Life expectency of macbook pro?

[viciousdave]

I just bought macbook pro m1 8 GB 512 GB SSD. I would like to know what's the life expestancy of macbooks? I had a toshiba laptop and it died on me after only 6 months. So I'm worried how long a battery will last? I use my mac 6 to 9 hours a day. What should I leave the charge level at? I heard never let it go 0% out or it shortans battery life. So how long will the battery last? 2 years? 3 years?

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you exercise some common sense and follow Apple’s battery suggestions, you should have many years use from the battery. And even if you do end up needing to get it replaced after only 2 or 3 years, that is still going to be a lot cheaper than buying a new MacBook.

Batteries - Maximizing Performance

Maximize the life and lifespan of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in your MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

www.apple.com

 

[Natzoo]

To add to the post above me, if you ever find your battery health below 80% or needing more capacity, just disable battery health management. Personally, I am not a fan of battery health management since it is a bit vague but I expect it to last comfortably for at least 3 years. Probably even more, just not sure how relevant 8gb of ram will be (also don't support upgrading ram since apple charges $200 for 8gb extra).

 

[sub150]

6 months is not realistic for any laptop. I have an HP at work that has decent battery after 3 years. It will last for 90 minutes on normal settings doing real work with the CPU.

 

[ght56]

I would say 2-3 years with frequent and heavy battery usage in most cases with a lot of room for variance, although it could last a lot longer with M1 Macs. I only say that as I get about that from Macs I constantly use the battery on. If you use one or more cycles a day, I strongly suggest getting AppleCare+, as it will cover the Mac once it reaches the 80 percent capacity threshold, which is officially rated at 1,000 cycles and, in my experience, generally happens a bit sooner. The price of AC+ for my most recent Mac was $369. The out of pocket battery service is $200 and I am certain I will have to get the battery serviced within three years. If you think about it, that really means I am paying $169 for a 3 year warranty that includes accidental damage protection.

 

[JLH81]

I went with Apple Care as well for the same reasons as above. Just for reference, we have a 2010 MB PRO still running on the original battery at 81%. It definitely needs to be changed, but it still does hold a charge. I would say you would get 2-3 years out of a battery easily.

 

[lclev]

It will last years longer than the Toshiba. I have a 2009 Macbook running Windows 10 better than most PC laptops will. I had to replace the battery last year as the charge lasted about 15 minutes. I added an SSD which added more life to the old girl. I have a 2011 MBP with original battery still holds a charge for 90 minutes.

If you take care of it you should have many years of service from it. Since it is the AS M1 processor I think you will see a longer battery life - in years - than we have had with Intel processors. But only time will tell! Oh, and AppleCare is a good idea especially on a first gen AS M1.

 

[Eric Idle]

I got 8 years out of my last MacBook Pro. Damn thing is still going; my kids use it.

 

[Macbookprodude]

Like a car, if you take care of it - ETERNITY.

 

[viciousdave]

Wow thanks guys. How about if the battery completely runs out of power can I run the macbook pro completely from being wall plugged in? This is just an if question. My general way would be at 20% batter power to charge it into wall, let it charge to 80%, unplug.

 

[SpaceGrayAlways]

Wow thanks guys. How about if the battery completely runs out of power can I run the macbook pro completely from being wall plugged in? This is just an if question. My general way would be at 20% batter power to charge it into wall, let it charge to 80%, unplug.

Yes, you can always use it that way. Battery drain is likely the biggest concern, but I can say that the actual life of a Mac that you take care of is... Very very long.

For example, I have an iMac G3 (From around the year 2000) that still functions. It's slow as heck and completely impossible to use with any modern day software, but Apple devices will last a very long time.

Realistically, I would say a MacBook will stay current enough longer than a comparable PC would, especially with the M1 chip. As a result I would say a 4 to 7 year timeline is likely a decent model to follow if you are hoping to make it last as long as possible. Recent macOS updates have emphasized support for older devices, which will extend your ability to even use the most up-to-date macOS versions for many years to come.

 

[travelsheep]

I had my first MacBook for 4 years, no issues at all. Then sold it cheap to a friend and it died within 2 weeks. She gave me a lot of heat over this but I didn't see a mistake from my side. More than that, it seems there is a rule that applies not only to living things but also to inorganic things: their wellfare depends to a good part on how we treat them (obviously I didn't tell her that, but I was thinking it).

 

[HPDoor]

My wife uses an early 2013 Macbook Pro. I use my early 2015...Both are doing well. Still excellent battery life. We still live in the MagSafe area and can plug in anything we like directly into the holes provided.... Planning to use these until.....we will see where it ends. Will keep you posted.

 

[biffuz]

Mine is almost 7, still goes a couple hours, I'm thinking to replace the battery while I still can...

 

[Fishrrman]

My 2010 MacBook Pro 13" still runs fine, although the original battery now runs down fairly quickly. I replaced the original HDD with an SSD years ago.

My sister has a 2010 white MacBook that still runs well enough, too.

 

[Crash0veride]

They must of really improved something in the 2010s based on what other people are saying. My 2009 MBP went through 2 batteries on AppleCare and died to the point where it only ran while plugged in within another 2 years. My GF still uses my 2009 while plugged in though (mostly to play Sims 4 and barely functional otherwise).

 

[betaperson]

My last one died (black screen) after 4 years. Still works with an external monitor.
The one before that lasted 7.

 

[Quackers]

Mine is still going strong after 8 years - including the battery.
It's been plugged in for most of its life - only 92 cycle count. Condition normal.

 

[Cartaphilus]

My sad experience with MacBook Pros has been with the death of the display. Apparently, the cables between the keyboard and the screen have a tendency to be stretched, the consequence is nothing but several columns of psychedelic colors. If you are very patient you can find an angle between the display and the keyboard that results in the display working as expected. The drawback is that much of the keyboard can’t be used unless you have very small hand and even then the magic angle gets smaller over a few weeks until no use at all can be made of the display.

Googling will reveal a long list of complainers whose MBP‘s have lost the use of the screen shortly after the coverage period. Within the three-year coverage period Apple Care will take your MBP and give you a new one, but when that MBP develops the same malady, you’re out of luck. Repair cost from Apple is some $500, but independent and authorized repair shops may charge less. Let’s hope the 2020 M1 models have found a way to avoid the display issue.

BTW, if your display dies you can replace it with a monitor. It isn’t very portable, but even <$100 will buy a useful monitor that plugs into a USB-C port. You can close the lid, but then you’ll need a camera and a Bluetooth speaker & microphone, headset, or Air Pods, as well as a Bluetooth or cabled keyboard.

 

[Arnezie]

My 2012 worked great until about 6 weeks ago. Not bad I would say.

 

[OldITGeek]

replaced my 2012 in the spring before Covid lockdown, it got bumped of the security belt at DFW airport caused a ding in the bottom and the security guy told me I could not fly with a damaged laptop, I explained to him that HE caused it and called his supervisor, end result, they send me a check for a couple of hundred dollars and I had to buy a new one.

 

[Euroamerican]

My daily driver at home is still my 2010 MBP 13". So, ten years! Not on current OS and the battery is technically rated as "needs service". But, the battery works and the machine chugs along!

Distance advantages for this model in the time frame from 2010 to now is that it was upgradeable for memory and drive type. Without the ability to upgrade the ram to the unofficial max of 16 gb and swap in an SSD, I would have had to replace it by now.

 

[bosozoku]

I am still rocking' my 2015 13inch mbp with 8Gb RAM, and it is more than ok for study/office work/surfing online on macOS BigSur. After installing BigSur, I've noticed lightly worse interface performance, but after I tried M1 MB Air at local Apple Store here in Tokyo - same lag! So it is definitely shall be fixed in future updates.
M1 MacBooks will be going strong for at least 5 years, the only thing I am concerned about is 8Gb ram... but those new ARM seem to perform very well even with this amount of ram, so no worries here!

 

[oriberu]

They aren't as good as the used to be, that's for sure. My 2013 13" was at 80 % when it hit 1000 cycles after 7 years but went downhill from there fast.

My 2019 16" bought in April has now reached 99 cycles and is already down to 82 %.

 

[viciousdave]

They aren't as good as the used to be, that's for sure. My 2013 13" was at 80 % when it hit 1000 cycles after 7 years but went downhill from there fast.

My 2019 16" bought in April has now reached 99 cycles and is already down to 82 %.

Do you know if after battery goes dead can we still use them fine with the power plugged into a wall unit?