What Do You Do With the Two Apple Stickers That Come With Every Mac?

Every time you buy a new Apple product (such as an Apple iPad or MacBook Pro), the box always includes two Apple stickers.

But why Apple gives away stickers, and how to use them, is — for an Apple newcomer like me — one of the most baffling mysteries in modern tech history.

I once thought this Apple sticker was meant to be stuck over the glowing Apple logo on the back of a laptop, figuring it could give the only plastic white apple on the casing some extra protection.

But that idea had barely been born before I shot it down myself. The molded plastic on the back cover sits at a slight height difference from the metal surface (you can feel it with your finger), so if you actually stuck the sticker over it, I imagine it wouldn’t take long for the sticker to look pretty ugly.

Apple sticker (Image / Lin Jinliang)

Later a friend told me that this sticker has been around for many years.

Although recent years have used a minimalist white apple, in the early days there was even a gorgeous six-color rainbow Apple sticker (and I think a black one too).

Rainbow apple (@Blake Patterson)

The sticker’s main purpose isn’t to be stuck on an Apple computer (though you can do that). The Apple sticker is a symbol, meant for you to stick wherever you like, however you like, wherever you please.

Through these cheap little stickers, on one hand you’re doing free marketing for Apple, and on the other you’re deepening Apple fans’ sense of worship. To put it in biblical terms, it’s a kind of idol worship — except others worship statues, while you worship Apple.

That said, if you ask me where I’d stick the Apple sticker, my answer is: “I really don’t know.”

Because I like my computer’s exterior clean, I absolutely wouldn’t stick it on a MacBook, nor would I copy my friend and stick it where the wrist rests while typing. For one, it wouldn’t take long before it got worn to shreds; for another, once the laptop lid closes, it’s more likely to damage the screen coating.

Stick the Apple sticker on a wallet? That’s just dumb, I think.

Stick it in the bathroom? That won’t cure your constipation.

Stick it on the TV? That’s very much the vibe of an edgy teen who thinks they’re watching Apple TV.

Stick it outside the front door? That’s just openly telling burglars this is the house with the best odds. My friend A-Gui once had a burglar climb from the fifth-floor rooftop into his fourth-floor back window and steal a MacBook Pro and a Canon 5DII — with lenses! It was the biggest tragedy of the year — which is why I keep a machete next to my computer desk (just kidding).

Maybe I’ll keep these stickers until the end of time — or throw them out along with the box.

Rather than sticking them randomly and one day finding them worn or an eyesore yet being unable to bear peeling them off, it’s better not to stick them at all from the start (mysterious voice: are you talking about your view on love?).

Finally, I’d like to ask everyone: where do you like to stick your Apple stickers? I’m genuinely curious.