I think Apple had some big reliability problems with their ultra-thin chassis design MacBooks they were selling from like 2016(?) to the design refresh that came with the M1 Pros. Thankfully they went thicker again and both my personal 14-inch and work-provided 16-inch have been fantastic so far. Best laptops I've ever used.
That MacBook Pro lasted 2 months before the spacebar randomly flew off. To get any key fixed, you needed to replace the whole top deck. It was that inbuilt. So the first couple times (yes it happened more than once) I would have a key replacement, I'd lose the laptop for a couple days due to a backlog. This eventually got better. But that laptop was horrible.
It also helped me realise that apple tends to be somewhat of a cult.
But main point aside, I'd agree that I get more longevity out of my modular PC hardware over my Mac hardware, although my oldest running hardware right now is a 2011 Mac Mini.
You could replace the back cover and screen guard of a 10 yr old iPhone and it feels right out of the store. I have had only one iPhone since 10 yrs and that says something.
That sort of experience comes when you have holistic focus on the quality. You need to put in deep care and work for the smallest things from screws and gaskets to long term software stability.
2018 was a bad year :) I had one and besides the keyboard starting to act up at only 2 weeks from purchase, the display cable broke after a few more years. Apparently it was too short by default and thus exposed to too much stress.
The 2024 M3 pro seems just fine though. I guess because it's not thin.
So do the 2009 mb white and 2013 mbpro. They're still working perfectly.
So as long as Cook takes his dried frog pills in time and doesn't fantasise about thin devices, we'll be fine.
It's pretty common for people to have a, let's say, 10 year old notebook with wifi 4 which could be greatly improved by adding wifi 5 or 6 capability. On a congested place with lots of neighbouring wireless networks where the 2.4ghz band is exhausted all the time your wi-fi could go from 5mbps to 500mbps, it's a BIG deal. Obviously the ability to do that on windows/linux notebooks isn't guaranteed, but it sure as hell is much more common than macbooks.
Your point is taken, but I put a new WiFi card in a 2012 MBP so I could use Airdrop and other newer features that required 802.11ac.
I have upgraded my 2010 iMac to a 2012-era GPU from a Dell laptop to get metal support.
I have also upgraded the CPU, Wifi card, and added 32GB of RAM to this 2010 iMac.
But every single Apple laptop I have owned has required a battery replacement because the LiPol puffed up after 4 years or so.
For some reason, I have not had the same battery problems with my Lenovo X1 Carbons.
The 2008 MacBook Pro has removable batteries and I have several of them that still last 3+ hours.
I dislike where macOS is going. In fact, 2/3 of my machines run Linux. But Apple hardware is pretty good, rugged and silent. I hate laptops that sound like hairdyers. I wish there were other manufacturers that had a similar focus on quality.
Perhaps Framework might be one to keep an eye on. Some ThinkPads are great, but they churn out way too many models and thus lack attention to detail. Plus, in EU sales and customer care have been outsourced. Prices are crazy and they are super hard to deal with.
Reset device > device blocked from internet because Apple deems its os/software unsafe > Can't access app store to update device to safe/up to date os > have to manual download install for midway update > then update via app store to current distro.
Absolutely nightmare. Zero info from apple that this was the upgrade path/how it had to be done.
Psychotic. Huge reminder why I generally reject all apple work. Company is a nightmare to service machines for.
Also lol the 2012 intel Mac was being repurposed because the 2 year old Mac airs battery was rooted and it worked worse than the 2012 rig. Both lived their lives permanently plugged in like desktops being used for web browsing and email.
If this ever happens again, Mist is the best way to grab whatever macOS you need: https://github.com/ninxsoft/Mist
For example, a 2012 iMac supports up to macOS Big Sur, so using Mist you can easily create an 11.7.10 bootable installer. https://imgur.com/a/KEDBSRY
If you want to use newer version of macOS than Apple supported, OpenCore Legacy Patcher has worked very well for me. https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher/
That said, the M processors have made Intel Macs ridiculously cheap. Recently bought a renewed 2017 Mac for $180 on Amazon.
I am both a PC and Mac user, with quite a bit of hardware over the last 20+ years. For me, my Macs typically have out lasted my PCs, with minimal quality and support issues. Almost all my old Macs which I collect (over 15, including Mac LC, Mac IIci, original MacBook Air, numerous MacBooks and iMacs and a Macintosh Lisa, all work).
That said, I'd be curious on what exact failure you saw? A 2018 model anything should still be running along fine right now.
Plug in pow! dead!
As it was still running the original hard drive and would heat up a lot underload, it had long been moved out of mission critical use.
My daily runners are still 2009 and 2012 Thinkpads - they just wont die!
Windows laptops (HP, Dell) always crap out for me, except for my Thinkpads that lasted for a while.