alt Hacker NewsFiling the corners off my MacBooks
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The takeaway from this article should be to consider modifying your tools to your needs even in unconventional and controversial ways. I love it.
The flame war on whether the original chassis design sucks or rocks is not that interesting.
I used a macbook for almost 2 years and genuinely don't understand how people can tolerate these machines. My wrists would be cut up all the time to the point where I looked like I was self harming myself and the glary screen is entirely unsuable anywhere but a darkest basement. Not to mention the terrible keyboard. To this day I'm perplexed how macbooks have such high desirability by full time developers when they're almost unusable.
I just did this to my MacBook not because of the sharp edge but because the pitting turns a sharp edge into a sawblade. Something about the grounding on on the frame when plugged in mixed with my sweaty hands leads to damage along this sharp edge on every MacBook I've ever owned.
See https://www.reddit.com/r/macbook/s/hbyVh5SJhw for another poor soul with the same caustic skin
Thanks for this interesting post - I've been showing it to co-workers to get their reactions, which was incredibly entertaining for me!
Co-worker 1: Interesting. I wonder if that voids the warranty. It's Apple you know.
Co-worker 2: May Jobs have mercy on their soul...
Co-worker 3: Not a bad idea. But not sure if that would cause problems with structural integrity of the laptop, like if you drop it or something.
Co-worker 4: The only downside I see is that you can no longer say "Hey, that's a sharp-looking laptop!"
I have literally cut my finger with a sharp edge of one of my Apple laptops. Like a paper cut. Filing the edges down is the right way to do it. However - for that price it should've be done by Apple at their factory.
Not all heroes wear capes. This is excellent and can't wait to get aluminium mac next to try it – don't think Space Black is a good way to go.
Author's another post on "The Seasons are Wrong" [0] is excellent too and I fully support both approaches.
Maybe I'm autistic, but I loooove the sharp edges near the opening. They've become almost a nervous tick of playing with them with my fingers.
I've got no idea why, but the sharp feeling is amazing.
Love this! I did this in 2020 and until today I hadn't seen anyone else who had done it. If anyone is tempted, I recommend finishing the job with Micro-Mesh. IIRC, I went up to 12,000 grit and it results in a nicely polished look that catches the light beautifully.[1] I bet it would look even more striking on the actual black MacBooks we have today.
[1] https://x.com/andrewculver/status/1297575768520716288/photo/...
I never owned the MacBook I used and the current one I do own I still consider selling one day. That's the only reason I'm not ready to replicate this on my own.
The edges are indeed extremely uncomfortable, not to mention how cold it is in winter.
Luckily its just sitting on a stand 99.9% of the time
Nitpicky, but he’s rounding the edges, not the corners.
And yes, why are they so sharp?
I seem to recall my wife having the plastic MacBook that came out circa 2006 and the edges on that thing were legitimately painful.
I always marvel at how sharp the points are on the notch of the lid on my current MacBook. Very very pointy.
Hey man, you keep doing you and let the haters wash off your shoulders. I'm left-handed and remove the pocket clip from all of my knives.
The power to personalize should not be underestimated--even at the cost of durability and overall functionality.
Lovely writing! And I think the understanding that one can and should modify their tools to their needs is rather rare and should be appreciated.
I can see Apple doing something similar in the future. Just like how they are pivoting away from flat design in their ui, perhaps the time is ready for a more "organic" design. Wonder what marketing term they would use
I thought this was going to be on a softwarefix for the appalling inconsistency that are macOS Tahoe window corners. What I found deeply disturbed me, though I must agree, the edges are a bit more sharp then I'd like and a slight curvature could probably prevent them showing wear and tear [0]. Good on op for doing something they like, even if it's really out there and I could see more "pillowy" hardware becoming a thing now, after a few years of sharp edged devices.
Since I mentioned Tahoe, it bears repeating, my spotlight is still broken.
[0] https://ljpuk.net/2025/05/23/how-does-the-space-black-macboo...
There's a more thorough version of this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSaJAAqSAMw and the end-result doesn't look as tacky
> This was on my work computer
is this an employer-issued computer? Like if I did something similar on my DELL laptop (us lowly devs at %DAY_JOB% don't have Macs), management would be up my ass the minute they saw this, if only because the maintenance agreement the company has with our supplier will likely be voided for my machine.
As I'm typing on mine right now, I wonder why they made these so sharp. It hasn't cut me yet, but they are decidedly uncomfortable.
It is for cutting cake did everyone forget??? https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/01/the-macbook-air-thin-enoug...
I just came into Mac world for work and struggle to understand the choices Apple makes:
- Sharp edges eat into my forearms.
- Glossy screen makes it hard to see when it's light out.
- The keys have a real hard stop when you press on them which tires out my hands.
- An arrogant desire to obsolete ports.
I don't understand the appeal of the machine, it feels like style over function everywhere.
It's actually reveal the major issue in Apple products where aesthetics prevail over tactile. Sharp edges and aluminium is the worst way to make things that people use by fingers. I have some older version of Apple TV remote control and every day I wonder how it was approved to production, it's barely usable.
I'm strongly convinced that modern iPhones designed to use in case as basic idea, while using iPhone without case is like using that Nokia phone unit when you take the housing off. In that case I think that iPad with magnetic keyboard (which is soft-touch plastic) is the future of Apple mobile computers.
Yes the front edge is too sharp for me too, more on the middle right where I rest my hand. It hurts.
I think there must be a better solution than a file, like an attachment to effectively round the edges, or even something like fingerless gloves.
On the other hand Apple always replace the top case when the keyboard needs changing so the filing approach may not be entirely insane. It might send a message to Apple.
Somebody should offer a service to chuck up Macbooks in a CNC mill and hit them with a chamfer tool
As a bonus the machine looks like crap so it’s far less likely to get stolen.
Yeah, they are quite uncomfortable. A clear "form before function" decision, and one of many "the wrong people are deciding things" signs :/
I like the idea of fully blending the notch, rather than just rounding slightly. Looks comfy and distinct!
I can imagine the resulting texture feeling better on the skin, but I can't unsee the lack of symmetry.
Doing this to a work computer seem a bit questionable from the ethical standpoint.
Totally fine to do whatever you want to your personal belongings though.
> This was on my work computer.
Bold move to do this on your work Macbook. I'd be too worried of getting chased down with a bill when returning the laptop eventually.
> This was on my work computer.
I would love to see the guys reactions when you have to give this back.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to freak out about it. I did so, but only a little bit. Then i thought about how i have sometimes felt the bottom corner to be a bit uncomfortable. But then i thought that it wasnt a big enough issue to be worth the effort of filing off the edge
Also a little bit pedantry, you seem to have mostly filed the edge off, which seemed to be the real issue, the corners on that center divet are filed off, but its mostly edges
This reminds me of the shim scene in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
I have a similar problem. My handicap makes it impossible to use the huge trackpad of all newer MacBooks. I am working still with a 2012 MacBook Pro that had a considerable smaller trackpad. Any idea from you guys how to circumvent these trackpad monsters? Thanks for any suggestion.
>it is uncomfortable on my wrists
Are your wrists supposed to be coming into contact with that? I suspect many of us have bad posture and do rest our wrists like that, but if your concern is wrist comfort, you probably want to consider that you're going out of your way to enable harmful posture.
A few weeks ago I accidentally dropped my space grey MBP. It had the lip open and fell on its right corner, inner/keyboard side.
The machine is fine and I didn’t even have to adjust the screen as it was still correctly in place but on that corner the aluminium lifted up forming a mountain shape, about 2 mm tall and very sharp.
Not only this was uncomfortable, but it also meant I couldn’t close the lid properly and might eventually crack the screen from it, so I filed it away. Like OP, I started with a pretty gritty file to get most of the tip off, then finished with a multi-tool with the sanding attachment. I went through a few grits but I got bored long before it was smooth.
In the end, I actually liked the look, and have been considering going all around like OP. I may have to do it now.
I feel like this is only a problem if you’re keeping your wrists at an unergonomic angle. I’m not saying that everyone is perfect all the time but like this is barely an issue if you’re sitting at your desk?
A spinal injury three years ago made me above-averagely aware of ergonomics, as I created a dedicated office (chairs, floating supports for monitors, keyboards, etc.) that would support the injury.
I have to say that I now access the 8 or so machines across my LAN and VPS via a Macbook Air rested on my lap, either through RDP or SSH. I probably use this 80% of the time. Because the machine is on my lap, held up at about 30 degrees on my lap, I can't say I ever noticed the sharp edges, until this post!
I'm not brave enough to try this on my own, but I applaud the effort. I'm pretty sure I'm developing lasting calluses on the underside of my wrists from all the constant rubbing against the sharp edge of my MBP.
my m1 max macbook pro 14 has small little divots out of the edge on the right side (not on the left) presuambly because of where my wrist sits when using the track pad. It would be nice it there was some radius on it to not cause that.
Can anyone explain why i get sharp electrical shocks when i touch the bottom edges with my wrists? Or its just me?
dear apple, please bring back the wedge shaped design of the macbook air m1 https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/03/04/after-14-years-ap...
A hero post. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to shave using the edge of iPhone Air 20 or whatever they are coming up with. iPhone Stiletto.
Did the same for my Macbook Pro 15 unibody circa 2010. It was a great QoL improvement.
What was wrong with a $20 palm rest/cover? It would also protect it for resale value.
Yeah, a very admirable project indeed.
I've been meaning to do this forever and think this game me the push I've needed to do it tonight when I get home. Probably not as rounded as OP, but it's reassuring to know I could go that rounded and it wouldn't fall apart.
maybe a better approach to start with computers that already have ergonomic chassis (they exist) and then spend energy for modifying tools on what happens inside of them?
Physical objects should be rounded, virtual windows should be square. I will die on this hill.
Nice initiative but I would personally prefer adding some kind of padding, which is an easier solution to the problem, not as drastic, reversible, and less controversial. Unless doing something controversial is one of the goals here, which is also fair.
To my great dismay, I discovered the physical incompatibility of two Apple products recently: The sharp edge of my MBP and my Apple Watch’s magnetic strap. It seems that the magnets are an effective abrasive, resulting in a ruined strap and a rounded edge.
Thank you Apple, you have taken designed obsolescence to a new level.
Mac users since 2010. Never noticed the sharp edges. I am just keen on not having that little red ball in the middle of the keyboard á la Elitebook.
> People like to freak out about this, so I wanted to post it here to make sure that everyone who wants to freak out about it gets the opportunity to do so.
I've grown to appreciate unapologetic trolling of people who care way too much about what other people do to themselves or their own private property.