Change battery or change MacBook

I have a MacBook Pro mid-2012. The original battery has lasted all this time, like you, with no complaints from me. I get about an hour's use out of it now when on battery but I tend to use it with the charger whenever possible which is why I think the battery has lasted so long. I think it will keep on going for at least another year, maybe two? 10 years use out of one battery is pretty good going in my book.

Assuming you did not know holding down the 'alt/option' key when clicking on the battery icon in the Menu bar should display the battery's condition.

Normal.

With 'alt' key depressed.

"About This Mac" and "System Report" offers more information.

1) I'm an IT consultant and my usage is not much different to yours. I think my laptop's general state is as good as it can be. I don't do anything special to check it other than being aware of how it performs day-to-day as I'm using it. I keep it up-to-date whenever possible; shut it down regularly so the OS can do its 'housekeeping' and refrain from installing anything that claims to "clean, speed-up, improve, disinfect or protect". That approach has worked well for 39 years.

2) You should be at 10.15.7 (Catalina). It's hard to say if there will be another point update prior to Big Sur's release. Your model won't be able to run Big Sur so you've gone as far as you can. I'm sure Apple will keep on supporting Catalina for some time yet with Security Updates etc and possibly other system component updates. None of this will affect the functionality of your computer and basically it will carry on as before with little or no disruption to you.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 will always update their OSX from High Sierra for security purposes in the next upcoming years.

There are too many MacBooks that run that OSX and the platform is similar to Mojave and Catalina.

There are many MacBook airs including mine from late 2010 that runs Mojave that are still fully functional and productive from the early 2010 and i noticed that our MacBooks seem less problematic than the current lines. Every day i read on the support community how these 2020 airs are not performing video and other task without fan noise and noticeable heat.

replacing the battery on these MacBooks are very easy, affordable and will improve the MacBook experience.

although I'm looking forward to the the new ARM silicon processor in the new line,

hopefully they will perform as well as our 2010-2013 MacBook airs and pros!

Yes you can but Catalina is not an update. It's an upgrade. Entirely different. Look in the App Store App and it should be there. I'm guessing you've personalised Software Update Preferences in a way that Catalina does not present itself to you? However whether you should is another question? If your mainline applications are 32-bit, they won't work. In which case you maybe looking at further (potentially expensive) costs?

Consider if by moving to Catalina you gain anything and lose a lot?

If everything is working (software) and the hardware is still going strong then leave it alone. It's your computer and your choice ultimately and only you are best placed to decide what is best for you.

In other words if there's no compelling reason to upgrade, don't.

Good luck