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How long are you keeping your machines for?
- Thread starter Al Rukh
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Dude, my M1 Max fried in August, power AND screen, right in front of me… had no choice but to get a M2 replacement immediately.
Obviously I can’t return it and I’m not gonna take ~$1500 trade in fee to upgrade. I guess I just got unlucky.
Well... a very long time for me.
I am writing this from a late 2009 21.5" iMac, which is my main daily machine for web browsing, email, etc. I have been tempted to upgrade many times, but honestly, this still works great for casual use. Responsive (even with many Safari tabs open), boots quickly, nearly silent, great screen, and frankly IMO looks better than the newer models.
The only thing I have changed since bought is an upgrade to 500Gb SSD, and it is patched up to Catalina. It has 8Gb RAM, upgradeable to 16Gb for the princely sum of around £20 or less.
I know I will eventually (soon) have to replace it, since MacOS Catalina has not been receiving security updates for a long while, and some applications do not work anymore (latest Chrome, Office, etc). But it grates me to have to throw a brilliant screen and a working computer which does not feel slow, and replace it for another that is complete overkill for my basic needs. And to add insult to injury, the base newer iMac would cost well over a grand and still have the same memory and a smaller drive than my 14 year old one.
I am writing this from a late 2009 21.5" iMac, which is my main daily machine for web browsing, email, etc. I have been tempted to upgrade many times, but honestly, this still works great for casual use. Responsive (even with many Safari tabs open), boots quickly, nearly silent, great screen, and frankly IMO looks better than the newer models.
The only thing I have changed since bought is an upgrade to 500Gb SSD, and it is patched up to Catalina. It has 8Gb RAM, upgradeable to 16Gb for the princely sum of around £20 or less.
I know I will eventually (soon) have to replace it, since MacOS Catalina has not been receiving security updates for a long while, and some applications do not work anymore (latest Chrome, Office, etc). But it grates me to have to throw a brilliant screen and a working computer which does not feel slow, and replace it for another that is complete overkill for my basic needs. And to add insult to injury, the base newer iMac would cost well over a grand and still have the same memory and a smaller drive than my 14 year old one.
No way I replace my mac every few years! Too short and expensive 😂 My first Mac was MBA 11 inch base model and use that about 6-7 years then got high end of iMac 21.5 inch for 9 years, almost 10 and now have Mac Studio base model. Plan keep that for 10 years ish range.
I’m glad to see this question. In August My M1 Max shorted for no reason during work. It was horrible timing and I had no choice but to buy a replacement M2M that day.
TL;DR 3 years max, prepare for planned/convenient obsolescence
After researching the situation I came across a lot of data insinuating an upgrade cycle we customers are “funneled” into.
Here’s some of it:
On the u/MacBook channel I noticed a huge number of complaints about shorted M1 MBPs.
I sent mine to Lois Rossman and they fixed the logic board. Said “this shouldn’t happen but does all the time”.
I’d LOVE to know stats on fried machine from June-October.
More research convinced me that the M-series MacBooks do short much more than the previous designs which makes sense for many reasons I won’t get into. Rossman agrees if you watch his YT channel.
3year Apple Care
Why is Apple care 3 years? That’s a strong signal. I believe you should no longer buy a Mac without maximum coverage. I would have been covered but what do ya know? My M1 fried 7 weeks before a sudden M3 launch.
So I’ll never buy without coverage and will always shoot for 3 generations of M-series chip ahead.
TL;DR 3 years max, prepare for planned/convenient obsolescence
After researching the situation I came across a lot of data insinuating an upgrade cycle we customers are “funneled” into.
Here’s some of it:
On the u/MacBook channel I noticed a huge number of complaints about shorted M1 MBPs.
I sent mine to Lois Rossman and they fixed the logic board. Said “this shouldn’t happen but does all the time”.
I’d LOVE to know stats on fried machine from June-October.
More research convinced me that the M-series MacBooks do short much more than the previous designs which makes sense for many reasons I won’t get into. Rossman agrees if you watch his YT channel.
3year Apple Care
Why is Apple care 3 years? That’s a strong signal. I believe you should no longer buy a Mac without maximum coverage. I would have been covered but what do ya know? My M1 fried 7 weeks before a sudden M3 launch.
So I’ll never buy without coverage and will always shoot for 3 generations of M-series chip ahead.
Wow, walk under any ladders ?
I can’t imagine, you must feel like strangling someone.
My M1 MBA replaced a Sony Vaio I’d custom configured in 2013, so I expect to be using it for about the same amount of time (5-7+ years).
3 years in, and it still looks like new as it’s left my house only a handful of times (of course the pandemic helped that) and gets only casual use for stuff that’s easier done on an actual computer vs my phone, which is what sees the most hours of use in a week by far.
3 years in, and it still looks like new as it’s left my house only a handful of times (of course the pandemic helped that) and gets only casual use for stuff that’s easier done on an actual computer vs my phone, which is what sees the most hours of use in a week by far.
I am planning to upgrade at the next redesign, which is rumored to be around 2025 or 2026. I need high-end specs (extra RAM, extra SSD), and I can't afford to get those every year. I will just use this one until then and buy an upgraded model of that generation.
I have the M1 iMac. I love it, plus I've only had it since January.
I think it could last a long time. Once the OS updates stop, I might consider whatever the current model is at that time.
It's possible I'd be pushed to upgrade sooner if Mac gaming improved dramatically and I wanted to be able to take advantage of the better GPUs they have now.
I think it could last a long time. Once the OS updates stop, I might consider whatever the current model is at that time.
It's possible I'd be pushed to upgrade sooner if Mac gaming improved dramatically and I wanted to be able to take advantage of the better GPUs they have now.
At least 7-10 years as I did with intel. Basically, until modern apps stop running on it.
Can't really put a time frame on it - as long as it does the job I need it to do. Once I feel I'm struggling with it, I'll replace.
It‘s insane reading people buying a new costly computer every 2 years like it’s a phone. In general I keep my computers for quite a long time. I’ve had the one I use since early 2021 and don’t plan to upgrade until 2026. In general I keep them for 5-8 years, sometimes 9-10 years (in the case of my PowerMac G4, and my specked out 24’ intel IMac). When I upgrade I am likely going to get the most powerful one I can (A Max or something) so that definitely will last 7+ years. I am starting to get like that with my phones and tablets also. By the time I upgrade my phone next year, I would have had my phone for 5 years.
I got news for you. No job requires you to have the bleeding edge, if the thing you are replacing was bleeding edge a year or two ago. It’s just as you said being “properly mental”, which I guess is a fun way of saying “hyper-consumerism”.
I'm on the 3 year upgrade cycle for Mac laptops (my average... I have had 2 devices for 5 years each but a couple shorter upgrade cycles between), but every upgrade has been a compelling one for ME since 2006. This is about the point some of us get bored with our consumer goods and enough tech advancement happens to make the newest model worth drooling over.
I usually keep 8 years(5 for Pro work, 3 as backup/home machine). My M1 Max 64 GB 16 MBP is going strong. Most likely will upgrade when M5 comes out, hopefully with 256 GB RAM and beefier GPU.
3 years is the earliest, 4ish average, 5 is always long enough to feel the age of the machine, and one time I went past 6 and machine was so slow and felt very dated. Over the course of 15 years I’ve had 4 MacBooks, and will probdbly end up in M3 from the 16” Intel MBP (will be 5th).
I use them until I cannot use them anymore.
I am a day-1 owner of a M1 Max Mac Studio (32gb, 2TB) and 15” M2 Air (24gb, 1TB). Both are great machines. For 0.68 seconds, I was tempted by the M3 but these 2 machines do everything I need without compromise. I will not be upgrading until the OS no longer supports the hardware.
I had a 2015 MacBook that I used for about 2.5-3 years. Replaced it with a 2018 MBP when it came out, and am still using it today.
The battery is somewhat deteriorated, but I don't often use it on battery so it's not worth replacing or getting an expensive top case replacement just for that. Other than that, it works well enough. I plan to keep it until it can't be upgraded anymore. And I don't want to give up my Touch Bar.
I'll be disappointed if Apple stops updating the 2018 next year, because it runs quite well and could easily go another 2+ years at minimum for me.
The battery is somewhat deteriorated, but I don't often use it on battery so it's not worth replacing or getting an expensive top case replacement just for that. Other than that, it works well enough. I plan to keep it until it can't be upgraded anymore. And I don't want to give up my Touch Bar.
I'll be disappointed if Apple stops updating the 2018 next year, because it runs quite well and could easily go another 2+ years at minimum for me.
I upgraded my MacBook Pro 2014 to 16gb Ram, still use it every day and it works quick enough). Loudspeakers can not do loud sound anymore without a cracking base and the battery is down to less than 2 hours. I will probably buy the the space Black m3 pro. Let’s see, if they offer gift cards inclusive the machine in the next weeks to come.