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As someone who uses Mac products (macpro, ipad, iphone), I can say I've never had hardware from any other vendor which has lasted so long. Their gear stays fun

As someone who uses Mac products (macpro, ipad, iphone), I can say I've never had hardware from any other vendor which has lasted so long. Their gear stays functional for several years (especially the macbook pro) and the only reason I upgrade my iphone was because I get tired of replacing the battery. My old Macbook from 2016 is still being used by my wife and the only issue she has is hard drive space. The compute power is still spot on. My reason for upgrading to a M1 was just because I wanted to play with the ARM chipset. I've never had any other brand of laptop or phone age so well (maybe because my last Android was from 2014). There's a cost premium for Apple but I think over time, their gear is more cost effective.

raspyberr 2y ago
> Their gear stays functional for several years Wow!
- thiht 2y ago
  Yes wow, because it’s not the norm. Before I switched to an iPhone, I needed to change my Android phone every 2 years or so (sometimes less) because they became completely unusable, from hardware issues (broken connectors) to software issues (I had 2 Nexus 5x that died because of a bootloop issue, unacknowledged by Google). Android also becomes extremely slow pretty quickly for some reason. For comparison I’ve had my iPhone 12 for 3,5 years and it shows no sign of slowness or battery issues or whatever, and I intend to keep it for at least 1 or 2 more years. When OP say it stays functional for several years, they mean it stays as functional as the first day for several years, with no degradation.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    You would have had the same experience staying on Android. I used to switch Androids every ~2 years, but I've had my latest Android for >4 years and feel like I've got several more years in it.
    - thiht 2y ago
      Good to know they improved their game!
scarface_74 2y ago
The issue with Apple computers is that they abandon them faster. I had a Mac Mini Core Duo from 2006 that was abandoned by Apple in less than 3 years. I put Windows 7 on it. MS didn’t end support for Windows 7 until 2020. I had a Dell Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz laptop from 2008 that I put Windows 10 on and it doesn’t reach end of life until 2025. I just retired it as my Plex Server in 2020.
- tyfon 2y ago
  I have a macbook pro from my father from 2012 that work just fine, but I have to patch the bootloader and insert some kexts to run the latest version. It works just fine, but Apple don't want it to work. My daughter has an apple watch se that they also stopped updating after just 3 years, so now the LTE on it is useless as the carriers here require a newer version. She's getting the pixel treatment when it's time to get a new phone.
- Fezzik 2y ago
  Core Duos received software updates until October 2014… what was abandoned in 3 years?
- Jtsummers 2y ago
  The Core Duos were 32-bit, they only sold them for about 6 months before refreshing everything to the Core 2 Duo (64-bit). They were supported for 5 years though, not less than 3. 10.7 was the release that dropped 32-bit Intel support and that was released in 2011. 10.6 still got updates for a few more years though, it didn't die in 2011.
elliotec 2y ago
I have not had the same experience at all. I have MacBooks and old iPads or phones that are totally bricked and unable to update, but PC towers I built 15 years ago that still run like a champ. Just an anecdote, but I feel like I HAVE to upgrade Apple products, or they simply stop working, while the PCs I've built last the test of time.
- jhickok 2y ago
  Is that true? I feel like iPhones and iPads receive updates for what seems like an industry-leading amount of time. I view Android tablets as relatively disposable, but my iPad Air from 2018 hasn't missed a beat. The battery is starting to slow down a bit but it easily handles my required tasks.
  - sumuyuda 2y ago
    The problem is apps raising the minimum iOS version. Apple usually doesn’t backport new APIs, so developers are eager to bump it up to use new APIs/frameworks. Similar thing is now happening on macOS. A lot of apps require macOS 11/12, which is pretty crazy compared to how desktop software used to run on much older versions of OSX.
    - jhickok 2y ago
      Huh, I don't think I have run into that very often, but I do tend to not go beyond 3 years old for Macs since work replaces them. Even if apps require macos 14, it looks like it is supported on machines going back to 2018 for the most part: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105113 https://support.apple.com/en-us/105113 I suspect that Macs will reach back to M1s for quite a while.
    - ryandrake 2y ago
      Yea, I've seen apps that required >= the latest OS version available! Totally unacceptable. From a marketing POV alone, why would you just close the door on a significant % of your market before they even look at the product? When I had a job writing mobile apps, I tried to "fight the good fight" by keeping our minimum version as low as possible, but everyone up the chain from me pressured us to increase it, especially software engineering, because it was "too hard" to maintain backward compatibility with older versions. Even though maintaining compatibility usually just meant a handful of if statements.
blueflow 2y ago
Have you ever had a ThinkPad?
TheLoafOfBread 2y ago
I have my daily driver Lenovo E520 from 2011 still working fine with new battery, replaced HDD by SSD and using it as second HDD instead of CDROM bay.
silverquiet 2y ago
We just decommissioned a 2011 iMac for a coworker, pretty much only because it no longer runs a supported MacOS version. I did an Ubuntu install out of curiosity, and it runs fabulously. We don't know what to do with it; it would probably make a nice machine for someone for years to come, but we don't have anyone who needs one.
ryandrake 2y ago
All of my daily driver Apple hardware are in the 2014-2016 vintage, including a Mac Mini, an iMac, several displays, a MacBook Air, and an iPhone 7. They all still work flawlessly--my only complaint is that both the OS and many 3rd party apps have deliberately stopped providing updates for these devices. It's sad how much longer the hardware outlasts the software (which doesn't wear out).
yread 2y ago
> and the only issue she has is hard drive space Can't you just switch the SSD to a 4TB one and clone the old disk over?

raspyberr 2y ago

> Their gear stays functional for several years Wow!

thiht 2y ago
Yes wow, because it’s not the norm. Before I switched to an iPhone, I needed to change my Android phone every 2 years or so (sometimes less) because they became completely unusable, from hardware issues (broken connectors) to software issues (I had 2 Nexus 5x that died because of a bootloop issue, unacknowledged by Google). Android also becomes extremely slow pretty quickly for some reason. For comparison I’ve had my iPhone 12 for 3,5 years and it shows no sign of slowness or battery issues or whatever, and I intend to keep it for at least 1 or 2 more years. When OP say it stays functional for several years, they mean it stays as functional as the first day for several years, with no degradation.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  You would have had the same experience staying on Android. I used to switch Androids every ~2 years, but I've had my latest Android for >4 years and feel like I've got several more years in it.
  - thiht 2y ago
    Good to know they improved their game!

scarface_74 2y ago

The issue with Apple computers is that they abandon them faster. I had a Mac Mini Core Duo from 2006 that was abandoned by Apple in less than 3 years. I put Windows 7 on it. MS didn’t end support for Windows 7 until 2020. I had a Dell Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz laptop from 2008 that I put Windows 10 on and it doesn’t reach end of life until 2025. I just retired it as my Plex Server in 2020.

tyfon 2y ago
I have a macbook pro from my father from 2012 that work just fine, but I have to patch the bootloader and insert some kexts to run the latest version. It works just fine, but Apple don't want it to work. My daughter has an apple watch se that they also stopped updating after just 3 years, so now the LTE on it is useless as the carriers here require a newer version. She's getting the pixel treatment when it's time to get a new phone.
Fezzik 2y ago
Core Duos received software updates until October 2014… what was abandoned in 3 years?
Jtsummers 2y ago
The Core Duos were 32-bit, they only sold them for about 6 months before refreshing everything to the Core 2 Duo (64-bit). They were supported for 5 years though, not less than 3. 10.7 was the release that dropped 32-bit Intel support and that was released in 2011. 10.6 still got updates for a few more years though, it didn't die in 2011.

elliotec 2y ago

I have not had the same experience at all. I have MacBooks and old iPads or phones that are totally bricked and unable to update, but PC towers I built 15 years ago that still run like a champ. Just an anecdote, but I feel like I HAVE to upgrade Apple products, or they simply stop working, while the PCs I've built last the test of time.

jhickok 2y ago
Is that true? I feel like iPhones and iPads receive updates for what seems like an industry-leading amount of time. I view Android tablets as relatively disposable, but my iPad Air from 2018 hasn't missed a beat. The battery is starting to slow down a bit but it easily handles my required tasks.
- sumuyuda 2y ago
  The problem is apps raising the minimum iOS version. Apple usually doesn’t backport new APIs, so developers are eager to bump it up to use new APIs/frameworks. Similar thing is now happening on macOS. A lot of apps require macOS 11/12, which is pretty crazy compared to how desktop software used to run on much older versions of OSX.
  - jhickok 2y ago
    Huh, I don't think I have run into that very often, but I do tend to not go beyond 3 years old for Macs since work replaces them. Even if apps require macos 14, it looks like it is supported on machines going back to 2018 for the most part: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105113 https://support.apple.com/en-us/105113 I suspect that Macs will reach back to M1s for quite a while.
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    Yea, I've seen apps that required >= the latest OS version available! Totally unacceptable. From a marketing POV alone, why would you just close the door on a significant % of your market before they even look at the product? When I had a job writing mobile apps, I tried to "fight the good fight" by keeping our minimum version as low as possible, but everyone up the chain from me pressured us to increase it, especially software engineering, because it was "too hard" to maintain backward compatibility with older versions. Even though maintaining compatibility usually just meant a handful of if statements.

blueflow 2y ago

Have you ever had a ThinkPad?

TheLoafOfBread 2y ago

I have my daily driver Lenovo E520 from 2011 still working fine with new battery, replaced HDD by SSD and using it as second HDD instead of CDROM bay.

silverquiet 2y ago

We just decommissioned a 2011 iMac for a coworker, pretty much only because it no longer runs a supported MacOS version. I did an Ubuntu install out of curiosity, and it runs fabulously. We don't know what to do with it; it would probably make a nice machine for someone for years to come, but we don't have anyone who needs one.

ryandrake 2y ago

All of my daily driver Apple hardware are in the 2014-2016 vintage, including a Mac Mini, an iMac, several displays, a MacBook Air, and an iPhone 7. They all still work flawlessly--my only complaint is that both the OS and many 3rd party apps have deliberately stopped providing updates for these devices. It's sad how much longer the hardware outlasts the software (which doesn't wear out).

yread 2y ago

> and the only issue she has is hard drive space Can't you just switch the SSD to a 4TB one and clone the old disk over?