Does anyone know how long the updates and support will be available for the MacBook Pro late 2021 with M1 chip?

There will always be a newer Mac. Always.

If your needs are to simply always have the latest and greatest Mac (and if you have the budget for it), sure, sell what you have and replace it. But given you have a Mac with M1, I’m somewhat doubtful that this latest-and-greatest need or having that “new Mac smell” is part of the requirements, here.

If your needs are a Mac that can run recent or current Adobe apps and other sundry and light use, does your current Mac with M1 do that? If so, you’re good. Run this Mac into the ground, or run it until it doesn’t meet your needs.

For many of us, the usual hardware replacement time will either arrive on a three or five or seven year schedule due to equipment leasing, or tax or depreciation, or the organization’s IT policies, or will arrive when the Mac falls off the current version or the latest-three macOS version support, or replacement time will arrive when your current Mac can no longer run a version of the apps needed. Or when the current Mac fails and replacement is a better option than repairs, obviously.

The Macs I deal with are tools. I just completed the retirement of a 2012-era macOS 10.13 server. Which was way off support. It still worked, but its various functions were incrementally migrated to better and newer mechanisms. Nobody even noticed it got retired, so that transition worked out.

PS: Next time this comes up, you could ask your friend if they’re paying for your new Mac, too. 😉

Dynamite33 wrote:

Does anyone know how long the updates and support will be available for the MacBook Pro late 2021 with M1 chip?

Apple hardware (your MacBookPro) is "supported" first by the 1-year warranty, then by AppleCare+ as long as you have the coverage. After that, there are possible repairs if you run into a problem with the computer itself.

Apple software (specifically the macOS operating sytem) is traditionally supported for 3 years after release. As long as you continue to upgrade to the newest version of macOS you can expect 3 more years of "official support." But even after that, Apple sometimes issues updates to older versions of macOS. You can continue using your Mac as long as it works.

For example, I'm still using a number of older Macs with supposedly "outdated" versions of macOS ...

• 2007 iMac running OS X Snow Leopard (EOL 2011)
• 2012 MacBookPro running OS X High Sierra (EOL 2018 but last updated in 2020)
• 2015 iMac running macOS Catalina (EOL 2020 but recently updated 2026)
• 2019 iMac running macOS Monterey (EOL 2022 but recently updated 2026)
  • (EOL = End of Life aka discontinued)

They all work perfectly fine.

The point is, you can continue using your Mac as long as it runs.

See this Apple page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772

• Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago.
• Products are considered obsolete when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 7 years ago.

FWIW, I would not pay any amount for a near vintage or obsolete product.

Dynamite33 wrote:

But I do not want to take the risk that in a couple of years my MacBook Pro is not worth anything when I am selling.

That is an entirely different matter.

An M1 Mac is already "economically obsolete" in the sense that M1's were released over 5 years ago (2020) and have been surpassed by 4 further generations of Apple Silicon (currently the M5 series). In 2 more years it will be 2 more generations obsolete.

Its relative market value today is considerably less than what you paid for it. For example, today, you could expect a mint condition 16" M1 Pro MacBookPro to have a trade-in value of only about $300-$400 or resale value of about $700-$800. It will continue to decrease over time.

IMHO you are better off keeping it in good condition and use it as long as possible, even as a second or backup machine.

are you in the UK?

if so, did you look here?

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac/macbook-pro

For a variety of reasons, these individual samples of the product have run afoul of trade laws and can not be sold as new.

Apple refurbished have been retested to factory standards for function AND appearance. They are PRISTINE, come with original one year warranty and are eligible for AppleCare.

Inventory varies on a daily basis, and samples are added as they become available and removed as they are sold. NO modifications -- they are already sealed in the [replacement] box, ready to ship.