How long do you plan on keeping your M1 Mac's for before upgrading?

[doolar]

Just swapped out my beloved 15" MBP 2017 for a M1 8/512. I'll probably keep the M1 for around five years. But since these are new times with the AS vs Intel, it may be that I'll upgrade sooner to douse my curiosity. However I'm quite certain that for my personal computing needs, the M1 will probably be good enough for a decade.

My 15" Intel heater had loads of headroom left, and I originally intended to keep it until it was worn out, probably around seven years. But I will not be left behind on an old platform again, so I swapped it for this amazing M1 Air, that also fit my usage better these days, I really like the 13" size.

 

[deeddawg]

So how long do you plan on keeping your M1 Mac's for?

Same as any other computer I've owned:

I'll keep it for however long it continues to be the best-fit tool for the stuff I need to do.

 

[telo123]

You know once it expires you can still pay yearly for coverage.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210580

Unfortunately, South Korea isn't part of that.

 

[vs40]

I prefer things that can stand and serve me in longterm, which is huge problem nowadays because of non replaceable SSD/RAM/WiFi/Battery.
Writing this on my MBP 13 2011, I have it for almost 10 years now and with SSD and 16GB RAM upgrades it still can do regular home office stuff:
MS Office + Browser with bunch of tabs + Spotify + VLC + Youtube + Telegram + even some Photoshop and Camera RAW editing.

It struggles mostly when some web pages or apps using HEVC/H265/VP9 codec, for example youtube 1080p 60fps, but it is fine if you force H264 codec.

Yesterday I'm ordered new MBA M1 16/256, mostly because I want bigger 4K monitor instead of my old 1080p one.
I have doubts, but I would be happy, if my new MBA M1 would last another 10 years.

 

[Budgiemac]

So just replace the battery, pretty easy to do on the MBA and slightly more involved on the MBP.

I could e wrong. But if you think about older Macs they were replaceable and the batteries sold like hotcakes. Batteries could be built better now but hopefully it just the battery that we will need to replace to last over ten years.

 

[TopToffee]

Just bought a MBA M1 8/256 out of necessity today (was planning to wait for the MBP's later in the year).

Will sell when the new ones come out, not ideal taking the few hundred £ hit, but couldn't be helped in circumstance.

That said, I am absolutely ASTONISHED at the performance. It completely annihilates my old 2016 15" MBP 2.7/16. All while not sounding like a jet engine about to take off. Just amazing.

 

[cambookpro]

So... I went with the Air for the first time and hell yeah I'm surprised by how above it's weight is punching my workflow (much better than my 16")

However I got the base model because I wanted to see if I workflow worked as fine as everyone as been saying on the 8GB and despite 7GB off SWAP after 10h every day it's been going flawlessly. I don't see any need for a fan either connected to an external display or simply working.

I am interested in upgrading to the new Air design with Mini-LED and possibly a M2 chip. Interested in getting more GPU cores and access to hook it up to 2 External Monitors (4K)

I will definitely be getting the 16GB variant next time, not because it's not enough now but because that will indeed become my main computer.

In exactly the same position - bought a cheaper, more readily available 8GB RAM MBP to try out. Surpassed my expectations so became my main (and only) machine, but am probably going to upgrade to something else soon as I do quite often get orange or red memory pressure in Activity Monitor. (For reference, mainly use it for Xcode.)

CPU-wise I’ve not felt the need for way more speed, so not sure yet if I’d get a 14” “M1X” MBP or a new MBA if it was significantly redesigned.

 

[darngooddesign]

I could e wrong. But if you think about older Macs they were replaceable and the batteries sold like hotcakes. Batteries could be built better now but hopefully it just the battery that we will need to replace to last over ten years.

You can replace the battery in current Macs as well, or get Apple to do it for not a lot more than the cost of a battery.

 

[thestickman]

I plan on using my M1 Mini for at least 10 years. I use this for pro audio & WoW. I currently have song in the recording stage that already has 160+ tracks of audio & vi's & the CPU usage isn't going above 30-35. Even using 3rd party plugins on Logic running natively the meter doesn't go above 35% total usage. It is the fastest, most powerful computer I have owned in my 25+ years of making music on a computer.

Even after Apple obsoletes it, I expect to keep using it until it stops working altogether.

 

[petvas]

10 years? I have never ever used a computer for such a long time. I think 3 years is the limit for me. I would say that 2 years are even better for me. I just want to have new hardware and I am in a position where I can afford buying computers so often, so why not?

 

[fgengineer]

Until big brother comes out. I bought the base air to minimize the hit I take when selling.

 

[scaramoosh]

GPU performance is the most important for me, so I expect Apple to make big strides for 4/5 years.... so maybe every year lol.