The M4 MacBook Pro with nano-texture includes an unexpected bonus accessory

I get a lot of tech products sent to me. It’s a perk of the job and part of why I love what I do (playing with gadgets is a blast), but over the years, I’ve started paying less attention to the packaging they come in.

When devices arrive at my door, I open them quickly and throw out or pack away the box, depending on the product. It’s safe to say that unboxing videos just aren’t my thing (sorry Unbox Therapy). When the M4 MacBook Pro showed up a few weeks ago, I opened it and moved the box to a storage area in my garage, assuming I wouldn’t need to dig it out for months.

Then a former colleague messaged me (thanks, Brad Bennett) and mentioned there’s a surprise buried in the depths of the nano-texture display M4 MacBook Pro’s box: an official $25 Apple polishing cloth.

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Apple’s Polishing Cloth is undeniably pricey, but it’s great

You’re sort of getting it for free, right? (Not really)

Look, I’ve already heard it all. $19 for a polishing cloth is indeed ridiculous, but it’s also one of the best I’ve ever used and has become my go-to tech cleaning wipe since it was released a few years ago. Any way you look at it, Apple’s official Polishing Cloth is just better at removing unsightly smudges and debris from devices.

If you’ve ever used a matte nano-texture display before, you’ll know they’re very difficult to clean once you get smudges on them, especially with polishing cloths made of softer material. With this in mind, I understand why Apple included the Polishing Cloth with the nano-texture M4 MacBook Pro. The cloth isn’t immediately noticeable in the box and is tucked away in the cardboard document folder Apple includes with Macs and iPads (RIP to the iconic Apple sticker logo). Unfortunately, only the $150 premium nano-texture M4 MacBook Pro comes with the cloth, so if you opted for the standard version, you’re out of luck (the pricey Liquid Retina XDR Display also includes the Polishing Cloth in its box).

At one point, I was very against nano-texture matte displays, but after using the M4 iPad Pro and Steam Deck OLED, I now wish every device I owned featured the matte etching. Even if you don’t plan to use your MacBook Pro outside, nano-texture makes viewing the screen so much easier (as a bonus, it’s also way easier to snap photos of the screen). It’s the kind of upgrade you don’t know you need until you see it, and it isn’t easy to go back.

Some argue that nano-texture’s drawbacks, like slightly muddier blacks and whites, outweigh its benefits. I don’t fall into that camp, and over the last few weeks with the M4 MacBook Pro, I’ve become even more sold on the anti-reflective coating. As far as I’m concerned, it only makes the MacBook Pro’s stellar Pro Display XDR look better.

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It’s worth noting that this Polishing Cloth is slightly different from the one Apple sells on its website. Its material is a little finer, darker, and a rectangle instead of a square. It looks like Apple may have very quietly updated its official Polishing Cloth. Will Apple start selling this version separately at some point? Probably.

With all of that said, if you’ve upgraded to the M4 MacBook Pro, do a little digging for the box — there’s a useful surprise in there for you.