Ditto.
Macs are surprisingly long lasting. I have
- a 2011 MacBook Pro that is used for midi and piano classes. One battery change in 2018 and that’s it. It’s used every other day by kids for 2 hours.
- a 2013 MacBook air. Workhorse for the kids homeschooling. Used every day for 8 hours or so. One battery change and a MagSafe adapter change.
- a 16” 2016 MacBook Pro. My daily work device for the past 5 years. One battery change and 2 MagSafe adapters.
- a 13” 2019 MacBook air for the wife. It’s been puked on till the screen is a bit messed but it still works. No hardware updates.
So we are talking about ~ 30 years cumulative ownership with 3 battery changes and 3 MagSafes. Not bad in my book. If you want to nuke e waste, buy a Mac and hope it’s not a lemon. They rarely are
So is anything in your system for example 10 years old? MacBook can easily last 10 years for the right person. Just because I replace mine often doesn't mean people who buy it from me will.
Woah, that's a huge lifetime shortage. Anecdata++; Last macbook pro I had lasted 6 years, sat in storage for 2 years, and at the moment my sister is using it as a replacement for a 3-year-old chromebook that crapped out a few months ago. It was the 2014 intel model w/8gb ram.
I use a 2012 MBP that’s still going strong. The newer models with irreplaceable (at least by us mere mortals) hard drives, batteries and memory, and permanently pushed me away from buying a Mac again.
I doubt you can find any data to back that claim up. My first macbook was in daily use for about 8 years. My current macbook is only four years old so I'm not expecting to replace it any time soon. Colleagues seem to have the same usage pattern. Apple hardware lasts a long time.
edit: no hard data after a quick google but every article on the first two pages estimates 5-8 years.
My wife needed a laptop for class a year ago, so I gave her my old macbook pro 13 i bought in 2014. I also had a macbook air m1 for personal use, which I replaced recently with a macbook pro 14 m1, and planned to give my wife the air. She refuses the air bc she likes the old 13 so much, and she abuses the shit out of it.
How often does a laptop go strong for 9 years? Even the battery life is still ok. I am going to have to force her to consider the air bc the old 13 is a security risk without OS updates.
The only reason why I replaced the old 13 with the air was bc the 13 could not render 4k 60fps on an external display. Otherwise, I would have kept using it.
The old 13 cost me about $1600 USD new (256GB HD, 8 GB ram). Amortize that cost over 9 years and that doesn't seem so bad. Even my iphone 8 is still going strong.
Another anecdote - my current employer gave me a new macbook pro 15 when I started here back in 2017. It took my abuse well and the only reason I am not still using it is bc my employer forced me to upgrade when the m1 pros came out.
You probably won't need to replace your air for like 7 years, or when apple stops updates for your machine.
EDIT - I am surprised I am getting downvoted. You would think more folks on HN would be happy about long lasting products but the anti-apple bias is strong enough to override the concern of having a more sustainable product.
My 2013 MacBook lasted 9 years (I'd still be using it if the battery connector wasn't shot.) In my experience Mac's last a lot longer than my equivalent PC's, although w/ an initial premium of course.
I suppose the interesting question is whether this is true of the newest devices or not. My wife's MacBook Pro lasted 11 years. It finally died this year. Can I expect the MacBook Pro that's replacing it to last 11 years too? Only time will tell. Hope so.
Yep, it's time for my to change the laptop at work, I currently have an old i5 Macbook Pro and it held for +5 years. Even my personal macbook air is from late 2010 (reddit + spotify machine) I doubt that any mac today would held for another 6 or 7 years.
A 7 year old macbook pro...
It's a 2010 13inch unibody model, still gets about 5 hours on the original battery.
I've upgraded the ram to 16gigs, and put in a 256gig SSD.
It runs buttery smooth and is super fast.
I'm surprised it has lasted lasted this long really, my previous macbook pro lasted about 3 years before the hinge/screen tearing issues started.
I'm not sure what ill move to when this one dies, I'm not i pressed with the trend of machines not being user serviceable...
If i wasn't able to swap parts out then I'd probably have had to buy a new one a few years back.
They also seem to be surprisingly long lived, every Macbook and iMac I've purchased in the last decade is still in use somewhere in my extended family. One or two have had batteries replaced by Apple, and one has had a new keyboard but they're all still chugging along.
Here is some more anecdata: have had the same Macbook for 6 years with absolutely no issues, stellar reliability and battery life. Same at work. Only recently switched after 5 years at work because we had some new employee turnover and it made sense for me to get a slightly nicer machine for a new project.
Meanwhile I'm writing this comment on a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. Apple has serious longevity, but if you're machine is over 5 years old and needs a part, don't count on Apple supplying it. You can still by the charger. Everything else you're pretty much screwed. I'm not complaining though because these are the best, longest-lasting laptops I've ever used. Frankly, I'm more concerned about Apple's software than I am their hardware.
I buy Apple computers precisely because I want a machine I can use for that long. I used my last Macbook Air for 11 years without having to replace anything, so was less wasteful than a person swapping out components every year. Its screen is toast so it's a headless server now.
My 2012 MBP is still going strong and I see no need to replace it. That never happend to me with Windows laptops that I used for a decade before that.
I love the trackpad of MBPs. The aesthetics and physical build are good. The OS hardly ever gets in my way. The UI has been stable and usable and improving over the last 6 years of use. Apple's hardware service has been great (had video card issue a couple of years ago - $200 flat rate fix got me new motherboard, new screen with top cover, new video card). It has all the ports I need. Magsafe connector is genious. The display is crystal clear and high res.
I have had a genuinely good experience with my 2012 MBP. Barring bad hardware luck and missteps by Apple like the touch bar, people complaining about MBPs are being nitpicky.
How so? In my experience Apple products outlast their competitor by a long margin.
All my Macs have lasted about 6/7 years, meaning, being used everyday with latest software for paid work. Most still boot and work today, but are impractical.
Same with iPhones, usually stop using because lithium batteries have a 4/5 years life span.
So we are talking about ~ 30 years cumulative ownership with 3 battery changes and 3 MagSafes. Not bad in my book. If you want to nuke e waste, buy a Mac and hope it’s not a lemon. They rarely are
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