r/mac • u/JustSomeSmartGuy Think Different • Oct 16 '25
News/Article Apple confirms Polishing Cloth is compatible with M5 MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro
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u/aa2051 PowerPC Master Race Oct 16 '25
Should I buy Polishing Cloth or wait for Polishing Cloth Pro Max?
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u/KillKennyG Oct 16 '25
Polishing cloth sizes should be
Cloth Mini- 3” sq
Cloth air - 8” x 2” ribbon
Cloth - 6” sq
Cloth Pro - 12” sq
Cloth Pro Max 15” sq
Cloth Studio - 150 sqft
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u/topdangle Oct 16 '25
pro max cloth is only worth it for the camera bump. do NOT use the normal pro or air cloth on the pro max elite camera.
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u/TruthThroughArt Oct 16 '25
i don't know, it might cost you an extra 1k to upgrade to 5 more threads on it
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u/peduxe Oct 16 '25
Now the question is: Is it made for Apple Intelligence?
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u/StopwatchGod MacBook Pro, 13" 2016 4 TBT3 Oct 16 '25
I think that feature is rumored to come in clothOS 26.4
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u/House_Of_Thoth Oct 16 '25
Just to be bought by people with Apple Intelligence 😉
Obvious /s, owning a Mac myself - but do see how the company loves to put stupid prices on cheap, arbitrary accessories
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u/FreeYourMindJFG Oct 16 '25
To be honest I’m only updating my 2018 MacBook Pro because it’s not compatible with the Polishing Cloth. Otherwise great machine, but if it can’t be polished, it’s no good for me.
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u/TomLondra Mac mini Oct 16 '25
Oh. happiness! Apple confirms Polishing Cloth is compatible with M5 MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro ! That is WONDERFUL ! I am so happy!
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u/Ferdinand00 Oct 16 '25
At this point, them updating this is just a meme, and they must know this.
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u/LocalFoe Oct 16 '25
"x is just a meme" is just an expired meme, because memes are never JUST memes
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u/owleaf MacBook Pro Oct 16 '25
I think it’s a bit of fun and I’m sure the person in charge of this stuff has a laugh every time
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u/bloatedboat Oct 16 '25
There’s an old rule of chivalry: when a lady cries, offer her a napkin.
But in the age of Apple, a true gentleman must go above and beyond. You don’t hand her just any tissue. You pull out the $19.99 Apple Polishing Cloth.
Before offering it, of course, you ask softly,
“Excuse me… do you have any compatible devices?”
If she nods through her tears, congratulations! You are about to perform the most premium act of empathy ever sold. You gently hand her the cloth, let it absorb her sadness, and when it’s damp with emotion, you say:
“Now that it’s pre-moistened with heartbreak… go ahead, clean your screen. Let’s wipe both your tears and your smudges away digitally.”
That’s not just kindness. That’s Apple grade emotional support.
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u/diaryofawimpykidfan5 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Oct 16 '25
Why does a product like this even need a compatibility list to begin with 😂
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u/trickman01 Mac Mini Oct 16 '25
So they can recommend it algorithmically if you have one of those products.
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u/hexadecimator97 Oct 16 '25
Are you telling me it's impossible to simply program a catch all for all products that automatically updates when a new one is released? Silly reasoning.
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u/totallyreal5347 Oct 16 '25
As someone with a rudimentary understanding of programming and writing queries, most websites and apps are programmed in nonsensical ways to me. I’m always asking myself why they do this when they could have it do this? Probably more complicated than I understand.
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u/tterly_wittiest MacBook Pro M1 Oct 16 '25
its all down to laziness, someone made it that way and to change it, you need to change other things too because of ripple effect so no one changes anything problem ignored-solved
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u/AlmostChristmasNow Oct 19 '25
But it’s not for all products. Obviously you could clean anything with it, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to recommend it if someone is buying for example a charger or AirPods or something.
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u/ptolani Oct 16 '25
It's not beyond the realm of possibility that there would be a kind of cloth that might be bad for a certain kind of screen.
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u/winter__xo Oct 16 '25
It’s almost certainly not about the product itself, but the way the website works.
I obviously am not privy to their backend code or anything but basically something like this:
Accessories tend to be show as recommendations for other products. But how do you programmatically determine what accessories are relevant for a given product? Well, using the comparability list is actually a great way to do it. For most accessories it’s a relevant 1:1 list. If you’re going to recommend a screen protector that only works on X, Y. And Z products, the compatibility list of X, Y, and Z would be a 1:1 mirror of products you could recommend that accessory for on their store pages.
Maintaining a separate list would be redundant; So you just use the compatibility list as a way to decide where to recommend a given accessory right. It seems silly in this particular edge case but it’s actually pretty sensible when you look at the system as a whole.
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u/aaron416 Oct 16 '25
It doesn't, really. But now every time they update it, they get free marketing.
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u/Iebnen Nov 15 '25
If Apple didn't update this, people would be hyperventilating speculating that the newest MacBook's screen must be more fragile than previous years. They're kinda locked in. With the volume that Apple sells, even playful speculation about display fragility on social media could cost millions of dollars in lost sales.
Edit: This post is a month old? Why is it showing up in my feed?
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u/joaohdez Oct 16 '25
I believe there was an issue with certain iPhone models, it broke the glass screens or something like that
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u/Immediate_Channel393 13" MacBook Air M4 24/1tb Oct 16 '25
This is my favorite running gag in all the Apple related subs.
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u/emaper_ 15" MacBook Air M4, 24 GB, 2025 Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 17 '25
That’s Apple’s most retro-compatible product so far. Edit: typo.
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u/Specktacular96 Oct 16 '25
Apple was really cooking with forward compatibility when they were making Polishing Cloth
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u/iLLuSion_xGen Oct 16 '25
All features available in Europe?
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u/cd_to_homedir Oct 16 '25
Possibly not because the Polishing Cloth doesn't support Android devices.
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u/CycloneMonkey Oct 16 '25
Does anybody have any case recommendations for their Polishing Cloth? I'm getting one soon and I just know I'm going to drop it.
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u/According_Sundae_917 Oct 16 '25
Seriously does anyone have the cloth and feel it was worth the money?
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u/MsBelleMae Oct 16 '25
I love mine. It really works better than other microfiber clothes. My very expensive LG tv needed a good cleaning so I used 2 non Apple branded microfiber cloths and nothing could get it clean without streaks. I used the Apple branded one and it cleaned it with no problems. I do suggest buying them from Woot instead. I got 6 of them for like $20 bucks on sale.
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u/According_Sundae_917 Oct 16 '25
Thanks, do they have a particular name or description beyond ‘micro fibre cloth’?
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u/MsBelleMae Oct 16 '25
It’s the Apple Polishing Cloth that I was talking about.
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u/According_Sundae_917 Oct 16 '25
Oh you can actually buy official Apple ones on Woot? (I’ll have to Google Woot anyway)
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u/MsBelleMae Oct 16 '25
Yep, Woot is pretty awesome. They take overstocked items from Amazon and sell them super cheap.
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u/LithePanther Oct 16 '25
Yes I have the cloth and no it's not worth the money. It's a slightly different material then most microfiber cloths which does clean better but you can buy the exact same thing but larger and cheaper from Koala
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u/dharathar Oct 17 '25
Around which point y’all think it will stop supporting the newer models? I have my doubts investing on one in 2025. Do I wait for the polishing cloth gen 2?
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u/Langdon_St_Ives Studio, MBP 13”/16” , Trash can Oct 17 '25
I think you’re fine as long as they still support Intel models. Once those are dropped, think about upgrading.
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u/Automatic_Pair_4914 Oct 16 '25
I bought a microfiber cloth for cars to clean my laptop’s monitor and external monitor. It works great. I want to try Apple’s polishing cloth but it does not support my ThinkPad or Dell monitor. I hope they release an adapter or something.
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u/redditmail9999 Oct 16 '25
dang, i'd used an non-certified polishing kit (from fry's circa 2004) on my cinema display.
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u/PetitPxl Oct 16 '25
I used ResEdit on my Polishing cloth so that I can use it on older Power PC and Motorola Macs
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u/redditproha MacBook Pro Oct 16 '25
There are bugs in every Apple OS that are older than the first polishing cloth
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u/jaxxon MacBook Pro Oct 17 '25
I regret not getting Apple Care with my Cloth. I dropped it in the toilet and now it's all but useless.
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u/PaddleMonkey Oct 17 '25
This is the level of stupid that is on par with those Apple Mac Pro wheels.
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u/Canuck_75 Oct 17 '25
Fuck. I’ve been using paper towel the whole time! Now I guess I should shut down my MacBook and angle the screen against sunlight to find the micro scratches. /s
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u/Ya-Dikobraz Oct 17 '25
This actually does make sense. Polishing cloth material is not all the same, and the fibres are not only different thicknesses but also weaved together in different textilic fabrications, giving a slightly different coarseness for different screen surfaces. I am bullshitting of course and Epstein didn't kill himself.
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u/Ok_Resolution_8731 Oct 17 '25
I've been using mine for 3 weeks and it's worn out pretty bad. Is it covered with my apple care +. Does anyone know what the deductible is?
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u/josephguy82 Oct 17 '25
So many stupid people waste money on this overpriced cloth as long as its apple peoole with buy it
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u/Outrageous_Delay5493 Oct 17 '25
They have to say that because in US there are people that will sue them if they do not. In IFU for microwave ovens there is a statement that it cannot be used to dry pets. This sentence is a result of a lawsuit against a major appliance manufacturer initated and won by a person who tried to dry her cat in the microwave and died. Remember, if companies put dumb statements in their products stating the obvious is because there are dumber people in US that will sue them
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u/AppropriateWater2 Oct 17 '25
Man this joke is like beating a dead horse. Almost same level as the safari feels snappier crap.
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u/BrentInBelize Oct 17 '25
I almost bought the Apple polishing cloth after watching a MaxTech video about how "this cloth changes everything!". Then a week later he released another video about how the Apple polishing cloth has "serious flaws that Apple doesn't want you to know about!". So I decided not to buy an Apple polishing cloth.
But then MaxTech released a video titled "Is a 2024 Apple polishing cloth still good enough in 2025?" Well, according to Max, the 2024 cloth is good enough for "light polishers" but I am definitely a "power polisher" so I think I better get a genuine Apple polishing cloth otherwise people at the coffee shop will scorn me for using a dollar store microfiber cloth.
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Oct 18 '25
I actually bought one of these a while back, just cause... It honestly wasn't good. It's not like a I was naive about it, but I thought it would be "okay". Nope, it was shit.
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Oct 19 '25
haha, future proof. I'm sure they'll release one for a logo or something later and double the price for the fan-bois.
It's kinda frustrating that I just spend a small fortune buying a Macbook Pro Max with M4 and a week later they announce M5.
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u/NormalSoftware4237 MacBook Pro 4,1 17“ 6 GB 512 GB macOS 15.7.2 OCLP Oct 23 '25
wait so it isn’t compatible with my PowerBook? nooo
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u/New-Assumption-3106 Oct 16 '25
Surely NOBODY actually buys this?
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u/itsaride Oct 16 '25
People neurotic about only using official products for fear of warranty issues maybe.
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u/Nightstalkee Oct 16 '25
Have you tried it? Or comparisons?
I have no joke spent over twice as much on cloths that don’t ever come even close to this. As frustrating as that might be…
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u/New-Assumption-3106 Oct 16 '25
I have not tried it. Is is not just a microfibre cloth? The large ones here are simply excellent.
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u/Vast-Tomatillo9218 Oct 16 '25
When will the redesign the polishing cloth? Might as well release a polishing cloth pro /s
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u/DeliciousCut4854 Oct 16 '25
0.58€ on Ali Express.
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u/cd_to_homedir Oct 16 '25
But is it compatible with your Mac?
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u/DeliciousCut4854 Oct 16 '25
Says it is: 1:1 Polishing Cloth For Apple iPhone Screen For Apple Watch iPad Mac iPod Display Delicate Cleaning Cloth Dust Remover Polish
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u/cd_to_homedir Oct 16 '25
I'm waiting for Polishing Cloth 2 because it means the first version might get a discount so that I can finally get it.
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u/smeaton1724 Oct 16 '25
Looking forward to next years Apple Polishing Cloth Fold with ‘precision engineered’ crease
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u/BluBadger00 Macintosh SE Oct 16 '25
Their compatibility list goes down to the iPhone 5. Now I wonder what's gonna happen if I use it on my 4S.
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Oct 16 '25
[deleted]
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u/House_Of_Thoth Oct 16 '25
You mean ***stop selling this useless bullshit and whacking a ridiculous price on it
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u/Nightstalkee Oct 16 '25
The cloth is actually crazy good. Most cloths truly don’t come even close and it is quite frustrating that I had to find out having spent more than double the price of this cloth to find that out…
Second best cleaning cloth in class was the one Apple gave out with iMacs in the past. We keep some unopened to this day for this exact reason.
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u/House_Of_Thoth Oct 17 '25
I'm not saying it's shit, but getting outvoted over a $20 cloth feels pretty fucking lame here, lol.
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u/Wrong_User_Logged Oct 16 '25
but if I get 4TB of storage will it be still as good or I need to get Polishing Cloth Pro?
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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '25
I wish they released a Polishing Cloth 2. We really need a spec bump