Cleaning a phone, notebook or keyboard looks simple until fingerprints, grease and crumbs sit on a finish you want intact or moisture reaches a port. Apple and Samsung share a route: switch off, wipe with a barely damp microfiber cloth, and for disinfection put 70% isopropyl alcohol on the cloth, not the device. Bleach, glass cleaners and aerosols are out; compressed air is not for phones. Short guides agree but include apparent contradictions; people read them after a screen shows a ring.
- Key Point: Power down and unplug; remove cables, charger and accessories; Samsung also wants cases and adhesives off.
- Key Point: Use a soft, lint-free cloth such as microfiber or an eyeglass cloth; Apple rejects towels, paper and abrasives.
- Key Point: Put liquid on the cloth, never the device; neither firm allows immersion, and ports, speakers and grilles must stay dry.
- Key Point: Apple says liquid damage is outside the product warranty and AppleCare, though consumer-law rights may remain.
Shared rules and handset screens
Apple’s general page and Samsung’s Galaxy guide repeat four steps: switch off, disconnect, use a non-shedding cloth and keep fluid away from openings. Apple states:
«No pulverices limpiadores directamente sobre el artículo».
For a phone display, use a microfiber cloth lightly moistened with water. Samsung permits distilled water or alcohol-based disinfectants, including 70% isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol. Apple’s iPhone page is stricter for routine care: a soft, slightly damp cloth and no cleaning products unless its specific disinfection instructions are followed. Its general guide allows wipes with 70% isopropyl alcohol or 75% ethyl alcohol on hard, non-porous surfaces.
That caution protects the oleophobic layer that repels fingerprints. Apple says cleaners and abrasives «se irían comiendo esta capa» and could scratch the phone; the coating wears with normal use, so do not accelerate it. Apple support adds that a supposed scratch may be material moved from jeans or a pocket and usually comes off while cleaning. Try the cloth before a screen replacement.
Compressed air, notebooks and monitors
Compressed air is the biggest source of confusion. Apple forbids it on iPhone — «No utilices aire comprimido» — and Samsung warns Galaxy users:
«podrías dañar la superficie del dispositivo»
Apple still has a full page on cleaning MacBook keyboards with air. The positions do not conflict: the hardware differs, and under keys the problem is crumbs.
Apple’s method for MacBook models from 2015 onward and MacBook Pro models from 2016 onward: use the can’s straw, keep roughly one centimetre away, do not invert the can, hold the laptop at 75 degrees and spray left to right. Turn it to one side and repeat, then the other. Apple also endorses air for hair or debris around the Magic Mouse sensor window. Outside documented cases, do not improvise: if the phone maker says no, that means no.
For a MacBook display, Apple asks for a cloth moistened only with water, with the computer off and unplugged. For stubborn stains or fingerprints, it permits a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution. Monitor rules are longer: no glass cleaners, household cleaning products, aerosols, solvents, ammonia, abrasives, hydrogen peroxide cleaners or anything containing acetone. Apple adds bleach to the list; Samsung bans it with an unqualified «nunca».
A factory-matte nano-texture screen is an exception. Some iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro with M4, Studio Display and Pro Display XDR models should be cleaned only with the cloth in the box, per Apple’s specific guide. For difficult marks, dampen that cloth with 70% isopropyl alcohol. Wash the cloth by hand with water and dish soap; air-dry it for at least 24 hours. OLED burn-in is a pixel problem, not glass, and no cloth fixes it.
Keyboards, mice and separate materials
External Apple keyboards, mice and trackpads follow the laptop exterior routine: power off, remove batteries if present or disconnect the cable, then wipe with a cloth lightly moistened with water. Avoid aerosols, solvents, abrasives and hydrogen peroxide. Apple also says no disinfectants on fabric or leather, so leather cases and textile bands need separate care. Samsung says its method covers Galaxy phones, tablets and watches except the strap, but not necessarily Galaxy Buds or a keyboard, which have their own guides.
The pattern is restraint. Manufacturers are not selling an elaborate kit; they ask for microfiber, water and at most 70% alcohol. Stronger cleaners, sprays aimed at the panel or air forced into a port can cause harm a simple cloth avoids. The minimum is right, and the model’s support page outranks outside advice.