Can I expect the same lifespan?

[KarelBos]

I'm still using my late 2009 iMac on a daily basis. After 10 years, I'm starting to notice some issues and I'm considering to buy a new iMac.
My question is: can I expect a new iMac to last me another 10 years, or has the overall quality Apple puts out there declined since 2009? Thank you,

 

[maflynn]

Only time will tell ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My 2015 iMac is going strong, though largely unused, except for my kids

 

[Expos of 1969]

I purchased an iMac in 2008, gave it to a friend in 2013 and he reports it is still working. My 2013 MBP is doing well. However, I would be hard pressed to tell KarelBos that anything he buys from Apple today will enjoy the same trouble free longevity. Of course some items very well may, but there are enough indications that Apple's quality control has declined over the past few years. Others will naturally have different opinions .

 

[Fishrrman]

Expect 6-7 years.
If you get more, that's icing on the cake.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Like the old question 'how long is a piece of string'?

 

[Luis Ortega]

Like the old question 'how long is a piece of string'?

No it’s not. He’s asking about apple’s build quality compared to 10 years ago, and the answer is not favorable.
i still have my 2007 17” MacBook Pro and my 2008 Mac Pro, and I doubt that anything sold today has the same build quality.

 

[kschendel]

"Build quality" is a complicated thing, and it's way too soon to know what the 2019's will be like. 2011 iMac owners with the HD 6970M GPU aren't remembering their iMac's all that fondly, and that wasn't really Apple's fault. I have no reason to think that the basic construction and main logic board quality is any worse in 2019 than it was in 2009. Whether the GPU, SSD, and display panel will hold up as well, is unknowable at the moment.

 

[jpn]

I'm still using my late 2009 iMac on a daily basis. After 10 years, I'm starting to notice some issues and I'm considering to buy a new iMac.
My question is: can I expect a new iMac to last me another 10 years, or has the overall quality Apple puts out there declined since 2009? Thank you,

i dont subscribe to opinions claiming that apple is accidentally limiting product life cycle by inadequate attention to quality of its hardware.
at the same time, a lot of mac fans correctly complain (based on actual examples and actual facts) about "build quality".

apple has gotten amazingly good at building a very effective combined "hardware+ software life cycle."

apple's product and marketing strategy is seeing a path that is at least 5 years ahead. maybe longer.
depending on where you are in that 5 year path, the device you buy has at that point a "realistic life (which in my definition means ability to provide me with a quality use experience that i enjoy)".

maxing out product specs at time of purchase has often provided me with the ability to really productively use and enjoy my mac devices for around 4 to 5 years.
but i rarely enjoy using mac products any longer than that.

in yr case, you cite a 2009 iMac. presumably the macOS version is 10.11.6 for this machine.
to me, running macOS versions so old could not give me enough new features to make it worth it.

for me, a "build quality" that is reliable for around 5 years is what i want to pay for.
i dont want to pay for any longer than that, as i want to be running the latest software as well.
i think that asking for 10 years is unrealistic.

 

[nihil0]

Before buying my first iMac in 2015 (refurbished 2013 27-inch), I had custom built Win PC for 7 years. During that time I cycled through 2 monitors, 2 GPUs, 2 coolers and I had to add SSD because HDD got slow. So to expect hardware to last 10 years is far fetched imo. I expect to buy new iMac in 2021 (after 4 years of use of my current 2017 27-inch). Maxed out specs can be relevant for 5-6 years tops.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

You got lucky it’s that simple, there are many vintage iMacs still running of course but many more in silicon heaven. I would say that a good rule of thumb is 5 years expectation for a portable computer and 6-7 for a desktop any more is just a bonus and down purely to luck of the draw.