what I like to see apple do for people with old machines

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

Hello every one over the summer I looking to get a new pc desktop and laptop set up and I been with apple since 2009 and my current 2019 machines will be getting less support after this year Mac OS sanoma

so I decide to try the main ones and see what threre like and should I stay with apple or try something new or go back to were it all started with windows

I must say windows felt like riding a bike and not much has changed except the ui then I had the chance to use my cousins old alien wear laptop with linx on it as he upgraded to 2023 alien wear machine and I found it ok

but the big thing I found that I liked is that linux and windows have LTS version of there os and it got me thinking why docent apple have a LTS version of the Mac OS

considering the price of there hard wear I like to able to run it longer and get my moneys worth out of my machines

My cousin uses linux LTS and it been on his high end 2009 alien war and it only this year he'd wanted to upgrade his hardware

I was amazed that a laptop that old was able to keep up in 2023 so I what do u think should apple consider a LTS os for there older machines so people can use them a little longer

 

[bobcomer]

They should, but they wont, it's not the Apple way. More upgrades means more money means more profits since they control the whole ecosystem.

 

[maflynn]

I what do u think should apple consider a LTS

That's totally against their business plan. They're in the business of selling machines, why make a decision that lowers sales

 

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

I just don't think it fair when u spend so much on there hardware and ur only allowed so many software updates despite ur hardware been more than able to run there new software but is I don't like the idea of having to use open core to run the 2024 os even tho my machine is more than capable

 

[PeteBurgh]

should apple consider a LTS os for there older machines so people can use them a little longer

It seems to me like Apple basically already does this. An LTS, as I understand it, generally means when an OS continues to get security and other minor updates, but not new features. Although Sonoma ends support for some older machines, older OS continue to get security updates for an extended period.

Monterey and even Big Sur got updates in July, for instance. Considering Big Sur supports MacBook Pros and Airs from 2013, and iMac/Mac Minis from 2014, that's still around a decade of at least some degree of LTS support.

It would be nice if they went on forever of course, but getting ~10 years or so out of laptop isn't terrible.

 

[salamanderjuice]

It seems to me like Apple basically already does this. An LTS, as I understand it, generally means when an OS continues to get security and other minor updates, but not new features. Although Sonoma ends support for some older machines, older OS continue to get security updates for an extended period.

Monterey and even Big Sur got updates in July, for instance. Considering Big Sur supports MacBook Pros and Airs from 2013, and iMac/Mac Minis from 2014, that's still around a decade of at least some degree of LTS support.

It would be nice if they went on forever of course, but getting ~10 years or so out of laptop isn't terrible.

It's pretty terrible when you can slap an LTS distro with 5 or 10 years support on an already 10+ year old laptop and have it work well. And that's not even mentioning that Apple doesn't backport all security fixes to previous versions either.

 

[maflynn]

I just don't think it fair

Apple isn't about fairness. They could have made the MBP more repairable, with more replaceable components but they chose not too. They were and are intent in making the their products commodities with a short life span so their customers are forced to keep paying them money.

 

[theluggage]

but the big thing I found that I liked is that linux and windows have LTS version of there os and it got me thinking why docent apple have a LTS version of the Mac OS

It seems to me like Apple basically already does this.

Yes, you look at the time between Apple releasing a shiny new OS and finally discontinuing maintenance/security updates it's not too different from the "long-term support" of some Linux distros.

It's not entirely the same, though.

I can easily download (say) the 2020 LTS version of Ubuntu server (or even 2018 if I don't mind paying for support) and run it even on a brand new PC. That could be very important in a commercial environment where you have several computers and want to keep them all running the same software versions and not be forced into an upgrade (or have to run mixed systems) every time you added or replaced a computer. Generally, new Macs models won't (easily) run operating systems older than the one they first came with. If Apple wanted to make (say) Monterey truly LTS then they'd have to make it run on (say) M2 Macs. That's really a consequence of Apple's tight hardware/software integration vs. the PC world's focus on backwards/forwards compatibility.

The other factor is that Linux, and many of its applications, are open source and there is a vast community of people backporting new versions of software to older hardware/linux versions. The version of an application - or even a driver that your new PC needs - that you can easily install from (say) Ubuntu 2020's repository may be ancient, but its often possible to download and compile the source of a newer version - or, if you're not up to that, find someone who has already done it and legally get a copy of the binary from them. With MacOS, as soon as Apple or a third-party publisher deem that they are no longer supporting Mac Os prior to version y and set the flag in the installer - or fail to make a minor necessary tweak -that's it (although some developers are nice about keeping legacy versions available).

In the case of Windows, I think its just that there is a huge, highly conservative, corporate user base who will happily pay through the nose for extended support rather than face the expenses of upgrading.

Although "Apple wanting to sell new machines" is certainly a big factor, I'm not sure that MacOS would be what it is if it were less prepared to throw out "obsolete" hardware and software. The transition to Apple Silicon would have been far harder if they'd still had to support 32 bit code, Carbon, PPC code etc. (or drop them all in one fell swoop).

If you're truly concerned about long term support, Linux or Windows (with a commercail license) probably is the better choice. The forced (or, at least, difficult to turn off and get to stay off) upgrading in the consumer versions of Windows is pretty pathological, though.

Where I would criticise Apple is their insistence on releasing an all-new version of MacOS every year despite the annual catalogue of teething troubles that shows they really don't have the capacity to do it reliably. It seems that you pretty much have to wait 9 months for a stable version of the new OS, by which time the hype for the new version is starting. That eats into the support period for the new OS, somewhat...

I must say windows felt like riding a bike

You never forget how to fall off

 

[skottichan]

My policy has been twofold; if a friend needs a better computer than what they currently have, I donate it to them, if not, I take it to the Apple Store for trade in or recycling (Just did this with an old iPad 4 I used exclusively for reading on).

I have a friend who is still using the 2012 13" MBP, I gave them. They use it now as their portable writing station.

 

[Jonathan.T.Harpur]

Where I would criticise Apple is their insistence on releasing an all-new version of MacOS every year despite the annual catalogue of teething troubles that shows they really don't have the capacity to do it reliably. It seems that you pretty much have to wait 9 months for a stable version of the new OS, by which time the hype for the new version is starting. That eats into the support period for the new OS, somewhat...

@theluggage I argree with u they should take there time with new Mac oses I wouldn't mind waiting if it meant every thing was ready on time and worked on releases even bring back paying for it