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BreakYurAnkles

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Oct 17, 2021
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I stumbled upon a deal for a base model 2019 MBP 16" intel i7 and was wondering what the overall sentiment is towards the future support I should expect (best and worst case) years of OS upgrades and support.

Any thoughts or sources would be greatly appreciated.
 
The last time that Apple changed to a different CPU (2006), the system for the previous CPU (G4/G5), there was just one more generation that supported the older CPUs (going from OS X 10.4 to 10.5, then not supported os 10.6). I couldn't say what will happen this time, but I would expect maybe two macOS generations, then done for intel Macs, or possibly just one more generation. I don't think one could reasonably expect more than that.
 
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I was hoping for maybe 3-5 years of MacOS upgrades/updates if I decided to jump on the deal.

It released late 2019 and thinking if Apple supported it for 5 years that would get me to 2024.
 
I was hoping for maybe 3-5 years of MacOS upgrades/updates if I decided to jump on the deal.

It released late 2019 and thinking if Apple supported it for 5 years that would get me to 2024.
I'm kinda in the same boat. I have a 14 inch but my 2019 16 inch is just as good (plus I miss that big screen) and like you I got a good deal on it. I may just take the 14 inch back and just hold out until MacOS stops supporting it.
 
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Impossible to say, but considering that Apple still currently sells two different macs with Intel CPU's, I would wager that they will support it at least until 3-4 years AFTER the last intel macs are sold. That will push you out until 2025-2026 at the earliest.

With that said, it seems that Apple is happy to stop adding some features for intel users as they have already done with big sur. I would expect this trend to continue going forward.
 
I'm kinda in the same boat. I have a 14 inch but my 2019 16 inch is just as good (plus I miss that big screen) and like you I got a good deal on it. I may just take the 14 inch back and just hold out until MacOS stops supporting it.

I looked at the new 14" MBP that my brother purchased and I looked at them in the Apple store. Its just not big enough of a screen for me.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up paying for the 16" model for (base configuration/model?)
 
Impossible to say, but considering that Apple still currently sells two different macs with Intel CPU's, I would wager that they will support it at least until 3-4 years AFTER the last intel macs are sold. That will push you out until 2025-2026 at the earliest.

With that said, it seems that Apple is happy to stop adding some features for intel users as they have already done with big sur. I would expect this trend to continue going forward.
Technically 3 if you count the Mac Pro.
I doubt they'll f*ck over everyone who dropped serious coin on that guy anytime soon.
 
Impossible to say, but considering that Apple still currently sells two different macs with Intel CPU's, I would wager that they will support it at least until 3-4 years AFTER the last intel macs are sold. That will push you out until 2025-2026 at the earliest.

With that said, it seems that Apple is happy to stop adding some features for intel users as they have already done with big sur. I would expect this trend to continue going forward.
I don't necessarily mind the new added features that I'd be missing out on as I'm extremely happy with what I had in Catalina and Mojave. Never really cared about the newest features TBH. I really like MacOS for iTunes/Music, iMessages, and iMovie.

I prefer bigger laptop screens as I get older and the extra real estate helps with my portable productivity.

If Apple just comes out at states Intel models are supported until 2025 or 2026 I'll buy the 16" intel base model tomorrow.
 
Best Buy Black Friday deal? open box?

I have a local seller that I've been negotiating with and its barely used in mint condition. Trying to get it for $850-$900.
They said they'd take $1000 but I'd still like to get it as low as possible since I know it will eventually drop in value fast in the next few years.
 
The last time that Apple changed to a different CPU (2006), the system for the previous CPU (G4/G5), there was just one more generation that supported the older CPUs (going from OS X 10.4 to 10.5, then not supported os 10.6). I couldn't say what will happen this time, but I would expect maybe two macOS generations, then done for intel Macs, or possibly just one more generation. I don't think one could reasonably expect more than that.
They also only released new OS versions every 2-3 years. Tiger was released in 2005, Leopard in 2007, Snow Leopard in 2009. End of support for Leopard happened in 2011, and iTunes and Safari quit being updated on Leopard in 2012. So I'd call it 2012 for end of support. The latest Powermac G5 was released in Late 2005. Call it 6-7 years of patches, with it getting 1 new major OS release. Apple hasn't even finished transitioning everything to Apple Silicon. Higher end iMacs use Intel, Mac Pro uses intel, and they still sell an Intel Mac mini. I think we're fine for a few more years. Maybe this will bite me but seeing that Apple still supports old iPhones with updates, I think they are more than capable and willing to support Intel Macs for a few more years.

However, I think we will start seeing more of a feature divide between what Apple silicon Macs get and what older Intel Macs get. But as long as I get security updates, bug fixes, and some UI refreshes here and there, I'm good.
 
They also only released new OS versions every 2-3 years. Tiger was released in 2005, Leopard in 2007, Snow Leopard in 2009. End of support for Leopard happened in 2011, and iTunes and Safari quit being updated on Leopard in 2012. So I'd call it 2012 for end of support. The latest Powermac G5 was released in Late 2005. Call it 6-7 years of patches, with it getting 1 new major OS release. Apple hasn't even finished transitioning everything to Apple Silicon. Higher end iMacs use Intel, Mac Pro uses intel, and they still sell an Intel Mac mini. I think we're fine for a few more years. Maybe this will bite me but seeing that Apple still supports old iPhones with updates, I think they are more than capable and willing to support Intel Macs for a few more years.

However, I think we will start seeing more of a feature divide between what Apple silicon Macs get and what older Intel Macs get. But as long as I get security updates, bug fixes, and some UI refreshes here and there, I'm good.
can you give an idea of a few more years? that is exactly what apple has said. no numbers or ranges.
 
can you give an idea of a few more years? that is exactly what apple has said. no numbers or ranges.
I can't predict the future. But I'd imagine we'll get 6-7 years of patches. Probably two or so more macOS releases. Can't say for sure...I don't work for Apple or anything. I'm just going off of prior support and the fact that they're still selling a lot of Intel machines
 
I stumbled upon a deal for a base model 2019 MBP 16" intel i7 and was wondering what the overall sentiment is towards the future support I should expect (best and worst case) years of OS upgrades and support.

Any thoughts or sources would be greatly appreciated.

9th Generation Intel, relative to Intel Macs, is still fairly recent. Similarly, Apple is starting to be more preferential towards Intel Macs with T2 chips (and Apple Silicon Macs) for certain features. It seems likely that there will be a release of macOS that eschews support for Macs that do not have either Apple Silicon or a T2 chip before they nix support for Intel Macs altogether. I don't know how aggressive Apple will be in this, but they do seem adamant that we'll have a few more Intel Mac compatible macOS releases yet to come. I'd say, a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) will have until at least 2026 to get the latest macOS releases (and then another two years thereafter of security updates on that last version).


The last time that Apple changed to a different CPU (2006), the system for the previous CPU (G4/G5), there was just one more generation that supported the older CPUs (going from OS X 10.4 to 10.5, then not supported os 10.6). I couldn't say what will happen this time, but I would expect maybe two macOS generations, then done for intel Macs, or possibly just one more generation. I don't think one could reasonably expect more than that.

The PowerPC to Intel transition was a different transition under a different Apple during a different time. There are over-arching similarities, but the timing on this transition is already not at all what that transition was. Therefore, you cannot make a reasonable hypothesis based on that alone. I'd imagine that the next time that Apple changes the macOS minimum system requirements, they will either (a) limit Intel Macs that are older than Skylake, (b) limit Intel Macs that are older than 8th Generation Intel, or (c) limit Intel Macs that don't have a T2 chip. Either way, we won't see a dramatic "no more Intel Macs" Apple Silicon only version of macOS for a while yet.


I was hoping for maybe 3-5 years of MacOS upgrades/updates if I decided to jump on the deal.

It released late 2019 and thinking if Apple supported it for 5 years that would get me to 2024.
You'll definitely get 5 more years of updates. Unsure if you're getting too much past that. But, you'll still get two more years of security updates thereafter, so at least there's that.
 
9th Generation Intel, relative to Intel Macs, is still fairly recent. Similarly, Apple is starting to be more preferential towards Intel Macs with T2 chips (and Apple Silicon Macs) for certain features. It seems likely that there will be a release of macOS that eschews support for Macs that do not have either Apple Silicon or a T2 chip before they nix support for Intel Macs altogether. I don't know how aggressive Apple will be in this, but they do seem adamant that we'll have a few more Intel Mac compatible macOS releases yet to come. I'd say, a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) will have until at least 2026 to get the latest macOS releases (and then another two years thereafter of security updates on that last version).




The PowerPC to Intel transition was a different transition under a different Apple during a different time. There are over-arching similarities, but the timing on this transition is already not at all what that transition was. Therefore, you cannot make a reasonable hypothesis based on that alone. I'd imagine that the next time that Apple changes the macOS minimum system requirements, they will either (a) limit Intel Macs that are older than Skylake, (b) limit Intel Macs that are older than 8th Generation Intel, or (c) limit Intel Macs that don't have a T2 chip. Either way, we won't see a dramatic "no more Intel Macs" Apple Silicon only version of macOS for a while yet.



You'll definitely get 5 more years of updates. Unsure if you're getting too much past that. But, you'll still get two more years of security updates thereafter, so at least there's that.
if I can get 5 years of updates (until 2026) then its a easy buy in my case.
 
I'm completely pulling this out of thin air, but based on the previous PPC>Intel transition starting in 2006 (dropped support for new OS X versions as of Mac OS X 10.6 (2009), but given security updates up to 2012), and taking into account the concentration of Intel Macs... But also taking into account how aggressive Apple are with product transitions and how they screwed over PPC users who dropped thousands on PPC Macs as late as 2006...

I'd say there's a pretty good chance (although not certain) Intel Macs will get the next version of macOS (13), but I honestly doubt the version after that (14) will support Intel. Regardless of that, there will be at least 5 years of security updates for Intel Macs beyond that before they're deemed 'obsolete/vintage' by Apple.

So, from the beginning of the transition in 2020, 2-ish years of new macOS updates and 6-7 years (now 5-6) of security updates/support.
 
Best Buy Black Friday deal? open box?

I have a local seller that I've been negotiating with and its barely used in mint condition. Trying to get it for $850-$900.
They said they'd take $1000 but I'd still like to get it as low as possible since I know it will eventually drop in value fast in the next few years.

Facebook marketplace. It has AppleCare thru December 2023. I decided to keep the 14 inch and give my GF the 16 inch.
 
so by next year maybe no more brand new Macos updates.

Just security updates.

I have the 2019 i9 base 16 inch model I got new from Micro Center as a Black Friday door buster for $1800.
 
As someone who owns the 2019 16" MacBook Pro since day one, there's no chance in hell I would recommend it in 2021. I am gladly selling it back to apple for $1420.

Best of luck to y'all, but if you're still in the buyers remorse period I would return that sh*t.
 
if I can get 5 years of updates (until 2026) then its a easy buy in my case.
One can be fairly sure to get these 5 years.
My old MBP 13" Early 2015 just got Monterey, probably the last new OS for this venerable machine. This alone will do until 2024 as Apple usually delivers updates for three years.
The 2019 machine is much newer. Apple supports its Macs ususally at least around seven years after the last year of selling. Your target was on sale until 2021 so that 2025 is safe IMO.
My prediction is that newer Intel Macs (with T2 chip) will get OS support until around 2028 as Apple will sell them at least until 2022.
 
They are still selling Intel Macs (Mac Pro), (and refurbished Intel Macs), so I'd imagine that they will be supported with new macOS releases for a few years.
Apple is still supporting the late 2013 Mac Pro in Monterey as that was still actively sold until the release of the new one in 2019.

Support for older Intel models will gradually decrease and not all new features will be available, but the newer models will be supported for a long time.
 
As someone who owns the 2019 16" MacBook Pro since day one, there's no chance in hell I would recommend it in 2021. I am gladly selling it back to apple for $1420.

Best of luck to y'all, but if you're still in the buyers remorse period I would return that sh*t.
What model was it? base model? When did you trade it in at Apple?

Why are you so negative about it?
 
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What model was it? base model? When did you trade it in at Apple?

Why are you so negative about it?
They are just on the M1 hype train. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely the future of the Mac but Intel Macs won't be going away overnight. PowerPC was a platform that was at the end of the road for desktop use, but Intel/X86 isn't. There's plenty of need to support it for a while. I wouldn't worry too much about it!
 
I'm the kind of person that would go immediately upgrade if I thought the platform I was on was about to get dropped from support. I'm not in a rush to upgrade. I know they'll support atleast the T2 Intel macs for a while
 
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If you purchase it directly from Apple, and you get AppleCare, they will have to support for at least that long. So, since they just stopped selling those, you should be able to expect support through 2024 at least. There already is a feature divide on Big Sur, and I expect that will get wider as Apple shifts further away from Intel. The transition is supposed to be complete next year, and there are rumors that they may actually release another Intel-based product before then. As long as they are selling models, you should be able to expect support.

There are some users that simply can't shift away from Intel models at the moment. They have requirements such as eGPU or Windows compatibility. I also would not be surprised if Apple does not update BootCamp to officially support Windows 11. So if your Windows requirement also needs you to stay on the "current" release, even BootCamp may not be an option for you. Parallels (and I assume Fusion will too) does allow you to run Windows 11 on Intel Macs, so that is your path forward for interim.

:)
 
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