I doubt this is the same thing as "Apple Certified Refurbished" store[1] which in my anecdotal (but quite a number of samples) have sold indistinguishable from

I doubt this is the same thing as "Apple Certified Refurbished" store[1] which in my anecdotal (but quite a number of samples) have sold indistinguishable from new products in a sealed non-retail box which is the same as retail except it is plain white, which seems to sell immaculate products (that in my guess probably are either store returns or possibly even new ones under discount without admitting such thing). The board that Rossman highlights is effectively a fixed board from an old unit under warranty, which is probably a completely different pipeline. These specific boards had a known manufacturing issue that Apple is basically papering over. Best Buy, et al refurbished units are not quite the same. [1]: https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished