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15 inch Macbook Air - 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD : Expected Lifespam? (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by CaptainAhabishere101@alien.top to c/apple@hardware.watch

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Hey everyone, so with black friday coming up I stumbled upon a great deal for a Macbook Air 15.

My main concern is the longevity of this machine, I was looking into the 16-inch Macbook Pro since it's safe to assume it'll last you between 6-10 years if you take real good care of it. But I do wonder, with a fanless, thin machine like this one, with those specific specs I mentioned, how long do you think this laptop will last? Important to mention:

My main concern is the longevity of this machine, I was looking into the 16-inch Macbook Pro since it's safe to assume it'll last you between 6-10 years if you take really good care of it. But I do wonder, with a fanless, thin machine like this one, with those specific specs I mentioned, how long do you think this laptop will last? Important to mention:

I'll be using the laptop for both personal use and work. I usually run a bunch of Chrome tabs at once, 2 or 3 apps at once running in the background. When doing personal stuff, I'd love to edit vacation family movies, manage my future small business start-up, and travel.

Maaaaybe I install a virtual machine or some ps2-ps3 emulators in the future just for fun or for whenever I travel (I often visit the mountains in France, and villages often don't have WiFi around).

Anyways, thanks for your time and patience!

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[–] medes24@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Going off of the Intel era, Apple has typically provided seven years of software upgrades and two years of support for each OS upgrade - or in other words up to nine years total of software support. Hardware support exists on a comparable seven years based on the final sale date of a device.

Under a normal load, an M-series chip is around 15-30°C cooler than an Intel Mac with a fan. Unless you are redlining your CPU every single day (in which case an Air is probably not for you) this will not be an issue. M series chips will also be more resistant to thermal paste decay owing to their lower temperatures.

I run very comparable workloads to you on my Air and I rarely see my CPU tick above 40°C under load. My 2012 Mac mini idled at 65°C by comparison.

[–] Wild-subnet@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I mean no one has an M series MacBook for more than 3 years yet so there's a bit of an unknown here. However, the engineering on these things leans towards "a very long time". They run cooler and the same family of chips have powered iDevices, some of which have had 7-10 year lifespans already. Think about an iPad which get used daily, for example.

A MacBook Air doesn't even have a fan that could break. Seems likely to last a long time. The monitor hinge is probably the part most likely to fail here.

[–] louyu@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I'm on my 3rd year on on an M powered Mac and no signs of slowing down and apple supports their devices for longer periods.

WIth those specs though you are approaching the 14/16 price range and the that might give you better battery life, a better screen and maybe a longer expected lifespan. But will be an overkill for what you intend to do with it, I think the 16gb of ram on both air or pro can easily handle your workload.

On the other hand, the fanless design might be an advantage as well since there are fewer points of failure except maybe if you subject it to extreme heat for long periods of time. (my Ipad Pro has been running fine since 2018).

But have you seen the size of the 15? if you are going to travel the 13 might be a better choice, sacrificing a bit of the battery life for portability.

[–] chris_gilluly@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Definitely choose the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it’ll last you longer and it’ll definitely be able to handle video editing way better and easier.

[–] chris_gilluly@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Definitely choose the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it’ll last you longer and it’ll definitely be able to handle video editing way better and easier.