# Apple PowerBook G4

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/powerbook-g4/

19 people recommended Apple PowerBook G4 in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 9 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 17 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its design, fast wake from sleep and long lifespan; the most common caveat is that its titanium hinges fail and modern web browsing is slow.

Summary written by Claude from 32 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Iconic, beautiful design (4 comments in the sample): "The TiBook was a milestone product and a great Jony Ive-led design." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45942768)) "still my favorite laptop ever, in terms of looks and form factor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45902530)) "the older fan favorite 12-inch PowerBook G4 (circa 2003" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47223177))
- Capable for its era (3 comments in the sample): "My best Mac was a PowerBook G4 that could run Windows on a VM faster than most Windows machines at the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47845112)) "It's good enough for most of my work, though modern web-browsing is a challenge." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45902651)) "it can surprisingly do a lot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47067362))
- Wakes instantly from sleep (2 comments in the sample): "One of the best things about it was that I could open the lid and it would immediately be awake and ready to use." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48915117)) "They've always resumed quickly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46396738))

## What people warn about

- Hinges fail over time (2 comments in the sample): "Titanium powerbooks had hinges that would break in a year." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49362212)) "both infamous for hinge failure" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47553392))
- Struggles with modern websites (2 comments in the sample): "I loved that machine. I tried to use it recently but it's hopeless: only a couple websites come up." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50013591)) "But open one website, and the machine went down. Unusable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47394361))

## Other laptops people recommend

- [Apple MacBook Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-pro/): 593 recommend, 243 mixed, 586 criticize
- [Apple MacBook Neo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-neo/): 488 recommend, 173 mixed, 295 criticize
- [MacBook Air](https://hackerapproved.com/p/macbook-air/): 475 recommend, 122 mixed, 163 criticize
- [Apple MacBook](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-macbook/): 358 recommend, 110 mixed, 324 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple PowerBook G4", https://hackerapproved.com/p/powerbook-g4/ (19 recommend, 4 mixed, 9 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.