The issue isn't update frequency, it's that Apple use generation-old tech in many of their products. This is actually more of an issue for those who go longer between hardware updates.
It depends upon several issues, some Apple computers are more outdated than others, mostly though people look at Apples computers and call them outdated even though an objective look at the hardware says that they aren't outdated at all. In many cases computers that people are calling outdated in this thread are actually delivering state of the art performance.
I normally keep a Mac about 5 years. There is no freakin' way I would buy a computer stuffed with last generation components if I plan to use it so long.
Honestly you shouldn't.
You buy hardware when it makes sense and hopefully when the technology has transitioned to a new generation of hardware. It doesn't make sense to piss away good money on hardware if you don't get anything out of that upgrade.
The problem here though is that you are thinking in terms that made sense a decade or two ago but make no sense now. People in this thread seem to be obsessed with "Skylake" but that revision offers absolutely nothing for any Apple machine with a discreet processor. I can't stress this enough the year to year updates to Intel's CPUs, over the last three years, have been null events for all intents.
You can search the net for all sorts of benchmarks that can prove me right or wrong but the fact remains it has been a very very long time since we have seen a decent processor upgrade from Intel. GPU updates are another thing and this does impact integrated only machines.
In any event people are still ignoring the fact that the industry is changing to a remarkable extent. You simply won't be seeing rapid increases in CPU performance anymore. It will likely be 3-5 years between process shrinks from the likes of Intel and there is no certainty that they can keep this up past 10 years. This means we need to seem completely new technology for building computer chips and frankly there is nothing on the horizon that looks like it can replace CMOS in a decades time.
So what I'm saying here is that keeping a PC for 5 years may not afford you the massive performance increases of the past. If you are lucky you might get one process shrink that amounts to anything.
And at Apple prices I don't think it's wrong to expect their products to feature current generation silicon. Do you?
It depends upon the product. If the current generation of hardware offers nothing then you do have to question why Apple would even bother to update the machine. Frankly I would rather wait for an update that is balanced system wide so that you get real benefit for your upgrade money. Today that would mean avoiding buying a machine with less than the following:
- DDR4 or better RAM
- USB-C ports, at least four. This includes TB support and other goodies from the most recent rev.
- A 14nm class GPU.
- 1TB of SSD
You see the problem is the CPU these days doesn't make the system modern or even worth the money. You are buying a system and the CPU these days is only one component of that system. As such many of Appls machines are still very much state of the art and high performance compared to offerings from other companies.
In any event why complain about something that isn't on the market yet? Simply wait until Apple Has what you want on the market.
It could be worst! My old 2008 MBP does very early in 2015. I didn't want to buy the old hardware so I waited for the new hardware to arrive, downgrading to a 13" MBP. Though I was somewhat disappointed that Apple didn't do the upgrade I wanted I did buy the machine and frankly have no complaints. In the end it wasn't the CPU that made the machine a worthwhile upgrade, but rather all the parts working together.
By the way waiting for that upgrade sucked royally. If it wasn't for my iPad I would have had to buy a year old model. It isn't like I don't understand the need for new hardware but rather I object to people focusing on the Intel processor and not taking a long hard look at what Intel has to offer and how much it really offers in value for the complete machine.
