Apple iBook
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 20 of 63 laptops by recommenders
Recommended for its beautiful design and long lifespan, with some still working today. Critics say it is hard to repair and cannot join modern Wi-Fi out of the box.
Recommended for its beautiful design and long lifespan, with some still working today. Critics say it is hard to repair and cannot join modern Wi-Fi out of the box.
24 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 18 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fond memories, gateway to Macs
“just a nice warm fuzzy feelings from childhood”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “27-year-old Apple iBooks can connect to Wi-Fi and download official updates” “still it was my gateway to decades of Macs”
Comment from 22 Mar 2026 in “iBook Clamshell” “it was a great machine for me back then!”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “MacBook Neo Is So Popular That Apple Doubled Production” - Comment from 28 May 2026 in “The Most Unlikely School Bag”
Beautiful design with smooth edges
“Its curved, translucent case design (with a handle!) was echoed in the iMac (1998) and iBook (1999).”
Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Apple Readies a Low-Cost Laptop to Rival Chromebooks and Windows PCs” “the sleep light on the white plastic iBook was the first product feature I truly loved”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “"Just a little detail that wouldn't sell anything"” “it was really comfortable to work on due to its smooth edges”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Apple targets dozens of OpenAI employees with legal letters” - Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “The PowerPC Has Still Got It (Llama on G4 Laptop)”
Long-lasting, not planned obsolescence
“The half-life of Apple kit is so high, they are arguably a lot more sustainable than their repairable PC counterparts.”
Comment from 7 Dec 2025 in “Bikeshedding, or why I want to build a laptop” “Apple is the opposite of planned obsolescence”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “27-year-old Apple iBooks can connect to Wi-Fi and download official updates” Reliable, wakes when lid opens
“the iBook would come out of sleep when you opened the lid”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Apple Is Going to Raise Device Prices – But When?” “It worked absolutely perfectly”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Neverclick: Desktop application for performing mouse actions with your keyboard”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Difficult repairs: screws, HDD, switch
“The iBook G3 is dozens of screws, worse yet they're torx screws even on the inside.”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Apple Used to Design Its Laptops for Repairability” “needs a new reed switch and the replacement process looks horrendous”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “OS9Map” “it has a notoriously difficult HDD replacement process”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Apple Used to Design Its Laptops for Repairability” Fragile chassis and grounding issues
“transparent case with white paint inside so they had this really cool glow. Unfortunately that caused shadows on the tiniest scratch”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “FrameBook” “The G4 iBook had grounding issues, and would occasionally get spicy with two-prong outlets.”
Comment from 22 Mar 2026 in “Apple Announces New Mac Sales Record Following MacBook Neo Launch” No updates, no modern Wi-Fi
“I can't believe Apple hasn't pushed an update to their 9-year-old device in 11 years!”
Comment from 19 Feb 2026 in “27-year-old Apple iBooks can connect to Wi-Fi and download official updates” “it most certainly can NOT connect to modern Wi-Fi, not out of the box”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “27-year-old Apple iBooks can connect to Wi-Fi and download official updates”
Other laptops people recommend
The four most recommended other laptops, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Pro | 928 | 688 | 57% | 13 | 5 yrs248 owners | — |
| Apple MacBook Neo | 707 | 355 | 66% | 9 | 1 mo8 owners | — |
| MacBook Air | 633 | 209 | 75% | 12 | 5 yrs130 owners | Approved |
| Apple MacBook | 499 | 348 | 59% | 12 | 9 yrs77 owners | — |
| Apple iBookThis page | 20 | 4 | 83% | 8 | 18 yrs3 owners | Approved |
What people said
25 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“from colorful clamshell/toilet seat design to sleek laptop. 30 % lighter, half the volume”
“it was really comfortable to work on due to its smooth edges”
“It worked absolutely perfectly”
“needs a new reed switch and the replacement process looks horrendous”
“the iBook would come out of sleep when you opened the lid”
“it suffices for simple things”
“it was a great machine for me back then!”
“Still one of my favorite laptops.”
“They sold like hotcakes after Apple was making grey machines for decades before that.”
“still it was my gateway to decades of Macs”
“The G3 iBook lacked rigidity, and had a tendency to damage the mainboard if picked up from a corner.”
“The G4 iBook had grounding issues, and would occasionally get spicy with two-prong outlets.”
“transparent case with white paint inside so they had this really cool glow. Unfortunately that caused shadows on the tiniest scratch”
“The iBook G3 is dozens of screws, worse yet they're torx screws even on the inside.”
“it has a notoriously difficult HDD replacement process”
“the sleep light on the white plastic iBook was the first product feature I truly loved”
“I can't believe Apple hasn't pushed an update to their 9-year-old device in 11 years!”
“just a nice warm fuzzy feelings from childhood”
“the UI looks so modern for something from the year after I was born”
“Apple is the opposite of planned obsolescence”
“it most certainly can NOT connect to modern Wi-Fi, not out of the box”
“The half-life of Apple kit is so high, they are arguably a lot more sustainable than their repairable PC counterparts.”
“man, this thing is beautiful. And it's pretty fun to use.”
“You can buy an iBook G3 for ~$50”
“Its curved, translucent case design (with a handle!) was echoed in the iMac (1998) and iBook (1999).”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.