Life Expectancy

[hasgar]

I know this is kind of an ambiguous question, but I was wondering if any experienced Apple people would know the approximate life expectancy of my Macbook Pro.

I've had it for a year and it works great but I use it for work full-time and I go to school full-time as well. I've estimated that I spend around 86 hours a week on it total.

Will using it this much shorten the life expectancy? What is the typical lifespan of a Macbook Pro?

Thanks

 

[iKrivetko]

Define lifespan. If treated properly, it can still be working after a decade, but it likely won't be powerful enough to do some heavy duty by that time.

 

[jjahshik32]

If taken care of properly, you're MBP should last you for years (even 10+ years if you decide to keep it that long that is). Products these days are manufactured to last for a very long time. Usually if the product will have issues, it will be noticeable or have failed in the short time frame.

 

[iBook_Clamshell]

I still use a Mac that is about 30 years old! It still works just as it should have back in the 1980s. I can use it for typing reports, but obviously I can't go online or use Final Cut Pro on it. It's "lifespan" is almost eternity.
As for the MacBook, Apple might create it to fall apart in 5 years so you will give them more money and buy a new one.

 

[hasgar]

I mean life expectancy as in it will still be fully functional apart from some small issues (battery life, processing speed slightly slower, occasional freezing, etc).

I ride this thing hard and I'm hoping it will at least last the next 3-5 years if possible. I'm not familiar enough in Ubuntu to be as efficient at work (plus the compatibility hurdles that come with Linux distros are a pain) and the idea of going back to Windows makes me want to curl into a ball and die.

I don't have $1k+ to spend on a new Macbook so if this thing does die on me I'll be in trouble (I doubt my superiors at work would fork over the money for a new one, at least not all of it).

Just thought I'd ask for the sake of curiosity.

 

[eezacque]

Will using it this much shorten the life expectancy? What is the typical lifespan of a Macbook Pro?

I wouldn't expect a lot more than 3 years. Apple suffers a lot from design and production errors (Nvidiagate, Radeongate, MeltBook Pro gate), and generally ignores customer complaints. Now, to err is human, but Apple service has degenerated to a level where customers are supposed to buy their own guarantee for three years, and shut up after that...

 

[JPIndustrie]

My 2 macintosh notebooks, a 2004 Powerbook G4 Al + 2008 Macbook Pro 15" have served me well (4-6 years). I've purchased Apple care on both and only used it once on a battery for the 2008.

I would say they are on par with other PC manufacturers, price wise too.

 

[leman]

From experience, I'd say your chances are somewhere around 50% that it will be alive and well in 5 years, assuming moderate use.

 

[Bri in Mtl]

I still use a Mac that is about 30 years old! It still works just as it should have back in the 1980s. I can use it for typing reports, but obviously I can't go online or use Final Cut Pro on it. It's "lifespan" is almost eternity.
As for the MacBook, Apple might create it to fall apart in 5 years so you will give them more money and buy a new one.

Out of curiosity, I'd be interested in seeing a photo of your machine.

 

[Freyqq]

I have a macbook pro from 2007 that still runs fine, if that is any indication. However, the computer may not still be useful by that point, depending on the task. The weakest link is the battery, which will eventually wear out. However, the battery can be replaced by apple for a fee.

 

[Steve686]

My late 2008 first edition Unibody still goes strong and can do enough of the tasks most people need nowadays. The only thing that took a hit is the video capability with the playback of higher definition videos at high frame rates.

I do have a mid-2014 rMBP also.

 

[MTL18]

My late 2008 unibody is still running and was only replaced by a late 2013 rMBP because the unibody was no longer capable of editing photos and the upgrades I checked out (large SSD, more RAM) cost more than the computer was worth.

These computers will LAST a long time, doesn't mean however that they will be USEFUL in a long time. It depends on your needs.

 

[hasgar]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

The general consensus seems to be it might live for a long time, but may not be useful past 3-5 years or so.

I understand it's unreasonable to expect this thing to be like new after spending 86 hours a week (~50-60 with 2 extra monitors plugged into it) on it for an extended period of time. I graduate in 2 1/2 years so as long as it makes it that far I'll be more than happy.

 

[CausticPuppy]

My 5-year old Macbook Pro (2.66GHz, 8GB, 128SSD) works like a champ and is running the current preview of Yosemite just fine.

It's had some hardware upgrades along the way, and a new Anker battery. These days you are better served to get the hardware upgrades up front since there's not much you can do later. If you do that it should last for years.

Unless you have one of the 2011 models.

 

[JHUFrank]

We have a 2008 MB (Original unibody macbook), 2 2010 models still in production. My longest lasting ibook was my clamshell 366 which I got in 2000, and I was still using in 2011 until my son stepped on it and crushed the display.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

I mean life expectancy as in it will still be fully functional apart from some small issues (battery life, processing speed slightly slower, occasional freezing, etc).

I ride this thing hard and I'm hoping it will at least last the next 3-5 years if possible. I'm not familiar enough in Ubuntu to be as efficient at work (plus the compatibility hurdles that come with Linux distros are a pain) and the idea of going back to Windows makes me want to curl into a ball and die.

I don't have $1k+ to spend on a new Macbook so if this thing does die on me I'll be in trouble (I doubt my superiors at work would fork over the money for a new one, at least not all of it).

Just thought I'd ask for the sake of curiosity.

So far my 2010 MacBook (white) has lasted for almost 4 years. I'm hoping it lasts until I graduate next Fall. Have you bought some sort of insurance like AppleCare or Squaretrade?

 

[teknikal90]

I know this is kind of an ambiguous question, but I was wondering if any experienced Apple people would know the approximate life expectancy of my Macbook Pro.

I've had it for a year and it works great but I use it for work full-time and I go to school full-time as well. I've estimated that I spend around 86 hours a week on it total.

Will using it this much shorten the life expectancy? What is the typical lifespan of a Macbook Pro?

Thanks

depends on which one you buy
my late 2011 macbook pro is almost 3 years old now. it was a middle class 15" MBP.
still performs with a geekbench number of 10,000+
current specced models are only 20% faster.

i can see myself using this for another 2-3 years at which point id probably get another mid-high end MBP.

I even think I overspent on this one - I spent $2500. Next time, my budget is $2000.

After a while the novelty of having that extra 300mhz of processor speed for $350 extra wears off.

so i think 5 years for a middle-high end machine is a good approximation

 

[cebseb]

As long as you keep the machine free of dust and make sure the fan stays in good health, the only thing that may wear down would be the battery life. I give it somewhere around 2 years at your type of usage before it starts dipping below 70% of its original capacity.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

2.5 years for me....After that the GPU craps out and it becomes a very expensive paper weight....If you have AppleCare....you can use it for an additional year tops....3.5 years

 

[TechGod]

I mean life expectancy as in it will still be fully functional apart from some small issues (battery life, processing speed slightly slower, occasional freezing, etc).

I ride this thing hard and I'm hoping it will at least last the next 3-5 years if possible. I'm not familiar enough in Ubuntu to be as efficient at work (plus the compatibility hurdles that come with Linux distros are a pain) and the idea of going back to Windows makes me want to curl into a ball and die.

I don't have $1k+ to spend on a new Macbook so if this thing does die on me I'll be in trouble (I doubt my superiors at work would fork over the money for a new one, at least not all of it).

Just thought I'd ask for the sake of curiosity.

My MBP is currently almost 5 years old. This thing is still running fine( I did however upgrade myself to a late 2013 rMBP cause I love dat screen)

----------

2.5 years for me....After that the GPU craps out and it becomes a very expensive paper weight....If you have AppleCare....you can use it for an additional year tops....3.5 years

That's for a one with dGPU's.

Who is to say that the 650 and 750m's will also crap out? I think not.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

That's for a one with dGPU's.

Who is to say that the 650 and 750m's will also crap out? I think not.

True...we do not know...enter 2015 and lets see....For Apple's sake, I hope they don't fail again....Anyway, I thought the OP should know....Life expectancy of a 2-3 grand Apple laptop is not as high as one would expect. They have the worst QC... not fitting a company of Apple's reputation.

 

[Mike P]

I've recently replaced my 2008 unibody aluminium Macbook with a 2014 rMBP and it feels like a huge upgrade in every respect. The 2008 machine was still working but felt like it was getting near the end of its life.

I realised a reasonable amount for the old machine on eBay and put that towards the new machine. I'd say 5 years was approaching the sensible useful lifetime of a Macbook and for me it was certainly the right time to upgrade. Much more life than that is basically a bonus.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

I have been using my MBP 2010 almost every day for the past 5 years (nearly) and it still works fine. I almost never shut it off, it's always downloading something and if it's not I just close the lid.

Honestly, this has to be the most reliable computer I've ever had. Before this I had a 2007 MBP of which the dGPU failed (the 8600GT issue) after just three years, which I must admit kind of shook my faith in Apple a bit, but in the end it's just a machine and all machines can potentially fail. I suppose that's just a matter of bad luck rather than a usage issue.

 

[eezacque]

Before this I had a 2007 MBP of which the dGPU failed (the 8600GT issue) after just three years, which I must admit kind of shook my faith in Apple a bit, but in the end it's just a machine and all machines can potentially fail. I suppose that's just a matter of bad luck rather than a usage issue.

Hardware failing or not can be a matter of bad or good luck, but lack of service is where Apple has failed more and more over the past years. It is totally unacceptable that a brand which asks its buyers to shell out $2000 tells them that **** happens and looks away when this hardware lasts no longer than 3 years.

 

[ecschwarz]

I'd say you have a pretty good shot of being able to use it long after it's considered "obsolete" as long as you take care of it. While there have been supplier/production issues with some models, the hardware itself is designed to be pretty solid - I still have a 2002 iBook G3 kicking (I don't really use it at all anymore), a 2005 Mac mini that got retired to server status a few years ago, and help out two labs of 2009 iMacs that get abused like crazy, but keep hanging in there. A good friend of mine is still rocking a 2009 MacBook Pro and since we upgraded it to have an SSD, it feels almost as fast as mine for general stuff.

For what it's worth, my prior Mac was a 2008 MacBook Pro (the one that had a lot of NVIDIA issues), but it worked flawlessly for 5 years and I ended up selling it just because I wanted something newer.