Best Mac Laptop for Longevity

[capathy21]

With the pricing on the new MBP's and given your workload, I would highly recommend buying a used model which will save you a ton of money. I just picked up a 2013 13inch base model MBA on my local Craigslist for $400. It is in almost new condition and I could easily use it for several years. If a retina display is important, you can find a 2013-2014 rMBP for 600-800 dollars used. I just couldn't fathom paying the prices of the new MBP's unless you just need the latest and greatest. Swappa now has MacBooks and if you are not comfortable with eBay or Craigslist, it's the next best option for buying second hand.

 

[Boyd01]

Needs are one thing, but if I planned on buying a computer for the long-haul I think I'd want all the bells and whistles I could get at the time.

Well, using that logic, I should have bought an Escalade even though a Volkswagen actually fits my needs perfectly.

 

[andreyush]

I'm just going to have to respectfully, but completely disagree with this statement. I have a 2013 MBA even and mine is every bit as fast as the day I bought it and I haven't had a problem with it yet. I think I could easily get another 5-6 years out of it and in today's world that would be about a 10 year old computer by the year 2022-2023 that's impressive longevity!

But I do agree in the get as new as you can afford, it should go without saying to stay within your means, but if you can still pay the bills I would go with the highest end MBP, but that's just me, touchbar may or may not be important to your preference. Let's say you spend 2500 on the highest end MBP and get only 7 years use that comes to about $30 a month value over that period, for me, my MBA is a lot more valuable than that per month and it initially didn't even cost that much!

You are so right man.

Macs are very known for their life longevity. Also the OSX/Mac OS is very well optimized and works smooth and fast even on old hardware.

 

[nolenium]

I've been using my 2007 Macbook since I got it over 8 years ago. It still works, but due to software limitations it's time to upgrade.

I'd like to get as long as possible out of my next Mac too.

I'm pretty sure the bottom-of-the-line Air would meet all my needs.* But will it last me for the next 8 years?

I know I don't need the power of a quadcore 15" Pro now, but is it worth the money in the long run if it remains viable for years longer than the Air?

Should I spend the money now and reap the benefits for years to come? Or would I be wasting money on speed and features I really don't need and never will?

What's the sweet spot for long-term value?

*My main uses are web browsing, Netflix, Spotify, DVD's, email, LibreOffice, GarageBand recording, and minimal photo editing. I prefer laptops because I like to be able to work in different places around the house, but I rarely need to travel with my computer, so I'm not concerned with size or weight. A bigger screen would be nice for watching movies, but I could also take the money I saved and buy an external display for that purpose.

I'm relieved that lots of other Mac users have my same struggle - in my specific case, how to replace my zombified 2010 15" Pro whose logic board could kernel panic again at any moment.

For me, the tossup is the 13" 2015 Air (256/8) for around a grand (B&H). Or a (supposedly) Apple-refurb 2015 15" Pro for $1500 (256/16, Iris Pro not dGPU, @ Microcenter). Or possibly the new 13" non-TB Pro ($1350 @ Adorama).

Or hell, Micro Center says they've got Apple-refurb 2015 13" Pros (256/8) for $1100, might as well throw that in the mix.

I'm in your boat - I no longer need a dedicated GPU on my laptop, nor do I think I'll need the raw power of an i7... for now. I use my Mac, as you do, for "general computing," mostly. Writing, iTunes, etc.

OTOH, I worry about the Air's long-term usage past, say, 2020 - will 8GB of RAM still do the trick in 3-4 years? The low-powered i5? Is a 2-inch Retina advantage + more CPU power that I might not notice worth $450-500 now?

I so wanted to go all in on the new base Pro, but am really bothered by the lack of built-in SD card reader and having to buy (and keep plugged in) a $50-100 hub for basic usability.

Let us know what you end up deciding! I'm super stuck over here.

 

[StayPuft]

I'm just going to have to respectfully, but completely disagree with this statement. I have a 2013 MBA even and mine is every bit as fast as the day I bought it and I haven't had a problem with it yet. I think I could easily get another 5-6 years out of it and in today's world that would be about a 10 year old computer by the year 2022-2023 that's impressive longevity!

But I do agree in the get as new as you can afford, it should go without saying to stay within your means, but if you can still pay the bills I would go with the highest end MBP, but that's just me, touchbar may or may not be important to your preference. Let's say you spend 2500 on the highest end MBP and get only 7 years use that comes to about $30 a month value over that period, for me, my MBA is a lot more valuable than that per month and it initially didn't even cost that much!

You didn't understand at all what I said. I didn't say your Mac would stop working or be too slow. I was talking about Apple dropping support for perfectly viable and fast machines. That's what I meant by planned obsolescence.

 

[fourthtunz]

I would go for a 2012 MacBook. It's the last model you can upgrade as much as your current machine. All nice and well the newer Mac's, but it's basically a one stop shop. You can't change what's in there apart from an SSD......no more RAM etc.

Good advice! I just bought a 2012 15" MacBook pro w/ I7 2.7 quad for $850 and put a 960 gig SSD in it
and it screams! It should last a while and at 1/3 of the price of new its a great buy!

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Mac and "longevity" aren't traditionally used in the same sentence. Having said that, get as new as you can afford. You run the risk of planned obsolescence if you buy something a bit too old.

I beg to differ, still using a 2008 MBP, the ORIGINAL iPod, just sent last year 2 Black Plastic,MB to the grand Daughters, along with iPad #3,#4,iPad Air1&2, and Santa will be putting a new 1.3,512MB SSD Gold MB under the Tree. Apple stuff Rocks

 

[StayPuft]

I beg to differ, still using a 2008 MBP, the ORIGINAL iPod, just sent last year 2 Black Plastic,MB to the grand Daughters, along with iPad #3,#4,iPad Air1&2, and Santa will be putting a new 1.3,512MB SSD Gold MB under the Tree. Apple stuff Rocks

I was referring to planned obsolescence, not saying your Mac won't work. Apple tends to drop support for perfectly viable computers.

 

[StrawberryX]

Planned obsolescence is the biggest problem ( and maybe battery's if you wait to long, get it replaced before your machine is ultra vintage )
It depends on your software set/use, if it is really a problem or a slight annoyance.
If your machine is getting older, stick to the fastest version of the OS and Apps for your computer.
Downside is security,
I use more powerfull older machines for work ( cMP's ) and a cheaper new machine for webs ( Airs ).
2015 mbp are really nice, the air is nice too, what's best for you depends on what you do with it.
I use my 13" air sometimes with a 43" 60hz 4K 10bit IPS screen ... the air hasn't the best screen.

None can see in the future but buying a computer now,
8 gig's of ram should be a minimum for future proof normal use.
( apps, site's and browsers wil get more demanding ).

For more pro workflows even 32 gig today can be limiting ...

 

[Pugly]

The ssd on the logic board on the touchbar MBP is is bad news for future reliability. The only parts I expect to go bad are the ssd and the battery, these have a set amount of use before they need to be replaced.

Thankfully, the battery and ssd look like relatively easy repairs on the MBA... considering how everything else of the system is locked down and non upgradable.

I'm going to watch the performance of the Macs that don't get macOS updates. If any models have better performance than the slowest retina MacBooks... you know Apple is discontinuing due to age and not performance.

 

[cyclotron451]

The ssd on the logic board on the touchbar MBP is is bad news for future reliability. The only parts I expect to go bad are the ssd and the battery, these have a set amount of use before they need to be replaced.
.

Yes, I agree on the SSD & battery.

As a seasonal present to myself I just bought a transcend 240GB SSD to update my 'longevity' Mid-2011 11-inch Air [2/64] The 2Gb RAM is working perfectly on Mavericks tho' with the new 'triple speed' SSD I'll be able to try El Capitan and get the kernel security rewrite, I think 2GB will still work fairly well due to the fast swap handling. My present hasnt yet arrived, but the rest of this 11" MBA is a very solid machine, great screen, hinges, very cool.

I disagree slightly with some group thoughts that the apple laptops will eventually be 'unusable', (I still have a PPC G4 Macmini running tenfourfox) http://www.floodgap.com/software/tenfourfox/ with 1GB RAM & 40GB HDD. Enthusiasts will hopefully keep niche applications open, provided the underlying h/w does not have 'lemon' issues.

I consider my quad Core-i7 15" MBPs which have the very fragile GPU heatsinking, as an apple 'lemon' (batteries also often balloon on failure ~ 3 years) The original MBA is also a bit of a lemon, with another expanding battery and the unique form-factor 1.8inch HDD. Although one of my friends has chosen his quad-i7 MBP17" for his long-term project., he's now looking for upgrades to 4TB SSD in his machine, but he has also had to replace his mobo for thermal/gpu reasons.

I have personally settled on core-i5 CPUs as the 'sweet-spot' for processor power. Although a recent computer might seem better, around the $1K, currently my 2GB MBA4,1 has been seen for just $300, the eBay 'refurb' whole mobos with a 4GB RAM update for it are sometimes around the $150 level (RAM upgrade by changing the mobo!), but I chose to throw in a new "JetDrive 500" SATAIII 6Gb/s Solid State Drive Upgrade Kit for MBA for the $150 instead. (it unfortunately costs ~180 euro, this side of the atlantic)


I think the end-point for my apple h/w will be to run linux-mint if apple do discontinue OS upgrades prematurely!
My kids are now getting refurb lenovo x220/T430 series for college, running Mint17.2 [& Win10 occasionally,] due to my reliability worries/$$$-issues with apple. I did put 16GB RAM in one of the lenovo, but this was for Virtual machine work. 8GB is plenty for average use.