You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

The Brilliant Reason People Are Tearing Screens Off Apple MacBooks A hack that saves you money and a trip to the landfill.

By Entrepreneur Staff

entrepreneur daily

Tim Robberts | Getty Images

A cracked or otherwise messed up display has sent many a laptop to the e-waste Dumpster in the sky.

But a growing trend detailed by news outlet Digital Trends reveals that people are actually seeking out machines with busted displays on eBay and other sites. The reason? For lack of a more technical description, the guts and brains of a MacBook live in the bottom portion of the machine. So by simply popping off the display half and connecting to an external monitor, you can have a working MacBook for a fraction of the price. Digital Trends notes that an M1 MacBook Air with a broken display can be bought on eBay for $400. Compare that to a certified one from Apple that costs $850, and you see why tech-savvy folks with an extra monitor and some cords are giving this a go.

This is not perfect, however. As with any Apple device, once you open it up and start playing Dr. Frankenstein, you void any kind of warranty. And, unlike a fully-functioning laptop, this isn't exactly portable. Your local coffee shop might be less inclined to let you sit there working on your screenplay all day if you have a giant monitor and wires running all over the place. But if your plans revolve mostly around working from a home office, the monetary and environmental savings of rescuing old machines puts this hack in the brilliant category.

Related: Avoid This Major Leadership Blunder That Got Steve Jobs Ousted From Apple

Entrepreneur Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

From Tom Brady to Kevin O'Leary – See Who Lost Big in the Wake of the FTX Crypto Collapse

The crash exposed an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts, leaving investors and customers scrambling to recoup their funds.

Business News

This Highly-Debated Piece of Cinematic History Just Sold For Over $700,000 at Auction

The wood panel from "Titanic" is often mistaken as a door. Either way, he couldn't have fit. (Sorry.)

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Fundraising

Avoid These 9 Pitch Deck Mistakes When Asking Others For Money

Crafting an efficient pitch deck requires serious effort, but at least it's not wandering in the dark since certain rules are shaped by decades of relationships between startups and investors.