Why Do Macs Last So Long? The Untold Story

Ever wondered why your trusty Mac seems to defy the odds, running smoothly years after other laptops have bitten the dust? In this video, I dive deep into the secrets behind Apple's legendary Mac longevity.

From their unwavering commitment to premium materials and innovative design to their relentless pursuit of software optimization and a thriving community of enthusiasts, I uncover the fascinating factors that contribute to the remarkable lifespan of Mac computers.

#Apple #BuiltToLast #AppleHistory #IntelMac

📋 Table of Contents:

Introduction: 00:00
Built to Last: 00:19
The Unibody: 01:31
Intel Versatility: 02:30
macOS: 04:18
Upgradability: 06:09
Unsupported: 07:10
Macs vs. PCs: 08:00

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🎥 Behind the Scenes

[richardcrossley]

Rocking a 2015 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and a 120 GB SSD. It’s still going strong and a pleasure to use, even if it’s running an older version of macos - Mojave

[DefiantJazzEnthusiast]

Apple Store Genius here. I still maintain that the 2015 MacBook Pro is the best MacBook Apple has ever made

[blueskascene]

I have a 2012 15“ MacBook Pro with the matte screen. Upgraded to 16 GB of RAM. One terabyte SSD and a OWC data doubler for another SSD. I took out the optical drive. I have it running Sonoma and Boot Camp with Windows 10. It’s still going strong for me, but I decided to finally upgrade two weeks ago to a used 2021 MacBook Pro M1 max with 64 GB RAM and 1TB storage. The Apple Silicon Mac is incredible and it was a welcome upgrade for me.

[jantillert]

I recently sold an old Macbook Air from 2012 on Ebay. I'm still stunned how this laptop worked for more than 12 years, it's just incredible....

[MrOrtmeier]

I was an IT Technician for years. In the IT team we all used MacBook Pro's even though the company ran Windows on everything, including Server.

We had endless issues with Surface laptops, HP high end laptops, Dell XPS BSOD issues etc.

But our Mac's never skipped a beat. They let me keep mine when I left and I'm still using it to this day. I might upgrade it to Sequoia using open core because why not?

We could easily remote into the servers using RDP and TeamViewer for users PCs to troubleshoot while still doing everything else on OS X.

3 finger swiping between full screen apps was super smooth and fast so multitasking was easy.

These are great machines and they are very popular with IT Teams

[juanpazmino]

It's true that those machines are build like a tank, but every new release of MacOS has made my computer slower and slower.

[a.lawrence]

OCLP is a game changer for older Macbooks. They run many versions of Linux very well and Windows via Bootcamp is fantastic. That said, I don't like the new M series don't have easily replaceable storage and ram.

[frankfriedlos]

Got a 2006 iMac running 22.04 Ubuntu Mate supported (free) till 2032 = 26 year old hardware still useful. 😀

[MrTonho]

MacBook Pro Retina Late 2013 here. Running latest supported MacOS Big Sur. Running faster than Mojave (my previous long-term used OS). Replaced the battery just once. A true survivor.

[masimostevin]

I have bought MacBook Pro 2012 unibody for 69€ with 8gb ram(one stick), 128GB ssd and original charger ten days ago. Installed Ventura via opencorelegacy. I have never before had experience Mac OS so I had to learn everything and I am still learning. I like my Mac a lot. Also this is my very own first pc ever. Battery kind of suck as it last about 1 hour but in the future I will replace it. Also I will add second ssd by removing cd/dvd drive. I can see me still rocking this bad boy in 10 years, maybe not on Mac OS but on Windows 11. Best thing I bought ever.

[lundsweden]

Every cheap PC (desktop) I've ever owned lasted easily ten years, maybe with one repair such as a power supply. Cheap laptops can also survive a long time if looked after well, in my experience particularly from good brands such as Lenovo, ASUS or HP.

[Petobseeessed]

Bought my first Mac, brand-new on 22/Mar/2023, it’s a 13.3” Gold M1 MacBook Air 8/256gb 7/8/16core, recently updated to macOS 15.0 with a battery health of 90% & around 60 charge cycles. Love it to the moon & back. It’s super fast. I will only upgrade once it stops receiving official/stable macOS updates from Apple..

[noahflare]

"Quality is the best business plan" - died with Steve Jobs

[rorywalters]

Old ThinkPads also last really long, except the plastic casings don’t usually hold up too well.

[barrupa]

Louis Rossmann would like a word with you. I have 5 laptops at home all in perfect running condition. One from 1998, two from 2003, one from 2007 and one from 2014. All of them run perfectly fine apart from their batteries, which need replacing. Macs aren't particularly better in the longevity department than any other PC, and in many cases, they can be even worse due to Apple's often non-standard, anti-consumer, asinine designs.

[JeffMajors]

While MacOS do have a long lifespan, it doesn't mean that all features will be the same. There are some features that just cannot be supported due to lack of ML on Intel Macs but Macs are literally built to last a long time as long as you're happy with it and don't need the bleeding edge features.

[gregoryrobinson]

Both of my 15pros failed..still using my old compaq with windows xp 😊

[lord_haven]

Remember the ribbon cable being too short and rubbing against a sharp part of the frame, and literally just opening the laptop would cause it to break? I remember LOL.

[DJSekuHusky]

After my 2008 15" MacBook Pro failed during sound-check before a 2 hour DJ set in 2011 (had the dreaded Nvidia GPU failure), I stopped buying new Macs and switched to only ThinkPads for my live shows.

All that said, I still use Macs I've found over the years to repair and service other Macs for my side-hustle (consumer electronics repair).

Here are a few of the machines I've saved from the clutches of the _landfill-monster_ :

*-Mid 2015 MacBook Air 11" Core i5, 4GB, 512GB SSD* $77 (bought in 2015 with liquid damage for $50 and repaired for $27 more, still working in 2024)

*-Early 2014 MacBook Pro Retina 13" Core i5, 8GB, 256GB SSD* (dumpster find, ribbon cable damaged (no display) so I use it as a headless machine)

*-Mid 2012 MacBook Pro Unibody 13" Core i7, 16GB, 480GB SSD* (crushed chassis, rebuilt into free Core i5 model with liquid spill damage)

*-Mid 2011 Mac mini Core i5, 16GB, 1TB SSD* (found in a corporate office building' dumpster)

*-Mid 2010 MacBook Pro Unibody 13" Core 2 Duo (2.66), 8GB, 256GB SSD* (dumpster find, acted like bad drive controller, actually damaged HDD ribbon cable)

*-Early 2008 MacBook Pro 17" (Penryn) Core 2 Duo 2.6, 4GB, 500GB HDD* (given to me to recycle, it was too clean to scrap and it's the only non-unibody I still use time to time)

[JoaquinVacas]

Used to be*

Yeah, "old" MBPs were really tough machines but newer ones can't even stand typing on them without having this shiny keys and it's been a few months only... :S