I purchased my first MacBook laptop in February of last year. It's a mid 2014 RMBP stock model. 8gb ram & 128gb SSD. This is my first mac computer purchased. I am curious as to how many solid years I should expect before I begin to see slow downs due to OS updates and what. It's used for mostly basic to moderate web browsing along with Pages, Numbers, & Keynote on occasion.
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Average Life Expectancy
- Thread starter Swisspo
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Around 5 to 6 years if you take care of it. You might want to change the battery on the 3rd or 4th year.
My MacBook Pro is now coming up on 5 years old (see my sig.). I have maxed out my RAM and upgraded my SSD and it performs VERY WELL with Mavericks. To me this unit is just as viable now as it was when I purchased it, maybe even more so. I expect to get more than a few more years out of it.
I'm using my Macbook (aluminium unibody) from 2008 but i've upgraded it to 1TB SSD and 8GB RAM and its still going but the speakers cause music to be distorted at high level and one USB port is temperamental. I feel I could keep going with this machine for a lot younger. However, a Retina screen would be a beautiful thing to have.
3 years at most.
As soon as the warranty expire, Apple will drop your MacBook Pro like a hot potato.
Take the Late 2011 MacBook Pro 17-inch (purchased in 2H 2012) for instance. Apple still has not solved the issue with the GPU that would rendered the laptop unusable.
As soon as the warranty expire, Apple will drop your MacBook Pro like a hot potato.
Take the Late 2011 MacBook Pro 17-inch (purchased in 2H 2012) for instance. Apple still has not solved the issue with the GPU that would rendered the laptop unusable.
Mine is from 2010. Maxed out RAM and a 500gb SSD. Still works pretty well. I recently ordered an iMac because I recently got more into video and it didn't handle the 4k footage at all.
With my stills it still does okay. Takes some times to build previews in Lightroom if there's a lot of images but it's workable.
For daily tasks it's still great. I'll keep it for when I shoot on location.
With my stills it still does okay. Takes some times to build previews in Lightroom if there's a lot of images but it's workable.
For daily tasks it's still great. I'll keep it for when I shoot on location.
My 2011 MBP was still going strong until recently, I suspect it is affected by the video card recall and the aftermarket RAM i fitted to it died recently.
I'd say you should probably get 5, but i'd plan on replacement after 3-4 so you can maintain continued Applecare support and sell it off to someone else at that point.
I'd say you should probably get 5, but i'd plan on replacement after 3-4 so you can maintain continued Applecare support and sell it off to someone else at that point.
I have a 2009 MBP with maxed 8GB ram and swapped SSD that I still as my play/web browsing/email computer. Other than a few cosmetic blemishes and slightly loose screen, its still going strong. My 2015 rMBP is mainly for photo/video editing when I need it.
This is an important point. Don't forget to sell your old Mac. The initial buy-in costs you more with Apple stuff (but it's well worth it for the quality), however you can easily recoup around 50% a few years down the line when you upgrade. Your MacBook won't be worthless in two years like a PC laptop. But you do have to actually remember to sell it and not just throw it in a closet or something.
My first Mac was a 2005 iMac—the last of the PowerPC line—purchased in early January 2006. I didn't know about MacRumors or the WWDC refresh cycle, nor was I aware that anyone who was even paying a little bit of attention knew that an announcement of a shift to Intel processors was imminent for Apple's desktop machines. So I bought a brand new dinosaur right before the extinction.
To my surprise, that machine ran great for years. The Leopard upgrade actually sped it up. (Never expected that to happen after decades of Microsoft triggering hardware upgrades every time Windows got a refresh.) I had maxed out third party RAM when I bought it, and I think I swapped the HDD at some point, but otherwise it was the same machine, obsolete from the get go, and I used it for almost five years. Never had a PC that long. Just after the warranty expired, the main board crapped out on me. The local Apple Store went ahead and replaced it gratis—because it had been a known issue with that model—even though they didn't have to.
Anyway, when I traded up to a 2009 Intel iMac, somebody paid me over $700 for that used PPC iMac on eBay. I couldn't believe how well these Macs hold value. If I'd dropped $1,500 on a PC, there's no way I could've gotten $700 back out of it even two years down the road, let alone 4½.
And I'm still using that mid-2009 iMac, BTW. Again, maxed the RAM, replaced the HDD, and rolled my own Fusion Drive by swapping out the SuperDrive for an SSD. I initially wanted to wait for quad-core iMacs, and by the time Apple finally released those, it seemed like a Retina iMac would be just around the corner, so I kept waiting. In the meantime, I bought a 2011 MBA (still going strong) and a used 2010 Mini to be a home server and HTPC. My main machine now is a 2015 MBP, so, although I'd like to refresh the old 2009 iMac, it's hard to justify, since it's still running just fine going on 7 years down the line!
lol. wut? Have you heard of the 2011 MacBook Pro? Apple sell this lemon and the GPU could drop dead at any moment.
Every week, someone on this forum post that his/her GPU died.
That's not true. Windows 8 runs faster than Windows 7 on the same hardware. Windows 7 likewise run faster than Windows Vista. A lot of people don't like Windows 8 because of the UI, but there were huge performance improvement under the hood.
Oh yah. I do wonder what all those people who have MacBook Pro after the GPU dropped dead would be able to get back after spending so much money on their computers.
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With 8 gb of RAM it should be good for a long time. Unless some kind of hardware issue ( like 2011 models ) ... hopefully we don't have anything like that in recent models ( time will tell ).
Could go 10 years if treated well ...
Could go 10 years if treated well ...
And of cause, if there are issues, Apple will deny that they even exist.
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Been on my 2010 MBP (2.4GHz Duo, 8GB Ram, 256GB HD, El Capitan). Haven't found the slowdown too bad, but the lack of features are starting to catch up. Every year Apple announces great features for the MBs and I get left out of most because they deem mine cant do it. Ill be updating to a 2016 model this year just to be fresh. But I have been very happy with my Mac over the last 6 years.
Thanks everyone for all of the replies. Seems everyone is in agreement on a good 3-5 solid years, and that is exciting news given the price these machines cost lol. At the same time, I'm kind of kicking myself in the *** for not putting a little more into it to gain a couple additional solid years out of it, not to mention maximize the resale value, should I do so later on down the road.
Honestly, 3-5 years is not really great.
That's about the same lifespan of non-Apple laptops (assuming you don't buy bottom of the barrel garbage).
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How many times are you going to keep posting negative stuff in this thread?
Buy another brand if it makes you happy.
I've still got a functioning (but not really useable Toshiba from 2002). My wife is running at 13 inch from 2010 (upgraded RAM and Hard drive) and I'm using an upgraded 13 inch from 2011 (upgraded RAM and Hard Drive). She is starting to complain about battery life.
To a very large degree, it depends what you want to be able to do with it.
To a very large degree, it depends what you want to be able to do with it.
And Apple is still repairing them even though the warranty expired many years ago for most of them.
It seems like you just want to complain.
I'm rolling with the MBP13" (Mid-2012, non-Retina) and it is still rolling quite well nearly 4 years later. I'm still on the original battery, which gets me roughly 4 - 5 hours on a full charge, which is decent in this day and age depending on what you do (subjective).
In my case, I'm a software developer and its still a good machine to develop on. I even run Windows in a virtual machine now-a-days, after I upgraded the hard-drive to an SSD.
I'll still hold on to this machine until the battery stops holding a charge.
In my case, I'm a software developer and its still a good machine to develop on. I even run Windows in a virtual machine now-a-days, after I upgraded the hard-drive to an SSD.
I'll still hold on to this machine until the battery stops holding a charge.
My old mid-2009 13" MBP is still running well on OSX 10.11. I upgraded the HDD to a SSD and the RAM from 4GB to 8GB. It's a little dated for me, but it works fine for my parents. They use it for word processing and maintaining a webpage.
They even have a 2007 MacBook that's still running. It's on the slow side, and it can't be upgraded past 10.7, but it works.
I upgraded to a 2015 13" rMBP last year and it's awesome.
Difference is, my 5 year old Macbook pro still looks and feels like it did when it was brand new, save for a couple of minor pin dents from being carried around Europe.
I deal with PC laptops at work (I build our SOE and have input on the hardware selection) and the average PC laptop after 2-3 years looks well used - wear on the plastics (the textured plastic goes smooth and shiny where people touch is), key caps, etc.
My sympathies if you had a bad experience. It does happen, and sometimes if it is more systemic, it does take apple a while to fess up, however they usually do in the end.
That said, there is plenty of anecdotal good to go with the anecdotal bad. Over the years I've bough a 2005 power mac, a 2008, 2011 and 2013 MacBook Pro. Every single machine is still running essentially as well as they day I bought it. (Although the 2005 machine gets little use anymore, the others have been passed to family and are still working great). Zero paid repairs, 1 super drive and 2 batteries replaced under AppleCare.
I also tend to get frustrated by iOS devices that struggle after 2 OS updates, mostly because I am spoiled by macs that can update year after year with little to no performance degradation.
I have a 2011 ( anti glare) 15 inch MBP and had the video card issue. I took it into Apple last year and they fixed it for free ( after I called they main number about it). I installed SSD in the optical disc slot and run a 256 SSD and 1TB spinning drive side by side and it is actually a much better machine now than it was when I first got it.
It still works great, but it lacks a 4K output and Retina screen which are the main downsides with it right now. Not sure I need those features bad enough to upgrade, but I will wait to see what the next Macbook laptops look like and then decide.
It still works great, but it lacks a 4K output and Retina screen which are the main downsides with it right now. Not sure I need those features bad enough to upgrade, but I will wait to see what the next Macbook laptops look like and then decide.
My 2012 rMBP is still going strong, its being used every day, and its going on 4 years. I don't think your opinion is not that accurate.