MacBook Air lifespan

My early 2015 Air is 9 years old. I purchased it while living and working in Mainland China for 9 months. It has followed me around from there, to Germany, Switzerland, US and Canada, for work and personal use. I have used it for business, on the road, at my cottage in Canada for 2-3 months every summer, and it has kicked around in the bottom of my son’s backpack back and forth to highschool and study sessions at Starbucks and his friend’s houses at least 100 times. It continues to function perfectly and I’ve had no reason to want an upgrade for basic office needs, photoshop, web surfing,streaming video, etc. Not exactly lightning fast, but runs all apps smoothly.

The answer depends on what you mean by "lifespan".

A Mac's useful economic life is about seven years, but there is no limit to how long it can continue to work exactly the same as it did when you bought it. To maximize that useful economic life, then specify its maximum performance, storage, and memory when you buy it. Only you can decide what that may be.

To expand just a tad on what others here have already said:

1. The 7 year average is the span that, beyond it, the Mac will no longer be able to install new MacOS versions.
2. It's also the length of time before you're very close to the time Apple will no longer be able to supply parts for it, as they'll designate it "obsolete" right around that time.
3. Laptop batteries don't last forever, and 7 years is a pretty long time for them to last.

I support the suggestion that, to get the full "lifespan" (your term, not necessarily mine) you'd want to get a current model Mac rather than a model that's 1-2 years old before you even open it.

Saving money is possible for Education and military vets/retirees. Another way to save is to purchase a Certified Refurbished Mac direct from Apple. Certified Refurbished Products - Apple. These refurbished Macs carry the same warranty as a brand new one, and in most cases are virtually identical to brand new. If you want, you can add AppleCare to a Certified Refurbished Mac as well for even more security.

MacMikeInOK wrote:

You rarely, however, will see Apple discount models that have been replaced, as they typically remove them from their stores when the new ones come out.

In the case of the MacBook Airs, there is still a M1 MacBook Air in the lineup, starting at the "magic" $999 USD price point ($100 USD cheaper than the least expensive 13" M2 MacBook Air).

IIRC, when the M2 MacBook Airs came out, there was a price increase of about $150 USD, relative to similar M1 MacBook Air configurations. For the extra money, you got a bunch of goodies:

• MagSafe 3 charging port
• Better sound system
• Better Webcam
• Liquid Retina display
• Newer processor
• Option to order 24 GB of RAM
• Option to order a 15" model (not immediately – this came a few months down the line)
• Being a year further away from vintage/obsolete status

I know which I'd pick – if I was in the market for an Air. One of the M2 models. Or maybe waiting a while to see if Apple is going to update the Airs with the M3.

I’d say the lifespan of a MacBook Air is as long as you put up with trying to get it to work. I bought one last September it said next day delivery. I actually received it after the new year. Slow boat from China. It’s been to the Apple Store three times. I have the AppleCare for it. So far it has had the charger replaced, the cord replaced, and a big shrug. So almost 7 months after I bought it it still has never managed to run long enough to get on the internet. I’ve been an Apple fan since the 80’s but I won’t ever buy or recommend another Apple product. It just sits on the shelf in its original box and makes me mad whenever I see it. If I want to watch a spinning icon as it tries to start I’ll pull it down.

In addition to John Galt's excellent response, bear in mind Apple introduced the MacBook Air with M1 somewhat over three years ago. That may account for something when considering the duration of the machine's useful life.

That estimate was based on statistics from past computers. You cannot compare a new MacBook Air to older ones. For example, newer ones have no cooling fans. They don’t even have methods for keeping them cooler, like some sort of heatsinks. In fact, they are notorious for overheating.

There are two things which significantly reduce the lifespan of electronics. Heat and moisture. I keep my equipment running as cool as possible. Computers, routers, modem, hard drives (mechanical or SSD), tuners/receivers/amplifiers. If it gets noticeably warm, it gets a fan added to it. Even a small fan can make a significant difference. I have a router and modem which wouldn’t normally get warm, but they are located in a small closet. Even with the door open, they get rather warm. Especially in the summertime. Four under $20, you can buy a pair of connected USB fans. I like putting one on each side of my modem, keeping it much cooler by pumping air into one side and sucking it out the other.

So before assuming the past represents the future, think again. Choose wisely!

ARMLINK wrote:

So if I were to purchase an M2 MacBook Air by next year, I will be okay? Also, when Apple launches their M3 MacBook Air models, does this potentially mean the M1 will be obsolete and the M2 model will drop in price?

You'll be fine with going with an M2 MBA by next year. Odds are the M3 MBA won't appear until first quarter next year. You'll start seeing discounts from 3rd party Authorized resellers for models that are going to be replaced approximately 2-3 weeks before Apple releases new models. You rarely, however, will see Apple discount models that have been replaced, as they typically remove them from their stores when the new ones come out.

The deepest discounts on new Macs that I've seen on a regular basis seem to come from bhphotovideo.com, a company that began selling photography equipment but has since branched out to computers and video equipment as well.

(I should also mention here that we are not Apple employees here, and as such do not know anything about when Apple will launch anything).

For me, the useful lifespan has reached its limit at 5 years. I own a MacBook Air 2019 and use it to work on photos with LRC. It has become annoyingly slow. Everything works, apart for some strange screens I get for milliseconds sometimes. That is not affecting my work per se, but the delays while processing photos IS annoying. Photoshop is even slower, to the point that it is not actually useful any more.

What is becoming more common as far as the lifespan of any computer is 3rd party software support for macOS and hardware driver support, especially for printers.

There is a trend for software providers to follow Apple macOS support, i.e. only support the current OS and the two previous versions.

Beyond that, the true lifespan of any product is how long can you use it and still be productive or still have a use for the product. I personally still have a 2011 MacMini that is part of my "home entertainment center" and is still working fine.