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Wonderful computer. How much you wanna bet that in < 5 years they drop support forcing almost everyone that purchased one to throw it out and get a new one?
by minerjoe 6y ago
Wonderful computer. How much you wanna bet that in < 5 years they drop support forcing almost everyone that purchased one to throw it out and get a new one?
- gnomesteel 6y agoI'd take that bet. Apple is generally good about keeping old machines working.
- beervirus 6y agoFor 5 years, you're probably right. For 10 years, I think not. For example, the 2011 iMacs are stuck on High Sierra, which hits end of life later this year.
- newscracker 6y agoFirstly, you have to consider that Apple has said the transition to ARM will take about two years. So it’s going to have to release a few more Intel Macs next year too. For the less than five years bet, if you’re referring to macOS updates, I can personally bet my entire wealth (which is a decent figure) that you’ll lose. There’s no way the Intel Macs released this year are going to lose macOS support for another six years (into 2026), at the very least. The latest macOS (Big Sur) that’s now in beta supports models that are seven years old (or even older than that). If you’re referring to hardware support and repairs, there are standard ages for each model that Apple uses for that purpose to define what’s obsolete, vintage, etc. I’m sure these will follow the same cycle.
- minerjoe 6y agoYea, I got the timeline wrong. More like 10 years. I've worked e-waste recycling and the number of beautiful but unsupported macs that were dropped off was very sad and to this day I definitely consider Apple a significant force for evil on this planet, just for the planned obsolecense ecological damage alone, let alone the right to repair. I've gotten linux running on a few of them and they are wonderful machines. Sad that the owners had to throw them in the trash.