Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Are Apple’s Refurbished computers any good?”.
( guitar, music, ) Apple, doesn’t really do sales and when they do, the savings are kind of unappealing, but where they do offer a discount is in the Apple, certified refurbished store. And it seems like, for the most part, people swear by it.. So I wan na buy a Mac and iOS device to see if these great deals come with any sort of refurbished risks. Uh They did. [ Customer support. ] Yeah, I haven’t come across this before. ( bright music ).
If you are wondering where to find the refurbished store scroll, all the way to the bottom of the Apple store website or the app., Not every region has a refurbished store. Though., It’s missing in Mexico, Mozambique, Moldova, Malaysia, along with some larger nations that don’t start with M like India. Apple claims that the devices you get are like new., They undergo a full cleaning. Full functional testing and anything that’s broken is replaced with Apple, genuine parts.
iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad undergo an even more thorough refurbishment process. Getting a brand new battery and outer shell too.. Then they are all re-packaged into white boxes, with Apple certified refurbished written on them to warn remind you. In terms of the sale that are treated just like any new devices. With the same one year, warranty AppleCare plus option delivery and return policies.. So by all accounts, these are grade A fully backed products, maybe with some extra distance between you and the factory..
If you’re, okay, with that, here’s, how much you can save. With Macs the discount is 15 % off the retail price. At the time they were last sold and with iOS devices, the discounts are bigger. From my calculations, varying between 13 and 33 %, depending on the model.. It looks like some of these iPads have a little bit of depreciation factored in, which is nice..
What this ultimately may means, though, is that the best deals for max are with the latest models., So that would probably be something with Apple Silicon or an Intel model. Still in production., I suggest researching what Mac you wan na buy. First, then, stopping in at the refurbished store to see if it’s available there.
You might or might not find what you’re looking for, but the research phase should keep you from ending up with a bad deal like I did in my last video. From my research. All I need is a base M1 MacBook Air, since I’m just writing and surfing the web.. I also wouldn’t mind snagging an iPad mini if I can get one for a good price..
I swear saw a gold MacBook in here yesterday and now it doesn’t look like there is any.. Now there’s some colored IMAX. Those are nice.. There isn’t ephemeral nature to the refurbished store to be aware, of. With something as in demand as the MacBook air. It can be here one minute and gone the next.. It might not show up for a day or a couple of weeks. It really depends.
You’ll have to weigh your patience and urgency with the savings. Urgency can be really expensive.. If you wan na set up a notification, refurbtracker.com is a pretty great site.
Now. One interesting thing I’ve noticed is that when the listing shows the original price and how much you save that’s a default base skew. If it just shows a price. That means it’s been customized with more Ram or storage.. The discount is still the same though.
So that MacBook Air I want is $ 850 in here.. Now, how does that compare to the prices elsewhere? Rarely some retail sales prices drop down to or below refurbished pricing, but the best deals are fleeting. So it’s serendipity. On the used market.
There are MacBooks at an equivalent price and since it’d be a private sale, you save on sales tax.. On the flip side, you also will have to meet up with a stranger in a different town and the device condition isn’t fully guaranteed. Plus you can’t return it. With the iPad. It’S a little bit of a different story, because there are some older models in the refurbished store at prices much higher than a used model.. But then again they have a new battery which costs minimum $ 100 to replace.
If you’re unlucky and don’t forget the new chassis., Okay, so the MacBook I want isn’t in here.. So do I buy something else or do I just wait, [, Emily ]? Why don’t you just read the sponsor copy? All right. Manscaped. They’re who’s sponsoring this video.
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You can’t always get what you want in the Apple refurbished store. All right.. Let’S find that iPad mini.
Now a brand new one would set me back $ 500, but I don’t need all that technology and all those colors.. So here’s a last generation model for only 340.: Let’s see., Okay, gold out of stock silver like wise., More storage., Nope., All right., So space gray, 64 gigabytes, it is.; Okay, I guess we’re done.! You know what, Before I check out, I’m just gon na go back and refresh the Mac page., Let’s see what happens. It’s here., There’s a gold one.
Yes.! Okay, let’s fix this up, then buy. See it’s a real gamble. ( chuckles ) Perfect.
( gentle music ). Well, it doesn’t look any different from anyone. There’s like a tiny mark on the keyboard of something..
Wait uh oh. What That’s interesting.. You think it was a demo, Not a demo device.
Demo registration.. I don’t know what have I done., Let’s unbox the iPad. Yeah.
This looks great., It’s pristine.. This isn’t going into demo mode. Honestly this, and this are a good buy, though I had to really figure out what’s going on with that whole demo mode thing.. So let me use these for a couple of days and see how they fare.
When a Mac is in demo mode. It’S in demo mode.. You can’t just format the hard drive and reinstall macOS, because if you do, it just goes back into demo mode again.. So I had to call Apple customer support.
[ Customer support ]. Thank you for contacting Apple support.. Clearly, this is something that doesn’t happen, that often. [ Customer support, ] Yeah I’ve never come across this so ….
I know it’s really strange yeah.. After an hour of re-reinstalling macOS, I was told to exchange it for another unit. [ Customer support, ] Uh.
Let’S get you up to a senior adviser, okay, I’ve not really seen too much information on this.. On the other hand, the iPad mini works great., It’s frankly impossible to tell that this is a refurbished model.. It connects to the pencil flawlessly.
It’s portable light, fast, enjoyable to use. And according to my reading on coconutBattery, this has a brand new battery and was made in December.. I wonder if Apple resets, the manufacture date on refurbished iOS devices, because the new iPad mini came out in September, and this is the outgoing model no matter. At $ 340. You can save 160 compared to a brand new generation model which, if you’re in a pinch, is pretty good.. Okay.
So I guess I’m gon na be running Mac-less for …, Hey, it’s arrived., We’re in.! It’S the desktop., A success, that’s great. Like the iPad. I really wouldn’t be able to tell that this MacBook Air is refurbished from using it.. The panel is bright and clear..
The SSD smart info shows that it was virtually unused before I got it, and likewise the battery., Though it appears that it might have degraded ever so slightly., So for $ 850. This is a great new laptop.. Still I had to spend an hour on the phone and wait a week for the replacement..
So, despite my hopes, there’s a little risk to Apple certified refurbished store, too., It’s on a big risk like your device falling apart or looking strangely off, but it’s there all right.. That being said, the demo mode issue is probably quite rare, considering I couldn’t find any information forum posts et cetera about it. Online., Maybe just don’t, tempt fate when the gold MacBook you wanted appears out of thin air..
So is the risk of having to spend that time worth the 15 % savings or, in my case $ 150. Hmm. For someone as cheap as me, yes., But for those of an instant gratification disposition or running a business in need of a Mac right now, maybe Not., But as for asking a handful of our Twitter followers, many replied saying that they exclusively buy of the refurbish store., Most all responded that they were happy with their purchase except for one.. What I’ve discovered here is that the results vary by product., For instance. I wouldn’t buy an iPad pro from anywhere, but the refurbish store. You can get an upgraded iPad pro with the A12Z chip from 2020 for $ 690 $ 60 less than an equivalent iPad Air., That’s pretty compelling.. As for Macs, there’s still good deals, too. With this being only $ 850, it’s harder to resign yourself into buying a cheap Windows laptop because trust me, a couple of years with one of those would be far more inconvenient than an hour on the phone..
Thanks for exchanging this Mac address for one, that’s not broken.! If you wan na get a Mac on sale, give this video a like and if you’re fine, paying full price. Why not subscribe now, If you yourself have bought a refurbished Mac, tell us how good a deal you’re able to snag or if it was just full of snacks. .