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resale value

L

low performer

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 14, 2015
10
1
T€uroland
Imagine: 3 years from now you will sell the new MacBook v1.
Will the resale value be influenced by the fact that the battery is not replaceable?
 
low performer said:
Imagine: 3 years from now you will sell the new MacBook v1.
Will the resale value be influenced by the fact that the battery is not replaceable?
Click to expand...

it will not. If you want to lose the least amount of money, buy the base model. As for the battery, as long as you plug it in whenever practical the battery can be almost brand new after 3 years which will help the resale value. My 2012 Macbook air has 90 cycles on it and the battery health is around 96%.
 
if Gen 2 is signifcantly better or go through a price cut. it's going to hit the resale value HARD!

kinda like what Air went through.
 
There are degrees of 'not user replaceable' and I'd say that until recently *any* Apple laptop battery can be user-replaced, subject to a replacement being available.

The new MacBook features an innovative terraced battery cell, custom shaped to fit the specific contours of the enclosure. This sounds even more complicated than the 2015 rMBP battery, which looks like...
9MfwBpe.jpg


$50 knock-off batteries are very much a false economy but at least they're there as an option for the vast majority of Apple laptops, but now that Apple have deviated from 'the brick' I think it's unlikely that third parties will continue to manufacture them.

I doubt this will have much impact on resale value in three years' time, but in the longer run there'll be some very upset people discovering that their trusty 5/6/7+ year old MacBook needs a $199 Apple service appointment.
 
kingofwale said:
if Gen 2 is signifcantly better or go through a price cut. it's going to hit the resale value HARD!

kinda like what Air went through.
Click to expand...

This is one of the biggest factor, as I think gen 2 will have a price cut and Skylake.
The MBA 2013 TO 2014 were more or less the same computer and there was no price cut, so resale value did not take a hit.
 
I don't think it will happen next year...I think it will be in 2017, as in what happened with the original Macbook Air: it was the overpriced, underperforming CEO's ultrabook in 2008 that became the budget entry level portable in 2010.

If the nMB becomes the entry level 1K portable the year after next, expect your $1300 laptop now to be worth $6-700 then. Maybe.

And that's assuming the Skylake and/or its successor doesn't blow Broadwell out of the water with either performance or energy usage gains.
 
low performer said:
iFixit has the answer: The battery is glued down using high-speed cameras. The new MacBook will be a throwaway device once the battery needs a replacement.
Click to expand...

I dunno, I doubt this. wouldn't be cost effective for Apple/AppleCare to replace a machine completely if a battery goes bad.

I can see rMB resell value taking a dive with a price drop and generation refresh, but I don't think either will happen for a while and I think if anything it'll be like $100 price drop or something not that significant.

I don't think we'll see these starting at 11" MBA prices for quite some time as an understatement, and thats with 4/128
 
cfedu said:
it will not. If you want to lose the least amount of money, buy the base model. As for the battery, as long as you plug it in whenever practical the battery can be almost brand new after 3 years which will help the resale value. My 2012 Macbook air has 90 cycles on it and the battery health is around 96%.
Click to expand...

What's the consensus now on the best way to charge batteries to prolong their life? Wait until it gets as low as you can and then charge or charge a little bit as much as you can? What about full discharge cycles?
 
Don´t hope for much.
It´s already a 2010/11 machine on the inside.
In 3-4 years it will almost be a decade old (spec-wise..)

How much would you pay for a 2005-2007 Macbook today?
 
GiantCow said:
What's the consensus now on the best way to charge batteries to prolong their life? Wait until it gets as low as you can and then charge or charge a little bit as much as you can? What about full discharge cycles?
Click to expand...

May I refer you to Lupine’s forum:
http://forum.lupine.de
thread title: was beeinflusst die Lebensdauer von Li-Ionen Akkus

Wolf is talking about Li-ion battery maintenance.

It is in German - to summarize:

1)
The charge cycle is registered proportional:
from 50% to 100% is a half cycle,
from 80% to 100% is therefore only 1/5 cycle

2)
Load below 30% battery capacity reduces the lifespan,
load below 10% battery capacity is very bad.

3)
High temperatures above 30 degree Celsius = 86 degrees Fahrenheit are bad.
Hmm, there is a thread started by dexterbell: This thing gets hot fast!
 
Last edited:
cfedu said:
it will not. If you want to lose the least amount of money, buy the base model. As for the battery, as long as you plug it in whenever practical the battery can be almost brand new after 3 years which will help the resale value. My 2012 Macbook air has 90 cycles on it and the battery health is around 96%.
Click to expand...

MOTHER OF GOD! 90 cycles on a 2012! That is impressive! When does it count as a cycle? When it goes under 50% correct?

I just seen someone above me post the cycle terms. Interesting didn't know there was half and 1/5 cycles lol.
 
vanimal said:
MOTHER OF GOD! 90 cycles on a 2012! That is impressive! When does it count as a cycle? When it goes under 50% correct?

I just seen someone above me post the cycle terms. Interesting didn't know there was half and 1/5 cycles lol.
Click to expand...

If I understand it correctly 50% is 1/2 a cycle, 20% would be 4/5 of a cycle. I use it mainly docked when at home and on the road I use it mainly when I get into my hotel room. The most I will use it of the battery is 20-30 minutes every day or so. 36 of those 90 cycles is from when I purposely run the battery down to 20% once a month to exercise the battery.
 
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