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Long-Term Longevity of 2015 MBA?

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Wheel_D

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2016
142
38
Hello -

I'm considering a new 2015 MacBook Air 13 as a replacement for my damaged 11.6" MBA. I realize it's an old model, but I prefer the keyboard and the overall quality of the design. My needs are reasonably basic, and I imagine they'll remain so for the foreseeable future. If I purchase the 2015 MBA, can I expect it to remain useful into the year 2025?

Many thanks for your insights!
 
I wouldn't see any particular issues with getting nearly a decade out of a modern laptop, so long as it's well cared for. Just at the end of this school year I retired my old 2011 11" Air for classroom duties, and that's just because I got the version with only 2GB of RAM. If I'd had the 4GB version, I'd still totally be using it. So getting a decade or nearly a decade out of a laptop isn't unheard of, although you may be missing out on the latest and greatest software features towards the end.
 
That would depend entirely on your uses for the computer. As web pages use a lot more memory than just a couple years ago. I'd only consider an 8GB model to maximize the likelihood of it holding up until then.
 
velocityg4 said:
That would depend entirely on your uses for the computer. As web pages use a lot more memory than just a couple years ago. I'd only consider an 8GB model to maximize the likelihood of it holding up until then.
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Yes, I know. I'm also wondering about virtual machine apps and other software.
 
I wouldn’t lag too far behind for security reasons. I have a 2015 and my gut feel is that I won’t go past Mojave (to retain 32 but app support). So how long will Mojave keep security updates coming? That’s probably my timeline for replacement.

So 2021 is when that will likely end and I may retire this one.
 
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I have a base model 13" 2015 (1.6 i5, 4GB, 128GB) and while it's perfectly fine for my uses (surfing, writing and light photo editing), it is beginning to show its age speed-wise when loading certain websites and performing certain tasks. An i7 with twice the RAM might have given me a longer useful life span, but I'm not sure I could count on it being zippy enough to keep me from getting annoyed up to six years from now...
 
Why consider 2017Y model? as I do, I upgrade my MBA 2010late to 2017 now. I think that may help compatible further macOS update.
 
Howard2k said:
I wouldn’t lag too far behind for security reasons. I have a 2015 and my gut feel is that I won’t go past Mojave (to retain 32 but app support). So how long will Mojave keep security updates coming? That’s probably my timeline for replacement.

So 2021 is when that will likely end and I may retire this one.
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I don't use any 32-bit software; still, I definitely agree that software updates are crucial. I'm more familiar with Windows than Mac, so I lack a good understanding of Apple's approach. 32-bit support notwithstanding, how long could I reasonably expect to keep my machine current?

TechRunner said:
An i7 with twice the RAM might have given me a longer useful life span, but I'm not sure I could count on it being zippy enough to keep me from getting annoyed up to six years from now...
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Exactly! It's the major reason I have reservations . . .

z2000 said:
Why consider 2017Y model? as I do, I upgrade my MBA 2010late to 2017 now. I think that may help compatible further macOS update.
Click to expand...
My current MacBook, a MacBook Air 11 from 2015, is the only MacBook I've got. Indeed, it's the only MacBook I've ever had. And I absolutely love it! As a person with a physical disability, I've used computers almost daily for some thirty-four years. The MBA is surely the best computer I've owned. I'm genuinely unhappy about replacing it, even though the system hasn't been quite right since I damaged it almost two years ago.
 
I would expect to be able to run Catalina. And possible the successor to Catalina. So I think you'll be good until 2022 or 2023. Any further than that and I'd consider that "bonus" time.
 
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For basic needs, it will be fine for a long time. I am using a 2011 Air with 2 GB of RAM and a 64 GB SSD for browsing, email, and C development, and it handles all of that easily.
 
Best Buy is offering a new 2015 Air for $750 (Core i5, 128GB SSD). It's tempting, especially since I know I can install a larger SSD later. Still, I'm inclined to wait for the price to drop further.
 
If you're going for the 2015 MBA13 then I would suggest you get one that is specd out (2.2Hz i7/8GB). The size of the storage drive does not matter because you can replace this for a larger NVMe M.2 storage drive for cheaper so I would say go for the 128GB Apple storage drive and save the money towards getting either a 1TB or 2TB NVMe M.2 storage drive instead.

Since you're looking to run virtual machine apps having the larger storage drive will help. I run VirtualPC on my 2015 MBA13 which is fully specd out and have no issues whatsoever when running my virtual PC apps.
 
I don’t think that a 2015 MBP has a shorter lifespan than a 2018 MBA because the MBA is already slower. That should mean that you have several years left with the 2015 MBP....
 
Macdctr said:
If you're going for the 2015 MBA13 then I would suggest you get one that is specd out (2.2Hz i7/8GB). The size of the storage drive does not matter because you can replace this for a larger NVMe M.2 storage drive for cheaper. . . .
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Yes, I believe we're on the same wavelength.

AlexJoda said:
I don’t think that a 2015 MBP has a shorter lifespan than a 2018 MBA because the MBA is already slower. That should mean that you have several years left with the 2015 MBP...
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I don't understand. Would you please explain?
 
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Wheel_D said:
Yes, I believe we're on the same wavelength.

I don't understand. Would you please explain?
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The lifespan of a Mac depends mainly on the amount of RAM, the supported components (e.g. driver and features for the hardware) and the performance of the computer (besides political aspects of not supporting the old device any more). From the hardware and performance standpoint the 2015 MBP is not worse (or in that sense "older") than the 2018 MBA...
 
AlexJoda said:
The lifespan of a Mac depends mainly on the amount of RAM, the supported components (e.g. driver and features for the hardware) and the performance of the computer (besides political aspects of not supporting the old device any more). From the hardware and performance standpoint the 2015 MBP is not worse (or in that sense "older") than the 2018 MBA...
Click to expand...

Alex, I have to agree...
 
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