make that same post with a windows laptop under $1000 and it will be less than 3 years i bet.
Seems like everyone i know that has a mac keeps them around well over 5 years. Some people i know still have theirs from 2010.
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how often do you upgrade your laptop?
- Thread starter ghanwani
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Seems like everyone i know that has a mac keeps them around well over 5 years. Some people i know still have theirs from 2010.
it used to be every 4-5 years but now when apple doesn't sell what I want (a reliable laptop) I'm just skipping to update the OS and use what I got til it breaks. I am looking at a lenovo with user-replacable parts as potential next laptop, would be cool to have 4TB of SSD on board storage without it costing like a small house.
I think this is a more common approach for business, particularly those that don't want to deal with out-of-warranty repairs. And as @MacRazySwe said, the sooner you sell it, the more money you get back.
Honestly it just depends on several things. For example,
I used my late 2013 rMBP for almost 6 years and had NO plans of upgrading.
But I've recently started a new project/adventure in my life of significance, and a 15" screen without sacrificing too much portability became important.
I recently upgraded to the 2019 15" base model MacBook Pro.
I plan on keeping this thing for as long as it will run...UNLESS....
Let's say Apple comes out with something really compelling. A 16" OLED MacBook Pro that's not too heavy or big, and has some really cool features.
Let's say they come out with it in a year or so. I'd probably upgrade depending on the price.
If it's like $4000 bucks base model then nah. $3000 bucks...MAYBE. Again it'll depend on how amazing the features are.
I used my late 2013 rMBP for almost 6 years and had NO plans of upgrading.
But I've recently started a new project/adventure in my life of significance, and a 15" screen without sacrificing too much portability became important.
I recently upgraded to the 2019 15" base model MacBook Pro.
I plan on keeping this thing for as long as it will run...UNLESS....
Let's say Apple comes out with something really compelling. A 16" OLED MacBook Pro that's not too heavy or big, and has some really cool features.
Let's say they come out with it in a year or so. I'd probably upgrade depending on the price.
If it's like $4000 bucks base model then nah. $3000 bucks...MAYBE. Again it'll depend on how amazing the features are.
Typically greater than 3 years or if I notice that it's getting real slow. My wife still has the 2011 MBA and still works pretty well, though she doesn't use it much so she isn't complaining.
I'm still using my first MacBook Pro, the 13 inch 2012 non-retina one that was upgradeable. I had it upgraded to 8GB RAM, 250 GB SSD, and moved the 500GB spinning HD to the DVD slot. I had to get the hard drive cable replaced twice as it died on me, and these days my Mac sometimes freezes up when I move the screen.
So far it's been going for 7 years, 2+ months and counting. Ideally I would have like to have upgraded by now, but the butterfly keyboard issues have scared me off and this machine still gets the job done, so there was no absolute need to splash over $2,000 on a new one.
In the end I voted for "Whenever the machine breaks."
In a perfect world, I want to get the 16 inch MacBook Pro Apple is rumored to release later this year with their new scissors keyboard, not because I need it, I just want it. That is going to be WAY out of my price range though.
If/when Apple releases a newly designed MacBook Pro line-up without butterfly keyboards next year, I may go for one of those, at which point my MacBook Pro would have given me 8 years of solid service.
So far it's been going for 7 years, 2+ months and counting. Ideally I would have like to have upgraded by now, but the butterfly keyboard issues have scared me off and this machine still gets the job done, so there was no absolute need to splash over $2,000 on a new one.
In the end I voted for "Whenever the machine breaks."
In a perfect world, I want to get the 16 inch MacBook Pro Apple is rumored to release later this year with their new scissors keyboard, not because I need it, I just want it. That is going to be WAY out of my price range though.
If/when Apple releases a newly designed MacBook Pro line-up without butterfly keyboards next year, I may go for one of those, at which point my MacBook Pro would have given me 8 years of solid service.
When it breaks. My early 2013 13" MBP is doing well and serves my needs. I hope future Apple laptops will be made as well as this model. If not, I will have to move on to other options.
Professionally every 2 years, privately as the mood takes me. First and foremost the value & reliability needs to be in place for the task as hand be it a Mac or a PC.
Q-6
Q-6
For my personal laptop, my wife jokes that I go through laptops like potato chips. I tend to get cheap used ones, fix 'em up, upgrade them, then sell 'em and get a different one when they get boring because they work too well. I like to tinker too much 
As for my main productivity laptop (school then work), not terribly often. A 2005 12" PowerBook got me through five years of college (2007-2012), then a 2009 13" Air picked up the slack (2012-2015). After that was a 2011 11" Air that saw me through four years of teaching (2015-2019), and now I've switched to a 2010 13" MacBook for my classroom. Each prior machine lasted me between 3-5 years, so I guess around there.
As for my main productivity laptop (school then work), not terribly often. A 2005 12" PowerBook got me through five years of college (2007-2012), then a 2009 13" Air picked up the slack (2012-2015). After that was a 2011 11" Air that saw me through four years of teaching (2015-2019), and now I've switched to a 2010 13" MacBook for my classroom. Each prior machine lasted me between 3-5 years, so I guess around there.
I used to upgrade computers every 2 years i would alternate Mac Desktop,PC Laptop,Mac Laptop, PC Desktop.
so effectively i was 2-4 years on cycles and always had some machines that were modern, however both Intel's slowdown with ticktock and more importantly, for me Apple's lack of innovation have changed that.
so now i'm in a holding partern with a 2015 rMBP hoping when they finally redisgn the thing its worthwhile or else i'll be switching to exclusively hackintoshing.
so effectively i was 2-4 years on cycles and always had some machines that were modern, however both Intel's slowdown with ticktock and more importantly, for me Apple's lack of innovation have changed that.
so now i'm in a holding partern with a 2015 rMBP hoping when they finally redisgn the thing its worthwhile or else i'll be switching to exclusively hackintoshing.