How long are you keeping your machines for?

[subjonas]

I only upgrade whenever I feel empty inside.

 

[Ifti]

I'll get a new iPhone every two years, maybe three.

Everything else will be kept until it can no longer run the current OS.

This is also what Ive started doing for the past few years

 

[Jack Neill]

I only upgrade whenever I feel empty inside.

This is why I have 19 Macs..

 

[AlmightyKang]

That might explain why I usually hit the Apple Store after a breakup 😅

Last breakup cost me a Studio Display and a Series 9 watch.

 

[bigjnyc]

I went from a 2019 intel 16" MBP to a new M3 Pro 16"..... So I guess 4 years on average for me.

 

[WC7]

Two years if that long ... I base my purchasing on how long I have left to my actuarial age limit.

 

[Al Rukh]

That might explain why I usually hit the Apple Store after a breakup

Last breakup cost me a Studio Display and a Series 9 watch.

Totally relatable to your situation buddy

 

[jav6454]

With Apple silicone now available for three years, is it a feasible option to upgrade yearly or maybe every other year? The specs and design upgrades are minimal, so how long do you plan to stick with your current devices before considering an upgrade?

I'll put it this way, my 2008 Aluminum MacBook lasted until 2020. I had to replace it due to:

• Battery being dead and no parts
• Slowdowns due to limited 8GB RAM
• OS X stopped at Lion

So, given the better design behind my current M1, I expect also another 12 years. That said, I could upgrade sooner should a good design with a good enough processor appear. Mind you, I expect at least a 45% jump in performance across the board vs the M1 before considering.

 

[AlexMaximus]

I'll put it this way, my 2008 Aluminum MacBook lasted until 2020. I had to replace it due to:

• Battery being dead and no parts
• Slowdowns due to limited 8GB RAM
• OS X stopped at Lion

So, given the better design behind my current M1, I expect also another 12 years. That said, I could upgrade sooner should a good design with a good enough processor appear. Mind you, I expect at least a 45% jump in performance across the board vs the M1 before considering.

That's good to hear, so I am not the only one here that keeps those Apple machines running for a full decade or longer. To be fair, my ageing Intel platform came from a time where SSD Upgrades, GPU's and other parts have been great options. Not only my tower but my Macbook Pro 17' from 2010 received all the goodies on upgrades over the years. And thanks to this forum, DosDude1 and OpenCore, I am still very happy with what I have.
I'd like to jump on Apple Silicon one day, but I fear that Apple closed any upgrade avenue possible to shorten its usable product life cycle as much as possible. This means, Apple is truly NOT what it used to be.
I am absolutely certain, it will be next to impossible to use Apple Silicon devices as long as those golden Intel ones.
You simply will not be able to keep your Apple Silicon device for a full decade of usability because there is nothing you can upgrade.

 

[840quadra]

I still have my MacBook Pro 5,1 (late 2008 Unibody), and it still sees regular use as a media consumption device. It is running OCLP and running Monterey reasonably well.

Still have my MacBook Pro 11,5 (Mid 2015 Retina with Discrete graphics), and that absolutely sees regular use on both MacOS and Windows. Have patched it with Open core to run Ventura and am still really happy with it.

Still have and plan to keep for quite a while, my M1 13" with Touchbar. What can I say, I like the size, the touchbar, and limited ports don't bother me.

 

[jav6454]

That's good to hear, so I am not the only one here that keeps those Apple machines running for a full decade or longer. To be fair, my ageing Intel platform came from a time where SSD Upgrades, GPU's and other parts have been great options. Not only my tower but my Macbook Pro 17' from 2010 received all the goodies on upgrades over the years. And thanks to this forum, DosDude1 and OpenCore, I am still very happy with what I have.
I'd like to jump on Apple Silicon one day, but I fear that Apple closed any upgrade avenue possible to shorten its usable product life cycle as much as possible. This means, Apple is truly NOT what it used to be.
I am absolutely certain, it will be next to impossible to use Apple Silicon devices as long as those golden Intel ones.
You simply will not be able to keep your Apple Silicon device for a full decade of usability because there is nothing you can upgrade.

You can "future-proof" your device, it just takes an additional upfront cost whereas before you could grab the basics and upgrade later.

 

[MagnusTheDog]

I upgrade when the wife gives me permission. 🤷‍♂️

 

[That70sGAdawg]

Kept my iMac for 7 years, just upgraded to an M3 Macbook Pro 16gb memory

 

[scouser75]

I'll put it this way, my 2008 Aluminum MacBook lasted until 2020. I had to replace it due to:

• Battery being dead and no parts
• Slowdowns due to limited 8GB RAM
• OS X stopped at Lion

So, given the better design behind my current M1, I expect also another 12 years. That said, I could upgrade sooner should a good design with a good enough processor appear. Mind you, I expect at least a 45% jump in performance across the board vs the M1 before considering.

That's good to hear, so I am not the only one here that keeps those Apple machines running for a full decade or longer. To be fair, my ageing Intel platform came from a time where SSD Upgrades, GPU's and other parts have been great options. Not only my tower but my Macbook Pro 17' from 2010 received all the goodies on upgrades over the years. And thanks to this forum, DosDude1 and OpenCore, I am still very happy with what I have.
I'd like to jump on Apple Silicon one day, but I fear that Apple closed any upgrade avenue possible to shorten its usable product life cycle as much as possible. This means, Apple is truly NOT what it used to be.
I am absolutely certain, it will be next to impossible to use Apple Silicon devices as long as those golden Intel ones.
You simply will not be able to keep your Apple Silicon device for a full decade of usability because there is nothing you can upgrade.

I still have my MacBook Pro 5,1 (late 2008 Unibody), and it still sees regular use as a media consumption device. It is running OCLP and running Monterey reasonably well.

Still have my MacBook Pro 11,5 (Mid 2015 Retina with Discrete graphics), and that absolutely sees regular use on both MacOS and Windows. Have patched it with Open core to run Ventura and am still really happy with it.

Still have and plan to keep for quite a while, my M1 13" with Touchbar. What can I say, I like the size, the touchbar, and limited ports don't bother me.

And me too. Although the 2008 boys beat me by a year 😆 https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...eping-your-machines-for.2410268/post-32739817

 

[Al Rukh]

I'll put it this way, my 2008 Aluminum MacBook lasted until 2020. I had to replace it due to:

• Battery being dead and no parts
• Slowdowns due to limited 8GB RAM
• OS X stopped at Lion

So, given the better design behind my current M1, I expect also another 12 years. That said, I could upgrade sooner should a good design with a good enough processor appear. Mind you, I expect at least a 45% jump in performance across the board vs the M1 before considering.

45% over the M1 - that wouldn’t be too long. Possibly the M4 line of MacBooks maybe.

 

[jav6454]

45% over the M1 - that wouldn’t be too long. Possibly the M4 line of MacBooks maybe.

Yeah, that would be the first thing that would need to happen. But it's not the deciding factor.

 

[ProFootballStats]

I've had my Macbook Pro early 2015, 13' Retina since it launched. Still on Mojave with no desire to upgrade. Works smoothly. Now I'm just upgrading to a 1TB SSD. I hope to keep it running until 2030.

 

[minik]

M1 Pro MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Air here, probably upgrade when M4 or M5 arrives.

 

[LarTeROn]

I aim for 5 years. If I get 7 years, I'm happy.

I can't upgrade to the M1/2/3 because I instead of paying $30 and replacing the battery myself like I've done with this 2015, I don't have any reassurances on the replacement cost still being $250 in 2 years' time. If things don't improve with the M4, I'll have to put the work in to move away from Apple again.

The same approach with my phone, aiming for the Apple 5 to 7 years from Google, not the usual 2 years for android.

 

[LarTeROn]

I’m keeping the M1s to the point where it’s barely functional and upgrading then.

I upgraded my 2015 MBP in 2020 to intel i9. Upgraded that to M2 Pro about 2 months ago. So planning to keep my 14" M2 Pro for at least 4 years.

I'll put it this way, my 2008 Aluminum MacBook lasted until 2020. I had to replace it due to:

• Battery being dead and no parts

What consideration did you give to the battery dying in 2 years? $249 is a significant amount of money every 2 years. Almost as much as the price of the laptop itself. It's a hidden string cost. I'm curious to see if people actually consider it. My main concern is that this is the least it will cost. Why buy a new machine if you don't know how much you're paying?

 

[1madman1]

For me it depends - the average is probably about 4 years over the last 20-something that I've used Macs, but given the current state of the Mac with Apple that number is likely to increase significantly.

My 2009 Mac Pro was in service as my primary desktop for about 7 years, and a further 4 years as secondary. However, I could upgrade and repair it which is no longer possible on current system. It probably holds the longevity record. 2 desktops later I'm on a refurbished 2018 Mac Mini (w/ eGPU) and thats not going anywhere anytime soon because I cant move my desktop beyond Mojave for 32 bit support.

My primary portable is a 2017 Macbook which is 5 years old now. It's not going out of service not because I dont want to (it's slow), but rather because there is no equivalent device to replace it with. If it died tomorrow I'd find a used 2017 Macbook to replace it with as its the last of the small screen equipped Macs.

My server is a 2014 Mac Mini on High Sierra. The system is 6 years old and Its fine, I'll replace it when it dies. I'll probably find another 2014 when that happens as any newer version of the mini wont run High Sierra anymore.

 

[jav6454]

What consideration did you give to the battery dying in 2 years? $249 is a significant amount of money every 2 years. Almost as much as the price of the laptop itself. It's a hidden string cost. I'm curious to see if people actually consider it. My main concern is that this is the least it will cost. Why buy a new machine if you don't know how much you're paying?

None, the battery itself lasted on 80%+ for 2 years and then dwindled down to 70% after 3-4 years, so in total I swapped out 2 batteries.

The final years the battery just stayed there as a quick back up in case of power loss, not as a true battery.

 

[throAU]

It’s a shame, but my paycheck is definitely not going up as fast as Apple’s margin

Apple's margins are published and have gone down from like 45% to 37% in recent years.

 

[jav6454]

Apple's margins are published and have gone down from like 45% to 37% in recent years.

That's cause margins are driven by device sales. iPhone sales are plateauing and as method of keeping revenue up (or on an increasing trend) is to hike up the price; hence, why we have the Pro and normal iPhones now.

That, while it solves the sales/profit targets, does not help in the long term for margins. The only way to keep margins low is to sale more units to drive costs down.

 

[throAU]

That, while it solves the sales/profit targets, does not help in the long term for margins. The only way to keep margins low is to sale more units to drive costs down.

Apple aren't interested in "keeping margins low" because they actually do R&D and provide after sales support. That costs money.