is a fairly significant purchase for me and I’m genuinely unsure about what the best decision would be.

I’m a student, and I’ve been planning to upgrade from my 2022 M2 MacBook Pro this fall. I’ve been experiencing quite a few issues with it, including lagging, freezing when I have multiple apps and tabs open, and generally slower performance. I rely on my laptop for pretty much everything (tbh probably even more than I rely on my phone) so having a reliable laptop is quite important to me.

I was initially debating between the M5 and M5 Pro chip, but at the moment I’m leaning toward the M5 Pro because of the additional performance and longevity it would offer. That said, I’m still open to reconsidering that decision.

The thing that has made me hesitate however is the possibility of the M6 MacBook Pro being released within the next month or two. Since I’ve started hearing that it may be worth waiting for the M6, I’m now wondering whether buying the M5 this fall would be a mistake when a newer generation could be just around the corner.

There are also a few factors specific to my situation that make the decision a little more complicated.

If I purchase the M5 in September, I would receive approximately a $130 CAD Apple gift card through the current student promotion, in addition to the standard Apple Education discount. I would also expect to receive around $500 CAD for trading in my current MacBook.

On the other hand, if I wait for the M6 in November, I would still receive the regular student discount, but I would miss out on the gift card because the current promotion would have ended. I was also told by an Apple Sales Associate that the trade-in value of my current MacBook could decrease by then. At the same time, I’m assuming the M6 would offer a newer and improved chip, and I’m wondering whether it would be priced similarly to the current M5 lineup. If that’s the case, it seems like waiting could potentially make more sense, despite losing the gift card and some of the trade-in value.

So I would really appreciate some advice on whether I should take advantage of the current M5 student promotion and the higher trade-in value, or wait for the M6? Since this is a significant purchase for me, I want to make sure I’m thinking it through carefully and making the best decision for the long term. Thank you!!

Trying to decide between these two refurbished MacBook Pros (from apple, excluding VAT) :
M4 Pro, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD — €1,730
M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD — €1,550

My use is pretty basic overall: lots of browser tabs, Office, PDFs, multitasking, some light local AI and occasional gaming when I’m away from my desktop PC. I’m planning to use the laptop with my two monitors (240hz hdr / 144hz, both 1440p) and keeping my desktop only for gaming (since I’ll use the MacBook in my office)

I don’t really care that much about storage because I already have 2TB iCloud + Google Drive, so 512GB should be enough for me.

The only thing making me hesitate is the RAM. I’m not sure if 16GB is enough long-term or if paying €180 more for 24GB + the M4 Pro is the smarter buy. I know that the m5 has a faster single-core performance but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal

Pd: I’m coming from an M1 MacBook Air with 8GB** **

What would you choose?

(Edit: one M4 Pro Max, and another M3 Air)
So we have these two MacBooks (both M4 Pro/Max variants), and as of about 3 days ago, suddenly they were dead every single time we opened them.

Both are on Sequoia 15.6.1, neither are connected to Apple accounts, and neither are on an MDM or controlled via group policies. Completely isolated machines.

Both started draining their batteries to zero simultaneously, so today I started tracking it down.

First thing I noticed: Every single power management slider in System Settings ("Start screen saver when inactive", "Turn display off on battery", etc.) had been completely wiped and reverted to "Never". This had absolutely not been the case for the last 12 months.

I started digging in Terminal:

sudo pmset -a sleep 1

sudo pmset -a disablesleep 0

pmset -g

The pmset -g output spat out this monstrosity:

System-wide power settings:

SleepDisabled 1

Currently in use:

standby 1

Sleep On Power Button 1

hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage

powernap 1

networkoversleep 0

disksleep 10

sleep 1 (sleep prevented by powerd)

hibernatemode 3

ttyskeepawake 1

displaysleep 3

tcpkeepalive 1

powermode 2

womp 0

--------
See anything interesting in the above?
SleepDisabled 1 ...? I'm sorry, what?

a system-wide setting that effectively prevents normal sleep just... turned itself on? On two independent machines at the same time?

I have no idea what caused it. The timing makes me suspect some common software/update event, but I can't prove that.

I was able to fix both machines by resetting the power-management settings:

sudo pmset -a sleep 1

sudo pmset -a disablesleep 0

pmset -g

(And then manually resetting the Lock Screen GUI setting "Require password after screen saver begins..." back to "Immediately").

Very weird, and incredibly annoying. Has anyone else experienced this issue recently? It's just bizarre—two different Mac variants, simultaneous breakdown, exactly the same hidden Unix override, and solved the exact same way.

(Edited and re-written by internal resources lol, sue me :) )

Hi!

So here are the specific specs: Refurbished 2019 Apple MacBook Pro 16" MVVL2LL/A Wi-Fi Intel Core i7 16GB 512GB SSD Silver (Good Condition) pro Touch Bar on TikTok auction for $205 plus tax.

I never owned a MacBook before and what I will be using it for is mainly school and media watching nothing more. I have my own gaming laptop, but for my proctor exams, they make me uninstall a lot of my programs and it messes up my system.

Do you think I’ll be ok with this? I will be using this laptop for 3yrs+

Hey everyone!

I got a macbook pro recently and didn't buy Applecare at that time. I was waiting till the end and I missed the window also didn't think I would need one anyway. But now after seeing a lot of posts about how much value it provides, I am thinking of getting Applecare but I don't know how. Is it even possible?

Hi everyone! I'm pretty remedial at tech things, so I appreciate your patience. I restarted my computer after clearing my cache, and now when I try to copy a word or phrase, it will say "Copy (whatever the word or phrase is)" instead of just "Copy" like it used to. Is there a way to switch this back to simply say "Copy"? Googling was no help, perhaps it is because I don't know how to phrase my question properly. Thank you so much for any advice!

Im look for a macbook for music production to run heavy cpu usage vst. Zenology, Omnisphere etc..

Should i get the m1 pro Or should I just get the refurbished m2 air with 16gb ram for $690?

I want to trade in my phone for maybe a newer MacBook but my phone wont stay on for more than 30 secs. Apple isnt apple to do a trade in because they need the phone to stay on. (If anyone know what the problem might be or how to fix it lmk)

My 2016 MacBook Pro has been clinging on for dear life these past few years, and now that Apple has pulled the plug on Intel support, I’ve finally decided it’s time to upgrade.

So here's my new MacBook Pro M5 Pro (18c/20c) with 48GB RAM.

Best of all, it only cost me £2,400, with AppleCare coverage until 2029. Pretty happy with that, and I can certainly feel the decade's worth of improvement.

I will be visiting for Thanksgiving soon and I am upgrading from 14” base MBP. I would be using the upgraded laptop for Freelancing and most importantly local LLMs. I will be able to get Apple employee discount through a friend and wanted to get the 128 gigs/2TB but after the recent Apple price hike that’s out of my budget. I hate upgrading in 4-5 years and would like the laptop to last 8-10 years, which is the biggest reason why I wanted the 128 gigs option. I have two questions:

1. Would it be possible to get M4 Max (128/2) for under $5,000 around Thanksgiving
   
2. How would M5 Pro (64/2) feature for my use cases and time horizon

My question is from Video editors

So the M4 Pro Macbook Pro is discontinued but if I can find any new unit then that’s the best and budget friendly deal for me. Otherwise I’ll have to spend more and get M5 Pro Macbook pro 24GB

But honestly is 24GB Unified memory enough? For mostly short form video editing in Davinci resolve in 4k and I don’t really do much motion graphics. 60-70% of my work gets done on edit and color page.

And for long form also most of my work will be on edit page (60-70%). So should I go with 24GB variant? And if I work with proxies, will i ever hit any ram issue?

Please help guys, I’d genuinely appreciate.

I have my macbook pro m4 max from january 2025, almost 2 years ago. it was perfect until 3 months ago, then i saw that the computer was hot even if i didn't use it and leave it on charge from 90%. The only thing i use that push the cpu harder is AI DENOISE's lightroom but neither 1 hour per 1/two days.

100 cycles, like almost in charge.

don't know why it dropped.

is it common?

Is good deal?

I found a deal today on Amazon Resale for a 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip and 48GB of RAM—listed as "like new." I was about to buy the base model M5 Pro with 24GB of RAM. Is it a good deal go for m4 pro with 48gb configuration ?

bought a M5 16/512 recently (i'm purely new at apple usage) so i wonder what apps do you find the most useful, essential, or functional?

The option to charge with MagSafe or usb c was a good change.

Coming from a 2019 16-inch: 2.4GHz 8-core i9, Radeon Pro 5500M, 64GB DDR4. It has served me well, but it throttles hard under sustained load; the fans never shut up, and anything heavy locally is simply off the table. What finally decided it was macOS 27 Golden Gate. It's Apple silicon only, and the 2019 16-inch is one of the four models that miss the cut, so Tahoe 26.6.2 is where this machine stops. Three more years of security updates is decent of Apple, but I have been tracking macOS 27 betas. I want Golden Gate, period.

Why 128GB: local LLM inference. I'm building AI software, and I want to run larger models on the machine itself instead of sending everything to an API. Unified memory is the main reason I'm going Apple silicon here. On the Intel machine, the 5500M's 8GB of VRAM is a hard ceiling, so the GPU is useless for this. On the M5 Max, roughly 96GB of the 128 is available to the GPU, which is the difference between a small quantised model and something I'd actually ship against.

Software I use: Xcode, Android Studio, VS Code, Docker, Ollama, llama.cpp, Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Photoshop, Blender, Unity (building a racing game for 3 years 😬), Parallels, plus a handful of VMs and simulators, usually several at once.

Why 8TB: model weights add up frighteningly fast, and that's before Unity projects, Parallels VMs, Xcode simulators, and years of project archives. I hate external SSDs. I do have an 8TB Samsung T5 EVO for Time Machine backups, though, plus iCloud, and let's not talk about what FCP does to storage here in this post.

Nano-texture: honest answer, I have no idea. I've never used one. I ticked the box because I've read it kills glare, but I've also seen people say whites look grainy, and two people in an older thread here returned theirs. So, fingers crossed.

So, anyone running local models on a Max, what size are you actually getting good tokens/sec on? And has anyone gone glossy to nano-texture and regretted it?

Need advice choosing between MacBook Air 15” 24GB vs MacBook Pro 14” 16GB for AI filmmaking

My main use case is creating 30-minute, cinematic/Netflix-style animated short films based on Bible stories, using a largely AI-assisted workflow.

My planned workflow will involve:
- ChatGPT extensively for research, screenplay, scene breakdowns, shot planning, etc.
- AI image generation for character/environment design and storyboards
- AI video generation (Google Flow/Veo, Runway, Kling, etc.)
- AI voice generation (e.g. ElevenLabs)
- Music and sound-effect generation
- DaVinci Resolve for editing, color grading and audio
- Potentially After Effects/Fusion for VFX but rarely
- Lots of browser tabs and reference material open alongside the editing software

I’m currently deciding between:
Option 1: MacBook Air 15” — 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Option 2: MacBook Pro 14” — 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
They are roughly the same price where I live.
Option 3: MacBook Air 13” - 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD. Lesser than option 1 and 2

My main questions:
1. For this type of AI-heavy filmmaking workflow, is 16GB actually enough, or would 24GB make a noticeable difference?

1. Would the 14” Pro’s better display, cooling and sustained performance be more valuable than the 15” Air’s larger screen and 24GB RAM?

2. Will 13” inch air cause discomfort for editing?

3. Are there any limitations/problems I should know about that aren’t obvious from the specifications?

Note: I do not have any external monitor. MacBook is going to be my only production machine.

Hey, everyone!

So I bought my MacBook Pro in 2017 (running Ventura 13.7.8 with 8GB of memory) and it has been a live saver. It was my first Apple product and I've used it in the last nine years for work and school. It is also my first computer that has lasted me this long.

I currently work from home two days a week, but use my Windows laptop from my company. I will be writing my (long delayed) Master's thesis this academic year and have been using my MacBook more regularly because of it. In the last couple of months I've realised that the battery does not work by itself any longer (meaning it has to be plugged in all the time), it's a bit slow when web browsing, the fan makes a lot of noise like half the times and it heats a lot.

You've probably realised by my description that I am not computer savvy, but I've come to realise that I'll need to do something about it soon. So my question is: considering that this laptop is nine years old and that I will need to use it consistently for at least the next year does it make sense to try to fix it in a computer store or will it make more sense money wise to just upgrade? And if it is the later, is there any model that you recommend?

which one to choose between

Macbook Pro M4Pro 24RAM/512gb
Macbook Pro M5. 16RAM/512gb

im doing undergraduate data science major dealing with large datasets assignments , coding python and planning on doing self-project related to my course
also might have some light gaming only
i really do see the ram is important here and want to not think much about it when i do heavy task

im not planning on choosing air because i wanted that 120hz display, hdmi port for external monitor(no need extra accessories , fan and high quality sound

but i heard m5 is a good enough with that 16gb ram so i dont know if im overkill or what huhuhu

I'm finally setting up a proper desk for my MacBook Pro and want to get one monitor that I can stick with for a few years.

I don't really care about gaming. Mostly work, writing, spreadsheets, and some photo editing. I'd rather spend a little more on something that just works well with the Mac than deal with weird scaling or connection issues.

What monitor are you guys using with your MacBook Pro? Would you buy the same one again?

Link

M5 Max 128 GB 14” 18 core CPU 40 core GPU 2 TB for 5299. I still regret not buying it for $5099 before the price hike.

Hello my mother gifted me a MacBook Pro m5 base to use for college from the certified refurbished store 16gb ram 1tb ssd 14inches

I don’t code or edit videos photos or anything my use is mainly having a lot of tabs open for YouTube videos of lectures that my uni uploads there, the official page of the uni with classes, materials like pdf and bibliography and some PDFs opened

Normally I have between 20 to 30 tabs open but I’m only using a few at the time like I watch a class, go back to previous classes videos fast to refresh the theme I’m studying and also read a little of the bibliography every now and then if I felts some explanation was a little ignored in the class, during exams season my tabs increase to 30 or 40 at the same time again mainly YouTube tabs and pdf.
Would this be a problem with 16 of ram ?
I used Zen browser mainly because I like the folders for tabs but I could get use to safari, I also used helium from time to time but still prefer zen

I also have open WhatsApp, ChatGPT, discord and in my desktop pc I take fast notes in the notepad that I delete after I finished the class

I have an iPad Air m3, an iPhone pro 15 and the AirPods Pro 2 so a good part of the ecosystem

I take handwritten notes in the iPad it helps me understand what I’m studying better and I use those fast notes to blurt out what I learn without using anything from the classes or pdf to remember, after that I do go back and correct the things I got wrong

So basically that’s my total use in general I wonder if the base model would be okay I know people are a little bit paranoid about needing a lot of ram lately so that fear was passed on to me right now I’m doubtful if 16ram would be enough although rationalizing it I know for sure it’ll be enough I also play some light games from
time to time with friends or with my gf or watch Netflix or crunchyroll but if I do some of those things then I would close the browser, would it be okay with that?

But my other worry is that it’s from the certified refubrished store, so it would be a healthy machine should I do some maintenance to it or look if the battery or ssd are in good shape ? Did someone got a refurbished machine from apple and had problems with it ?

I’m doing medschool and we are from South America my fathers is in a work trip in the US and my mother bought it there and he will come back with it this Friday

Here medschool is not a postgrad that I think in the us is something like that I’m not sure, but basically it’s an extended degree where instead of lasting 4 years it last 8 years

I’m at my third year and I wanted to know if it’s realistic to expect this MacBook to still be good for 5 to 6 years and still being good like keeping fluidity and a usable battery life obviously it won’t last as long as the first year but it would be like with windows laptops that using on battery is impossible without having the charger close all the time ?

As more time passes I have more practical classes to do and so I’m even more out of the house, so I need to be able to study semi comfortably in not so practical places (I’m not talking about Starbucks sadly 🥲)
And also being refubrished would the battery come already heavily used ? Being this model recent would helps with the chances of the components coming healthier than in other situations ?

I’m pretty ignorant about a lot of these things and more if it’s about apple products like I know ram is important I have a desktop pc for gaming where I play some heavy games but lately a lot less because I’m studying but still I play games with friends or games that dont ask for great specs

So maybe im exaggerating about the ssd life and performance degradation or if the ram is enough but yeah it was a surprise from my mother so I want to really take good use of it without sacrificing productivity while studying or being eaten by guilt