I have heard of old MacBooks that still run great after 10+ years and was wondering if I should expect that from my Mac Mini?
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How long should my M4 Mac mini be good for?
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I think it depends on what you’re doing. 5 years is a given but past that it depends.
The biggest question is how long will it last for you and only you can answer that. How old is the computer that you use now? If this M4 is replacing an M2, then the answer is it’s going to last two years. There’s all kinds of possible scenarios where you can keep something running for a decade, but that may not be what you do.
This is my first Mac, I got it mid December, and I average about 30-50 minutes a day on it
They last forever. Desktops do not have the battery wear issue. I have a TiBook from 2001 that would still be ok for productivity work. My Mac Pro Classic runs Sequoia using OCLP, but it is a power hog that heats the room.
The biggest issue is macOS update support. You should get updates/security updates for 3+ years.
The biggest issue is macOS update support. You should get updates/security updates for 3+ years.
I think it could easily last 5 years but if you’re just doing light stuff closer to 10. I don’t think that’s going to be how long you’ll keep it though. Most people have a life cycle with a product and that isn’t always tied to the actual capability of the product. It’s like you can keep the same car for your entire life, but most people don’t do that. Most people want new features or something different. In five years, there’s going to be a new shiny Mac that has some capability or spec that yours doesn’t have.
Generally, you’ll get OS updates for at least eight years after purchase. I don’t expect it would be different in this case. With AI coming out an older Mac might get updates but not necessarily all new features
If it is any indication, my early 2009 Mac Mini was still chugging along after more than 12 years of being on mostly 24/7, still with the original HDD. The only times I shut it down was when required for an OS or app update, I wanted to move it, or I was going to be away for more than a week. However, by 2021 it was getting a bit slow, and outdated for some of my needs, and the HDD was getting full, so I decided it was time for an upgrade to the M1 model (with a 1 TB SSD)..... which I expect to be good until 2031 or so.
More or less all minis I had were replaced since I wanted better/faster/newer machine, not because they would not do lighter stuff easily. So it all depends on what you ask from it anytime between now and 15+ years from now. And that is impossible to gauge. And if you insist on having the latest macOS version on it, as Apple typically supports macOS on hardware for 5-8 or so years.
It is not amount of time you spend on it, it is how hard you are driving the cpu/gpu and how impatient you are to wait for apps to deliver.
It is not amount of time you spend on it, it is how hard you are driving the cpu/gpu and how impatient you are to wait for apps to deliver.
RAM, would be my guess, will the first thing turning out as the bottle neck when years pass by with more complex software. (256GB SSD too, but you can outsource most of the data on external SSDs which are more than fast enough.)
However, you should be good to go with your 16GB RAM for a long time.
However, you should be good to go with your 16GB RAM for a long time.
I ran my 2012 mini (which I upgraded to 16GB and SSD just after I purchased it) until early 2023. It was still running fine (although not very snappy and it always ran warm) when I retired it. The only reason I upgraded it was because the 2012 was stuck on Catalina and the security updates had ended. If I didn't mind running out of date, insecure software I'm betting it would still be plugging along.
10 years is a big ask, and keep in mind that after about 7 years apple considers it vintage, i.e., no support and it will most likely not be able to run current version of macos, so there's a security perspective to consider.
Depending on how you're using your computer will largely dictate how long it will be viable. Surfing, facebook, office apps, it will last a long time.
Minis are some of the "most reliable" Macs. That really means they just "keep on going" without many hardware defects.
You could easily get 6, 7, 8 years or more out of it.
However, at some point it may become obvious that the hardware and OS just aren't "keeping up" with the newest releases. Then it's time to upgrade.
I kept my 2018 Mini as "my main Mac" for 6 years (until I got a 2024 m4 Mini in March). It's still "at the ready" on "the back table", particularly for times when I need to run older software. The old 2018 had replaced my 2012 Mini, which was still running at the time, but showing its age...
You could easily get 6, 7, 8 years or more out of it.
However, at some point it may become obvious that the hardware and OS just aren't "keeping up" with the newest releases. Then it's time to upgrade.
I kept my 2018 Mini as "my main Mac" for 6 years (until I got a 2024 m4 Mini in March). It's still "at the ready" on "the back table", particularly for times when I need to run older software. The old 2018 had replaced my 2012 Mini, which was still running at the time, but showing its age...
Probably last as long as it can handle what you’re doing with it. At which point you’ll ask yourself the same question and upgrade accordingly. Physically, mini's last a long time. Some of mine date back to 2012/2013 and I know are still being used as media servers.
Sure it may run great after 10 years. My 2016 MBP with 16 GB RAM (the max available when it was new) still runs great as long as I only run one or two apps concurrently, and I see no reason to expect it quit anytime soon. I never use that MBP though, because I bought an M2 MBP with max RAM and the new Mac is far superior.
I spend my money on a computer so that I can compute, not to simply run, and at some point (typically ~5 years for me, but I buy the top end MBP and pay for max RAM) the ability to compute slows down. The box runs less smoothly, hiccups and even crashes. Typically I tolerate that "much less smooth" for another year or two and upgrade at 6-7 years, even though the old box still "runs."
A Mac mini is Apple's lowest end and cannot be configured with very much RAM, so it certainly will run out of steam sooner than a better box with much more RAM will. But the mini will still "run" in 10 years; just do not expect it to compute on any kind of par with computers ten years newer.
Edit: the 2016 MBP was used every day [easily >50 hours per week] until it was replaced with the M2 MBP. The 2016 MBP still has the original battery but it only lasts for about two hours now.
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Still rocking with my 2015 iMac as my desktop. However, its unable to be updated with the latest software, so that's a bummer. Looking to make it through school and then probably update to the latest Mac Mini myself.
I have a 2010, 2011, 2014, 2014, and 2014 minis in active service. The 2010 runs 10.6.8 for legacy reasons; the other 4 run windows 11. They're not fast but they're solid.
I have a 2008, 2010 and 2014 all of which had daily use for 8 -10 years.
Only bummer now is none of them can handle 4k and the 2008 model can’t use latest safari so it can’t search much online… other than that they can still excel and do basics etc
Only bummer now is none of them can handle 4k and the 2008 model can’t use latest safari so it can’t search much online… other than that they can still excel and do basics etc
I was using a MacBook Pro 2012 until around a month ago when the poor thing suddenly just wanted to die.
Bought a eBay M1 Air with 16GB and 512gb for $420. I expect it to last me about 5 years before a new machine. Of course, I have to take in mind that the m1 is already 4-5 years old. I suppose it will get 2-3 more Mac OS updates and then 1-2 years of security patches and that’s all. I think it can last more than that but who knows, the future is just unpredictable
Bought a eBay M1 Air with 16GB and 512gb for $420. I expect it to last me about 5 years before a new machine. Of course, I have to take in mind that the m1 is already 4-5 years old. I suppose it will get 2-3 more Mac OS updates and then 1-2 years of security patches and that’s all. I think it can last more than that but who knows, the future is just unpredictable
I replaced a 2012 i7 iMac with a 2024 M4 Mini due to some service saying it won't support my aging OS after their next update... So I got 12 years, and the final nail was software based, not a hardware failure. I supposed I could stick Linux on it or something and keep using it. I'd consider using it as a monitor for the mini, except one of the final firmware updates removed target display mode, which annoys me to no end.
The machine was still usable for photo editing, coding, and most browsing (except all the script heavy poorly implemented ad heavy sites, but that just make it easier to avoid such sites), but as it stopped getting OS updates, it's days remaining useful as a Mac were numbered, as software updates for everything else would dry up soon. The new base M4's single core speed is 6x my old multicore speed, so I'm assuming I'll be set for a while.
It was my first Mac, and I've never had a PC last anywhere near as long.. typically something like 5 years. Sure, I tended to get system updates for gaming, and it was switching to Playstation that helped allow switching to a Mac, so those 5 years lifespans may have been cut short sometimes, but at least a few of those upgrades were due to parts dying.
The machine was still usable for photo editing, coding, and most browsing (except all the script heavy poorly implemented ad heavy sites, but that just make it easier to avoid such sites), but as it stopped getting OS updates, it's days remaining useful as a Mac were numbered, as software updates for everything else would dry up soon. The new base M4's single core speed is 6x my old multicore speed, so I'm assuming I'll be set for a while.
It was my first Mac, and I've never had a PC last anywhere near as long.. typically something like 5 years. Sure, I tended to get system updates for gaming, and it was switching to Playstation that helped allow switching to a Mac, so those 5 years lifespans may have been cut short sometimes, but at least a few of those upgrades were due to parts dying.
My 2014 Mac Mini is still running. Its only upgrade was to an SSD and it has 8 gigs of RAM.
It's a few software updates behind and it's a little slow on the internet, but it's a fully functioning machine that stays on all day, every day as a backup and media server.