Macbook Air lifespan

I have the original base model 2012 15" Macbook Pro Retina. I use it for writing, surfing the internet, watching netflix/hulu and management of my iTunes and iPhoto/ Aperture. It works just fine even though it is an older machine. I have mine running Yosemite without issue or incident and it is capable of handling all of the hand off features as well as a second 1080p monitor.

I am unsure what these guys are doing with their macs that makes them run so badly but from my usage, my MBP is just fine and will be for the foreseeable future. Any laptop you buy with an SSD inside will last you a long time. At the time I could have bought the maxed out Air and sometimes I wish I had but have an iPad as well so no need for the weight reduction. I would even suggest if you get a refurbished pro as I didyou will be fine for the next five. I do recommend something with wifi AC and the PCI SSD but outside of that, you should be good.

asoksevil said:

When I said 1080p streamings I was referring to HD content from YouTube, Netflix etc.

I just signed up for a free trial on Netflix to try whether that was true or not and surprisingly it does handles HD streams.

The maximum bitrate I was able to get by forcing it was 3000 kbps at 1280x720 (I think there's a cap on MacBooks/laptops) and it worked flawlessly, no stuttering, jiggling. Fans did kick off pretty heavily but it was watchable with no frame dropping. Super HD was not compatible on my 2010 MacBook Air.

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Interesting. I don't know why we had such different experiences. My last attempt to play HD video on my 2010 MBA was probably halfway through last year, using the latest versions of Chrome, Flash, and Silverlight. Maybe improvements have been since then.

I have the 2010 11 inch mac air. Going strong!

I use it for browsing and use it when traveling.

2010 13" Air....

4Gb ram, 256GB, 2.13Gz processor..... Running Yosemite and no problems. I mainly do web browsing, remote desktop, iphoto, big word docs, and spreadsheets.

I may buy a new 13" if they are discontinued with the release of the new 12"

I also have a backup black macbook but it really needs a SSD.....

I know it's a PC, but I managed to get 10 years out of my Lenovo X60, can't see why a Macbook Air couldn't achieve that, but you would want to max out the ram at purchase. That's the single thing I maxxed out on the Lenovo, and I had one HDD fail in that time. Also, realistically the last 3 or so years you'll be limited to basic tasks and programs.

Even though I probably don't need 8GB I just bought my 11" Air with that single upgrade because I know eventually it will be the limiting factor. It's not my only mac so it won't see heavy usage and I hope I'll get between 5-10 years out of it.

qcmacmini said:

I know it's a PC, but I managed to get 10 years out of my Lenovo X60, can't see why a Macbook Air couldn't achieve that, but you would want to max out the ram at purchase. That's the single thing I maxxed out on the Lenovo, and I had one HDD fail in that time. Also, realistically the last 3 or so years you'll be limited to basic tasks and programs.
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There must be a sweet spot re: when to sell a MacBook such that you have the most recent MacBook possible at any given time for the lowest amount of money.

For example, if you can sell a 3 year old MacBook for 60% of what you paid, that works out to $133 per year to own/use a machine that cost $1000 initially.

Now let's say you can sell a 7 year old MacBook for 20% of its initial cost. That works out to $114 per year. Almost the same.

So if you try to hold onto your machine for a super long time to maximize your investment, you will end up paying roughly the same amount per year as somebody who upgrades regularly, plus, for the majority of that time, you will have a machine that's old, out of date, and more likely to break.

Old thread but still relevant. I'm on a 2010 running Yosemite and it still does everything I need it to do. Also keep in mind that the 2010 models had a pretty outdated processor to begin with. For basic/general computing tasks, 5 years is pretty easy.

I do get the upgrade itch every time I walk into the Apple Store and fondle the Retina MBP's. I come home, configure one, add it to cart, stare at the cart then close the browser. I figure at some point my SSD will die, or the battery won't hold a charge or my LCD backlight will go out and I'll have a legitimate reason to buy a new one.

You never know about these things. My 2004 iBook is still going. It's too slow (and insecure) for the modern Internet, but it's doing perfectly well as my dedicated printer terminal....

motrek said:

There must be a sweet spot re: when to sell a MacBook such that you have the most recent MacBook possible at any given time for the lowest amount of money.

For example, if you can sell a 3 year old MacBook for 60% of what you paid, that works out to $133 per year to own/use a machine that cost $1000 initially.

Now let's say you can sell a 7 year old MacBook for 20% of its initial cost. That works out to $114 per year. Almost the same.

So if you try to hold onto your machine for a super long time to maximize your investment, you will end up paying roughly the same amount per year as somebody who upgrades regularly, plus, for the majority of that time, you will have a machine that's old, out of date, and more likely to break.

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I think it totally depends on your usage requirements and ability to find bargains or run-out models in the first place, if you're trying to optimise the lifecycle cost. If you're smart you can pick when to offload something because you know it's no longer performing or there is still a market for them, or soon a new model is coming out and the price will drop. I don't think it's as simple as drawing a curve based on historical events.

It's like these people that lease cars religiously and brag about depreciation curves and tax savings, and how much they're saving with every kilometre. Then you see all these people driving slightly older cars but carefully picked for known reliability and running costs, they maintain them well, and they just seem to go forever. Clearly the guy leasing new cars regularly is paying more.

I just bought a used 2011 MBA and hope to get some good years out of it. The only thing I use it for is photo edits on Photoshop.

I bought the 2015 13.3" Macbook Air a few days ago and I'm typing this on the Macbook. I need this machine to last 5 years preferably through sixth form and university. I'm using it currently for internet browsing, creating word documents and playing music via iTunes or Spotify. Do you think it will last me 5 years? Or will I need to replace it in a couple years (I hope not!). I'm really enjoying using this Mac. I also baby my technology, especially the more expensive ones. This will however, be put into my bag and taken around with me a lot.
Thanks!

andrew_williams said:

I bought the 2015 13.3" Macbook Air a few days ago and I'm typing this on the Macbook. I need this machine to last 5 years preferably through sixth form and university. I'm using it currently for internet browsing, creating word documents and playing music via iTunes or Spotify. Do you think it will last me 5 years? Or will I need to replace it in a couple years (I hope not!). I'm really enjoying using this Mac. I also baby my technology, especially the more expensive ones. This will however, be put into my bag and taken around with me a lot.
Thanks!

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I can't imagine (well, I guess I could, but not easily) actually needing to replace it, unless (1) you drop it or drop a cup of coffee into it or (2) you get a fatal case of techno-lust. As long as you're reasonably careful carrying it around, it should be fine. It's a well-built machine. Your biggest risk in real life is probably running out of internal storage, but that's easily managed with relatively affordable external USB 3 drives. Enjoy the new computer & be happy.

andrew_williams said:

I bought the 2015 13.3" Macbook Air a few days ago and I'm typing this on the Macbook. I need this machine to last 5 years preferably through sixth form and university. I'm using it currently for internet browsing, creating word documents and playing music via iTunes or Spotify. Do you think it will last me 5 years? Or will I need to replace it in a couple years (I hope not!). I'm really enjoying using this Mac. I also baby my technology, especially the more expensive ones. This will however, be put into my bag and taken around with me a lot.
Thanks!

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You should be fine. Consider this:

I bought my MBA 4 years ago (mid-2011 13.3", 4GB, 256GB). I pretty much went to it, migrating everything I had from a Linux box I got tired of maintaining (I rolled my own everything, and was tired of being stuck in my home office away from family) to the Mac, and haven't looked back. The only thing I've done to it is update the OS. It is actually running faster now with Yosemite than it was with Lion or Mavericks (I skipped Mountain Lion, and Mavericks was a huge improvement over Lion!).

If they make a Retina MBA or something that has is absolutely killer, I don't see myself updating from it, unless any new version of OS X doesn't support it.

BL.

andrew_williams said:

I bought the 2015 13.3" Macbook Air a few days ago and I'm typing this on the Macbook. I need this machine to last 5 years preferably through sixth form and university. I'm using it currently for internet browsing, creating word documents and playing music via iTunes or Spotify. Do you think it will last me 5 years? Or will I need to replace it in a couple years (I hope not!). I'm really enjoying using this Mac. I also baby my technology, especially the more expensive ones. This will however, be put into my bag and taken around with me a lot.
Thanks!

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I had my 2010 MBA for 4 years and it worked well for me.

Also, remember that there's a pretty active market for used Apple stuff, so you don't need to be in the mindset of "I need to use this as long as I can before I throw it away"... if you decide to sell the laptop after 2-3 years and get a newer model, it isn't the end of the world.

Thank you all for the replies!
I'm certainly enjoying using it and I don't think I'll be updating anytime soon! I won't throw it away at the end of the five years, I'll either get an updated one and give this one to my parents or younger sibling or carry on using it for a few more years! This thing is such a pleasure to use and I know it will serve me well. I'm debating whether or not to get an apple care plan at the end of the 1-year warranty of this laptop but I'm not sure if it's worth it. What do you think?

andrew_williams said:

Thank you all for the replies!
I'm certainly enjoying using it and I don't think I'll be updating anytime soon! I won't throw it away at the end of the five years, I'll either get an updated one and give this one to my parents or younger sibling or carry on using it for a few more years! This thing is such a pleasure to use and I know it will serve me well. I'm debating whether or not to get an apple care plan at the end of the 1-year warranty of this laptop but I'm not sure if it's worth it. What do you think?

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Depends on your financial situation. If you can comfortably afford to replace the laptop, you shouldn't get insurance. The chance you will need to use it is small and you are probably better off just saving your money. But if it would be a pretty big financial hardship to replace the laptop, the insurance becomes a much better prospect.

At least 5 years!

My last PC (Fujitsu laptop) lasted for 6 years because I couldn't find a suitably well-built replacement. I eventually opted for the 2010 MBP17 which lasted me 4 years (only because I traded for a refurb 2011 MBP17).

My wife's MBA13 is coming to the end of it's 3-year AppleCare, and looks good for another 2 years or more. I may swap, because this model can take an upgraded SSD... Although it's slower than my 2013 model, storage is my main limitation.

Two choices, buy the best you can, or the cheapest/best deal you can get: I have been happy with both. The 2010 MBA was bought (new) just after the 2012 model launched, at a fantastic price including AppleCare. The 2013 MBA was top model, as soon as it became available. The 2011 MBP came from Apple, and appeared to be one of the few remaining(?) refurbs. Even though it was a 2-year old model, more than covers my needs.

Good luck!

Computers last a long time. Outside of hard disk failures (which are easily replaced) or models with known defects such as the 2011 MBPs with Radeon GPUs, they should easily last 10 years and almost always more. My daily driver and the computer I'm using now is an 11 year old T42. I regularly use a 10 year old PowerBook and a 9 year old T60.

If you don't spill anything on it and don't toss it around carelessly, a MBA will last far longer than you'll likely be interested in keeping it.