Life expectency of macbook pro?

[Ruggy]

Do you know if after battery goes dead can we still use them fine with the power plugged into a wall unit?

I don't think anyone can say for sure, my guess would be Yes.
If you have an MBP with a completely discharged battery where it's shut down, switched off and tells you the battery is dead when you try to switch it on, and if you plug that in then it'll start up and work correctly almost immediately.
So it would look good for working with a dead battery.

I think it's hard to say how long they will last from new now because they are different to the old ones, but it's always been fairly easy to get at least 7 years out of them- including the latest OS

My iMac lasted 11 years and was still working really well and fast when it died- video card
This MBP is 4 years and feels like new but I did have a repair and they also replaced the battery.
But I still have a 7 year old Asus that has regular use- no battery.

My sister is still using two old Macbooks and the oldest is at least 15 years to my knowledge and one of my colleagues brought a clamshell model to work a couple of years back!

 

[timidpimpin]

Any Apple laptop that's well cared for should last 10+ years. Just look on ebay... there are heaps of perfectly functional MacBooks and PowerBooks that are well over 10 years old.

Also, if that Toshiba only lasted you 6 months, then it was either defective or you're just very hard on your gear.

As for any modern battery... they will stay the healthiest if you don't drain it below 10%, unless you're trying to calibrate it.

 

[gnasher729]

Depends on what exactly you mean with "life expectancy".

In the UK, EU, Australia and possibly other places, the seller of a laptop is responsible for it lasting a reasonable amount of time, which is usually a minimum of two years. But stopping to work after 2 1/2 years means that you either mistreated it, or you bought a lemon. If you are careful and with a bit of luck, they can easily last 8 to ten years.

And then there's the battery. It should last 1,000 charges. If you always use your MBP on the road and charge it overnight then 1000 days is almost 3 years; after that you can replace the battery. Just like you wouldn't take your car to a junkyard when the tires are worn. Or when the tank is empty. The new ARM Macs have very long battery life, so using one all day will not be a complete charge and they should last longer - nobody has any experience yet how long they will last. But if you are using your laptop at a desk, then just don't unplug it! (Recommended is unplugging it and using it until the battery is empty once a month) and your battery will last a lot longer.

There comes a point usually after 7 years or so where your Mac is not supported anymore and you can't replace the battery. It will work just fine at a desk plugged into the charger. At that point your MacBook is basically a flattened MacMini.

 

[GumaRodak]

there is another factor as hardware and thats a morale factor...companies are trying to get every year new refreshment to get your money.... are you willing to keep 4-8y old hardware and live with the fact that it is 5-7x slower as new model with "new features" ? as we see now with th M1?

 

[Ahboyd]

I use most of my MacBooks (Air, 12 inches, Pro, etc.) 8+ hours every day. Never turn it off just close the lid and restart only when needed to. In my 20+ years using Mac, I would say 5+ years life expectancy for their laptops.

With the new Apple Silicon, I would say it might extend battery and life expectancy even longer as it generate less heat.

 

[viciousdave]

I plan to only own it for one year so I can get good trade in with apple. Than get a iMac silicon in 2022. The apple stores will finally be open around mid 2021 as the vaccines are said to be approved by than. I just saw a video on youtube where this woman uns adobe photo shoot and it shows after 5 minutes the M1 getting hot near 100 degrees C. All I'm using is iMovie, safari, text writing app, that's about it. So will iMovie run the M1 really hot?

 

[viciousdave]

Any Apple laptop that's well cared for should last 10+ years. Just look on ebay... there are heaps of perfectly functional MacBooks and PowerBooks that are well over 10 years old.

Also, if that Toshiba only lasted you 6 months, then it was either defective or you're just very hard on your gear.

As for any modern battery... they will stay the healthiest if you don't drain it below 10%, unless you're trying to calibrate it.

The tosiba laptop I had, had Intel core i7, 1TB HDD. I mostly just left it plugged in most of the time into the wall unit. I used it the same 6 to 8 hours a day. I only ran web browsers, had about 210 GB of data on the drive, and ran windows movie maker on it as it was back when windows 7 was out. I left it unplugged about 4 hours a day, than plugged it in. So it seemed that it died due to just toshiba sucks.

 

[1madman1]

I've had quite a few Apple laptops over the years since 2002. Most of them I needed to perform minor servicing on after about 4 years. Usually storage or battery. The only one I've ever had fail in an unserviceable manner was my Macbook Pro 13" 2015 after about 3.5 years when it's SMC went bad.

I trust newer models far less, and consider them disposable non-serviceable items.

As a side note, I've never had a Mac mini fail in any way outside of one with a factory defect motherboard that was fixed in warranty. My launch day ordered G4 from 2005 still works fine on it's original hard drive - only the RTC battery has been replaced.

 

[s66]

Lifetime of a MBP is pretty good.

I've managed fleets of MBPs in a company setting over the years and hardly any needed to retire early due to hardware problems.

What's the most common thing for terminal damage: Accidents such as poring a coke into the keyboard or running them over with a car.
Older than the current generation MBPs had batteries that could swell eventually and cause structural damage inside the device (age + battery worn + trackpad bent + bottom cover torn off = uneconomical to repair)

Mostly as long as the motherboard is OK it is repairable, and on recent machines that's even economical to do.

What's the more common damage that can be repaired:
- Screen damage: mostly the coating is fragile, so stay away with everything but a bit of micro cloth and a tiny amount of moist - don't paste anything on the glass (not even post-it notes). It's an expensive repair!
- Ancient MBPs had more fragile trackpads, they weer cheap to replace though.
- Ancient MBPs had more fragile batteries that could swell up and start loads of trouble if left inside - replacement was trivial though and considered a user-replaceable part. Current MBPs have in comparison a rock solid battery that doesn't show those old failure modes anymore - but it's harder and more expensive to replace (part of the top assembly)

What's the reason to retire one:
- not supported by the current OS any longer
- too slow to run more recent applications that expect more "oomph" than the machine ever had
- users wanting a less beat-up machine (esp. those with fall damage get this type of request)
- users having used a faster machine - they can't get used to a slower one anymore

In the past that gave an easy 5 years of average life out of a MBP with employees using company property (and thus quite a few that are not taking great care of it).

To AppleCare or not?

If you have enough machines - like when you have a few hundred company machines - the AppleCare offer is too expensive compared to taking the risk and paying for the repairs as needed - it's in essence an insurance and since they don't all go bad at the same time, as long as you have enough of them it's cheaper to take the risk and pay for the repaired as needed.

If you have just one: then by all means get AppleCare. If you need it, it's a cheap way to get the machine repaired/replaced (and Apple is GREAT at honoring the contract - they do not try to weasel out of not repairing any device under AppleCare unless it's water damage - that's typically a hard no). If you never use it: it's not that expensive.
Don't fret over it: 3 years of protection is what it gets you, and it gets you the best support you can get for any computer as a consumer just as well.

M1 considerations:
Right now: an M1 based machine is both a first gen. device and the first of a new architecture.
The first gen device: that's not always the best for quality issues that might be there and first gen choices might be reconsidered and then make it hard to support some of that in software down the road. It's always a bit of extra uncertainty.
But the M1 laptops use a lot from the previous machines as well (screens, hinges, batteries etc) so those are pretty well-proven hardware.
The new architecture also causes a longer term future maybe just as well: Apple is more likely to stop making an OS in the future that kills off the last of the Intel CPU powered ones, than they are to stop supporting their own M1 chips (not out of spite - just because supporting multiple high different architectures is what's eventually going to hold them back too much). So your OS support should be good for a long time to come - many years at the very least - evne the Intel machines they sell now still get that.

TL;DR:
- Get AppleCare if you don't have it yet
- Don't worry: apple has your back for the next 3 years at least and they are great at it.
- If there's anything to watch out with: don't spill drinks in the machine and take care with aggressive cleaning of the screen.

 

[s66]

I plan to only own it for one year so I can get good trade in with apple.

I'd sell it 2nd hand on the open market: you'll get more for it than what Apple offers to take it back (at least out here).

The 2nd hand market for Apple gear is very alive. The Apple offer is what you can get for a good machine, but you can get more elsewhere in most cases.

[J]ust saw a video on youtube where this woman uns adobe photo shoot and it shows after 5 minutes the M1 getting hot near 100 degrees C. All I'm using is iMovie, safari, text writing app, that's about it. So will iMovie run the M1 really hot?

Forget about the youtubers: they are after clicks, not trying to give you good info.

Any MBP that runs to capacity will feel like it's (very) hot as it uses the housing as a heatsink.
Now an M1 use a LOT less power so it produces a LOT less heat as well. But just like the Intel macs, the M1 macs still have thermal controls.
The MBP will run a fan to keep cool and seems to not have to run it hard (it's the exact same fan as in the Intel MBPs that can get very loud should it be run at full throttle - so far nobody seems to have managed to run it loudly).
The Air has no active cooling at all and will throttle performance to keep within acceptable operating temperatures.

That's in the end the key: the hardware protects itself from overheating anyway either by running more fans or either by throttling performance. The M1 macs are far less susceptible to needing thermal measures than the Intel macs as it produces a lot less heat to start with.

 

[DaneTheGr8]

To the original poster - they last an incredibly long time hence why Apple so rarely changes things up for their MacBook line ups and often leaves them in the dust. Joking.

But with these new M1 chips opposed to the Intel option it should last even longer and future proofed for a long time!

Prior to my MBP M1 I had a MacBook Pro mid-2012 (non-retina) that still to this day works before I upgraded and gives me about 5 hours of battery and is a horse (just struggled a bit with the RAM on a work app I use that I befriended that little wheel of death colour thing) - fyi : haven't met that wheel of death/color on my M1 MacBook Pro yet!

 

[DaneTheGr8]

Do you know if after battery goes dead can we still use them fine with the power plugged into a wall unit?

Most people I know that this has happened to have done this before and it worked.

 

[960design]

I just bought macbook pro m1 8 GB 512 GB SSD. I would like to know what's the life expestancy of macbooks? I had a toshiba laptop and it died on me after only 6 months. So I'm worried how long a battery will last? I use my mac 6 to 9 hours a day. What should I leave the charge level at? I heard never let it go 0% out or it shortans battery life. So how long will the battery last? 2 years? 3 years?

I replace all of my business (they are making me money) MacBook Pros on a three year cycle.
My wife has held onto MacBook Pros for seven years before upgrading. Old MBPs sell for quite a bit more than expected on Ebay. Just replaced her last 2015 MacBook Air with a 2020 MacBook Pro16 ( purchased in December ). So the MBA lasted 5-6 years. Still runs pretty great. She's giving it to her mom.

 

[Macbookprodude]

Anything after 2012 and 2015 is not going to last long and will break due to Apple cutting corners and not caring anymore.. eg: 2016,2017 MacBook pros..

 

[ChrisChaval]

What should I leave the charge level at?

the closer you keep it to 50% the better. avoid heat.

leaving it plugged in at 100% all the time is a bad idea.

the best you can do is try and prolong the inevitable

after 3-5 years the battery will start to degrade anyway

 

[CPTmom2wp]

My daughter was still using my MBP, 17" until 2 years ago when it could no longer accommodate the newest OS. However, it is still running fine. I am currently using a 2013 as a secondary MBP with a partially delaminating screen, but that is still not showing any signs of slowing. I'm holding out for a new 16" MBP with the M1, as I'm really enjoying a new Mac mini with all the options. I can't tell you how many people have made fun of my Apple products, citing their initial expense and competitors lower prices w/similar specs. However, I contend that the lifespan far exceeds the competitors, and I would rather have one top quality machine for 5 years than 2-3 inferior products over the same time period. Your MBP will still be fine when you are ready to trade it in or 4+ years.

 

[HPDoor]

My grandson is now using my MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) 4GB. Is is still working fine.
He is now using a computer which is older than he is....

Every quarter market share of newly sold laptops is published. Actual MAC market share of computers in use is in fact much higher than this number due to the longer service life.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

My MBP battery worked for 5 years. Then I had to replace it.

 

[Furka]

My MBP15 Retina from 2012 has now 160 cycles on his battery and 88% of health. On normal use I have from 3 to 4 hours of use. Not bad !

 

[calliex]

Well my mid 2012 15in MBP is going strong after 9 years. The battery needs serviced so I use it plugged in most of the time, but every so often I forget it is not plugged in and it runs for about an hour on battery. I have thought about putting a new battery in it but after searching the net it seems to be a crap shoot to find a reliable third party battery. I am probably going to get a 16 MBP Mx when they come out later this year.

 

[dukebound85]

I still use a 2008 mbp for daily use and work purposes

 

[annk]

A Macbook Pro I bought as an open-box item at Best Buy in (I think) 2014 started shutting down intermittently after several weeks. I took it to an Apple Store, where I was told it had water damage. I assumed this would have been from the person who had it first and that BB's process for checking returned items was awful, but at this point I was in a different country to getting it back to BB was too much of a hassle.

I sent it to my engineer brother, who took it apart and found no evidence of water damage at all. He put the thing in his oven for a bit on low heat, and it's been working nicely for him since LOL.

Bought a new one a few months later, it's still running strong.

So the moral of the story is that MBPs last forever, despite the attempts of Best Buy (and this particular Apple Store) to the contrary. ?