What is your longest lasting Apple product?

[padams35]

What did you use the performa for? 90s computers would be absolutely archaic within 4 years.

Also, I wouldn't consider '15 Macbook Air and '14 Mac Mini old, they are still in their official expected life time.

Once it became obviously outdated a Power Macintosh was purchased around 97 as a new primary and the performa was repurposed as a dedicated kid's computer for educational math/typing/geography games and for typing school reports/letters. ClarisWorks, Number Munchers, Carmen Sandiego, and the like weren't exactly CPU intensive and a SyQuest drive overcame drive storage limits. In the end I think it outlived its PowerPC replacement which was saddled with so many extensions that it suffered stability issues.

I agree the '15 MBA isn't old. Hopefully it isn't yet mid-life! It just happens to be the oldest I currently use for anyone interested only in currently used hardware.

 

[Apple_Robert]

20GB Classic iPod.

 

[Hessel89]

17 inch macbook pro from 2010. Just died this year but still happy with how long it lasted.

 

[millerj123]

Early 2011 13 inch MacBook Pro is my personal daily driver. I've maxed the RAM, replaced the battery and put in a faster hard drive. At some point I might put in an SDD, but I'm in no hurry.

 

[Kahgroos]

My mid-2010 MBP 13-inch which I *just* upgraded due to a failing HDD. Bumped up to 16gb RAM (2x8gb); new replacement battery and 500gb SSD. I really like my MBP and would love to keep it going a while longer.

I also regularly use my 2008 16gb iPod nano (4th gen.). Gotta have my music!

Also, in my sorta-dead electronic storage box (just can't get rid of the stuff) - a 2004 4gb (1st gen) Mini iPod and 2007 8gb (1st gen.) iPod Touch.

 

[person s]

I have a 40gb ipod, last model with b+w screen - about 14 years old, I think
it’s been on a Sony dock for several years now, but recently the sound has stopped coming out of the dock
it’s ok, I have another dock with a 64gb iphone 4s sitting on it - no sim card, just lots of music
that iphone will move to another location and use its bluetooth to connect to a speaker
next!
I have just stopped using a 2008 imac
it was getting too slow, 4gb ram wasn’t enough etc etc
I now have my daughter’s late-2012 macbook pro, with a faulty screen and lid closed, connected to a 40” Sony tv which was also surplus to requirements
that’s a lot of screen but I like it

 

[LizKat]

An iMac G5 (think '03) that is plugged in all the time, but limited use, and a TiBook that is still used for showing DVDs when doing Gun & Knife Shows.

My TiBook still runs also... but it doesn't get much of a workout, maybe a couple times a year when I fire up some old MIDI equipment. Amazing the hard drive still keeps its act together.

 

[Rodan52]

I think I would have to say the 2011 MBP is one of the outstanding devices ever produced by Apple. My wife used this device daily since purchase and it still works perfectly on High Sierra but could not handle some of the current programs she is using. The only thing we ever replaced was the 512Gb HDD, swapped for SSD after 8 years of service. She stepped up to a 2018 MBPr a year ago but the old 2011 model is still operational. If we get the same longevity from the 2018 model I'll be surprised.

 

[barbu]

2007 iMac still in regular use.

Me too! 24” 2.4 c2d. A few years ago, I maxed the ram, swapped in the ssd, and upgraded the radio to modern wifi and Bt4 to make it fully natively compatible with El Capitan, handoff, airdrop, etc. Great machine, but it did eat a couple HDDs.

My oldest continuously owned machine that still works is my first Mac - the PowerBook Duo 2300c with a huge 40 MB of memory. I picked it up in 2000 or so.

great thread!

 

[MacBH928]

the performa was repurposed as a dedicated kid's computer for educational math/typing/geography games and for typing school reports/letters. ClarisWorks, Number Munchers, Carmen Sandiego, and the like weren't exactly CPU intensive and a SyQuest drive overcame drive storage limits.
.

Its ironic how the old computers are just as good at accomplishing many tasks we pay top dollar for new computers to do. The author of the tv series Game of Thrones said he uses WordStar on DOS machine!

Early 2011 13 inch MacBook Pro is my personal daily driver. I've maxed the RAM, replaced the battery and put in a faster hard drive. At some point I might put in an SDD, but I'm in no hurry.

Do you feel its slow or needs upgrading at all? I imagine modern websites are heavy to load.

I am not sure what they put in the website code today but 250MB ram for a single website is not uncommon. Thats more than the RAM of a top of the line computer in 2002 and the internet was old even by then.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It's between my 2014 MBA and my 3rd gen Apple TV. I had an older 3rd gen Apple TV but I replaced it with my 4th gen Apple TV in 2015.

 

[Tech198]

Just for fun, name the Apple product that lasted you longest. Give the name of the product and how many years it has been working for you. If you can add a picture of it.

Rules:
1-It should be in constant use, not forgotten for 5 years and fired up again for use.
2-Its ok to make it last with replaceable parts like ram, batteries, and hard-drives but going into extreme measures where most the device is not its original parts can't be included.(ex..Mac Pro with a replaced HDD, Motherboard, CPU, Power Supply, fans...etc, you get the idea)

My Macbook Air is the long lasting.... I use it more than my iPhone 6s Plus. (like every day , and every night too)... Then again i kinda go thought more Macs too,, so nothing really stays with me for than 2 years.

 

[zhenya]

Me too! 24” 2.4 c2d. A few years ago, I maxed the ram, swapped in the ssd, and upgraded the radio to modern wifi and Bt4 to make it fully natively compatible with El Capitan, handoff, airdrop, etc. Great machine, but it did eat a couple HDDs.

My oldest continuously owned machine that still works is my first Mac - the PowerBook Duo 2300c with a huge 40 MB of memory. I picked it up in 2000 or so.

great thread!

Nice. I long ago installed a SSD and maxed RAM at 6GB. I have not done the radio swaps thus it no longer get software updates which is a bit disappointing and will eventually be the end of it. Still a nice, functional machine though that feels like it is missing little. Was quite something though when I realized my 12” MacBook was better specced in every way!

 

[millerj123]

Do you feel its slow or needs upgrading at all? I imagine modern websites are heavy to load.

I am not sure what they put in the website code today but 250MB ram for a single website is not uncommon. Thats more than the RAM of a top of the line computer in 2002 and the internet was old even by then.

No, with websites your bottleneck is your internet connection. The only CPU intense thing I do is the occasional DVD rip, and generally you can just let those run in the background.

 

[markhort]

Eary 2011 15" MacBook Pro, added 16GB ram, SSD, replaced keyboard (due to wear) and had the logic board replaced for free due to the GPU issue.

Pretty much used every day and still going strong for a browsing and emailing machine.

 

[Killbynumbers]

Oldest is an Apple Extreme Base Station that I bought back in 2007. I just use as an extension for my TV and ATV in my bedroom.

Second and third oldest is a 2012 i7 Mini and a 2012 non retina 13" MBP.

 

[tugger]

2006 Mac Pro 1,1, it has been in constant use for almost 13 years.

I have done upgrades to the RAM, Drives, and GPU, many times over the years.

While it is no longer my main computer, it is still really fast.

Likewise with my Mac Pro 3,1 (early 2008) which I use almost every day. I have it running High Sierra (kludge installation), regularly edit videos with iMovie, and maintain my 8GB music collection. Speed is still remarkable, although boot-up can take as much as a full minute. If it ever becomes non-repairable, e.g., a mobo failure, it will be like losing a member of the family.

Also have a PowerMac G4 (Sawtooth, GB Ethernet, internal Zip Drive) from early 2000. It runs Leopard (kludge installation), has a bunch of external drives (16 TB total) for ripped media storage, and is used at least weekly as a server. It's no speed-demon but it continues to work flawlessly.

 

[kohlson]

Just sent a 2008 15-MBP to my sister. SSD installed. My brother swears by a 2006 white MB -- still sues it over the 2011 13-MBA I sent him. We still use a 1st-gen AE for Airplay, nearly every day.

 

[0388631]

Early 2008 MBP.

 

[MacBH928]

2006 Mac Pro 1,1, it has been in constant use for almost 13 years.

I have done upgrades to the RAM, Drives, and GPU, many times over the years.

While it is no longer my main computer, it is still really fast.

I guess this is exactly why Apple makes their computers none repairable. 13 years computer still referred to as "really fast". That means its still has 7 years of use until its death.

Also have a PowerMac G4 (Sawtooth, GB Ethernet, internal Zip Drive) from early 2000. It runs Leopard (kludge installation), has a bunch of external drives (16 TB total) for ripped media storage, and is used at least weekly as a server. It's no speed-demon but it continues to work flawlessly.

I am guessing the drives are connected via USB as they no longer make FireWire drives, but is USB 1.1 fast enough to run videos fine? Can the G4 handle it?

Plus I think you win this thread, this is like 19 year old machine.

Early 2008 MBP.

how is it holding? laptops don't survive as much as desktops especially with their packed in batteries. I am guessing a lot of software no longer support it.

 

[tugger]

RE: My PowerMac G4 (2000)

I am guessing the drives are connected via USB as they no longer make FireWire drives, but is USB 1.1 fast enough to run videos fine? Can the G4 handle it?

Plus I think you win this thread, this is like 19 year old machine.

Yes, the drives are USB connected but I don't use the G4 to stream movies over the network. It's only to store and maintain my library of ripped films. I have a portable 2TB drive that I load up with files from the G4 and then plug that directly into my TV and use the TV's Kodi app to view the movies. It takes just a few minutes to transfer the films and it's simpler and less costly than having an NAS running for hours and hours while I watch them.

 

[MacBH928]

RE: My PowerMac G4 (2000)



Yes, the drives are USB connected but I don't use the G4 to stream movies over the network. It's only to store and maintain my library of ripped films. I have a portable 2TB drive that I load up with files from the G4 and then plug that directly into my TV and use the TV's Kodi app to view the movies. It takes just a few minutes to transfer the films and it's simpler and less costly than having an NAS running for hours and hours while I watch them.

how do you transfer 2TB films in few minutes on G4?

 

[2984839]

The PowerBook G4 in my sig has seen frequent use for about 7 years now and I continue to use it today.

 

[Stephen.R]

My parents (does that count?) still use my 2007 MBP17. Probably not as often nowadays though. It's effectively stock bar a mainboard replacement under the GPU failure programme, and a new battery.. once I think, from when it was new. But even longer time-frame, they still use the 20" Cinema Display (aluminium) I bought new with a G5 PowerMac circa 2004 more frequently, with a 'new' (2014 model, bought August 2018) Mac mini.

My 2011 MBP17 is still running as an iTunes server (for now), but it's become less 'original' (although mostly with same-spec parts) over time, so far replacements have been: memory (upgraded to officially unsupported 16GB in 2012), both fans (one of them twice), the optical drive (replaced with a SSD caddy containing the original SSD), the factory SSD (replaced with a WD... blue (or maybe green?) SSD), battery has been replaced about 3 times I think. Mainboard has been replaced I think three times under warranty / AppleCare and then extended service program.

My son still uses my original iPad mini (2012) to watch videos.

 

[Phil A.]

I've never really kept any of my old macs around in daily use (I do have a white Core2 MacBook but it's got a dead battery). However, I do still use my old iPods fairly regularly and have a 160GB Classic that's coming up to 10 years old and a 3rd gen iPod Nano from 2007 that are still used at least once a month.
My wife has an original mini from 2004 that we got a friend in the USA to send over as they weren't available in the UK at that time. That has been sat in a drawer for a while but I've just tested it and it still works fine!