Are macbooks worth the cost?

[Rebus1]

Just that really. Need a laptop that will last as long as possible without becoming really outdated. Online reviews of the 2020 model are good but just wondering about personal experience of them.
Love the looks and apple stuff generally but just wondering if will last. We can afford it but can't afford to replace it in 2 years.

Interesting reading here. I didn't get MacBooks for the DCs as I thought they were rather expensive for the spec. However we've had to replace both of those laptops within 4 years and we did choose to get non Apple earlier this year. Hoping that we don't repeat the issue in the same time frame otherwise I may as well have bought the MacBooks and saved money

I'm the opposite - loved Apple and got an iMac which unfortunately became unusable after about 3 years - a very expensive lesson.
Have a cheap and cheerful HP laptop which is much easier.

I would never waste that much money again.

What are people doing with their windows laptops that only last 2-3 years? I'm using a Lenovo X230 which is 8 years old and haven't noticed any speed or battery life reductions.

he managed to kill off a Dell, a HP and another brand I can't remember

I'd take a guess and say you bought them from Currys/PCWorld or similar? The ones sold by the chains/box shifters seems to be poorer quality than business-spec computers which are usually not much more expensive. Currys seems to want "something" at specific price points and the manufacturers seems to produce an inferior quality version to meet it.

As a total opposite to all of these, I saved and saved and bought a macbook with such joy; I'd been waiting for so long ... but I just couldn't get comfortable with the operating system. Nothing came easy and it ended up dying a slow gentle death unfortunately. So it depends what you actually want to do on a computer.

They are a nightmare for students, who have a habit of spilling stuff on them. Instant bin job, regardless of the original cost.

And I'm talking even a couple of drops of water.

@Mumisnotmyonlyname Have to say I've been guilty of spilling a bit of water on my keyboard, despite not being a student. And my friendly repair person dried it out, and replaced the keyboard, and it was absolutely fine!

My MacBook is 11 years old and still going strong. Love it!!! Definitely worth the money.

@user1497207191

What are people doing with their windows laptops that only last 2-3 years? I'm using a Lenovo X230 which is 8 years old and haven't noticed any speed or battery life reductions.

I wondered as well

@user1497207191 we bought the Dell one direct from Dell with a service plan - but even they admitted it was dead a few years later!

I honestly couldn't tell you what goes wrong with them but they all seem to eventually get the Blue Screen Of Death

It is expensive, there's no way around that.

But personally, I prefer the Apple OS to Windows (possibly because I'm used to it..) and because I work on my computer all the time, I need something that I will really enjoy using.

Not only that, but my first MacBook Pro I got in 2011. I replaced it in 2015 for an Air, but only because the pro was a bit heavy to lug round with me. The 2011 one has had a battery replacement (but worked fine off charger if that doesn't matter to you) in 2017 but my partner's son now has it and it works fine. My 2015 Air can run off battery for 4 hours still, and is nice and fast 5 years down the line.

So yes, you might be paying double (or even triple at times) what you might pay for a different machine, but they last so long if you take care of them that I think it evens out because you don't have to replace them.

If you're the kind of person who replaces because they want a change rather than because it needs replacing, though, they it might be a bit expensive.

Even so, I've NEVER been able to find a Windows laptop that lasts for 12+ hours like my Air did when it was new.

You can’t go wrong with apple products. My 2012 MacBook Air is still going strong and long may it continue. I’m eyeing up a new one in the next 12 months or so.

I use a Windows PC for work. We are not an Apple household and all have Android phones, so it doesn't make sense to buy something that isn't compatible with anything in the house.

I bought the macbook air 2020 this year, did some research and previous models had issues with butterfly keyboards so the 2020 one not having that sort of won me over. I dithered for around 2yrs on buying a top of the range ish laptop as I wasn't sure it was necessary for the expense and only for studies/normal use but eventually I got fed up of the quality of a cheaper chromebook. I am glad I bought it as using it is seamless compared to previous laptops or chromebooks that I have had. I am not computer savvy or a patient researcher so macbook won purely over their popularity and marketing over other unknown laptops that are probably just as good. I am still not 100% familiar with mac file sharing/converting though.

They seem to have a long and good resale value, people selling 5yr old or older macbooks for several £100. Although for couple 100 more you could buy a new model.

I have 5 year old hp laptop at home that is still going strong, if a little slow booting up but it still does everything I need no problem. It is just too big to lug around.

I will be keeping this macbook until it does a death or when dc needs one I will pass it on.

@Plussizejumpsuit

I think what you also have to remember is mac books a premium products.. People are often comparing a 2k mac book with a £500 laptop.

My MacBook Air and iMac cost nowhere near £2k.

Definitely. Can't afford one myself but family and I went in on a refurb one for dd for her 16th birthday (useful for college course apparently ) and it only needed replacing this year just before she turned 22. She has just invested in a brand new one now she is a ft working adult.

Absolutely. DH has one that is 11 years old and is still going strong

I recently bought one for £1,200 and I love love love it

Yep. Dh gave his to me when he upgraded and I've used it for 3 years so far, he had it 4 years prior to that, and it's still going strong.

We bought our dd a mac book for her 16th birthday. As far as I was concerned apple just worked, we never had any issues. 3 years later the update came in where it didn't support various apps, as ahe was in uni and needed the apps for her course she didn't update. Her battery stopped holding charge after 3 years and we got it replaced by apple. Then because she hadn't updated it started running really slow and quitting apps. As it was aluminium it was overheating if she opened more than 2 pages at a time. We bought her a hp as a replacement, was 1/3 of the price of the apple and so much better. No problems with multiple pages opened and don't overheat.
My husband imac mini was the same, stopped working right after 3 years. When tou pay apple prices you used to get longativity, now they only seem to last till the next upgrade is out. Wont be buying apple again.

Have just remembered that at some point DDs battery seemed to be faulty but an apple savvy husband of a friend tinkered with it, I think he said he just loosened the compartment or something very minor and it worked for a few more years after.

@MaudesMum that's really interesting. I had two repair people refuse to take on water damage, and they said it would be ineffective. Perhaps I should try again.

DDfound that her Macbook wasn't compatible with the software she needed at university. As she is in receipt of DSA she had funding for a new Windows laptop.