M series Apple users, have you had any hardware failures?

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

Hi I am this close to buying a new maxed out MacBook Air to replace my dell that just died. Has anyone had any hardware failures on the M series hardware?

 

[ajr images]

I have a 24 inch iMac M1, 14 inch MacBook Pro M2 Pro, and a MacBook Air M2. Never had any problems.

 

[Greybeard2023]

Hi I am this close to buying a new maxed out MacBook Air to replace my dell that just died. Has anyone had any hardware failures on the M series hardware?

Mac Mini M1 Pro, Mac Mini M4 Pro, MacBook M2 Pro - no hardware problems - and a lot of use.

 

[dmartin92]

Mac Mini M4, after ten months since I bought it, zero problems.

 

[AndyGordon]

Original M1 macbook pro, still running fine and managing fuji mf image files just fine. Also m2 ipad pro, m3pro macbook pro and m4 ipadpro.

No issues or problems with any of them

 

[CAcreeks]

Visit Reddit and Apple Support Communities to see reports of various failures.

I don't believe Consumer Reports is a good source of reliability numbers because subscriber sample size is small and decreasing. But they report 10% laptop failure within 3 years for Apple, 18% for Lenovo, 19% for HP, Dell, and Asus.

 

[henryk1]

M1 13" Macbook Pro going strong, m2 Mac Mini wouldn't boot after 3 months but Apple replaced the faulty hardware quickly. No complaints.

 

[bmoag]

Not hardware failure, my M4 Macbook exceeded my expectations about performance and battery life in my usual image processing workflow. I am duly impressed.

What has been an utter failure, due to my naive expectations, is that Adobe software-Photoshop-runs any more stably on Apple ARM than it doesn't on Windows or macOS X86. I constantly run into the same issues on both AMD and nVidia GPUs in Windows, AMD in X86 macOS.

After encountering the exact same perpetual bugs in Photoshop on the M4, mostly video driver related, I queried a couple of chatbots about the underlying causes.

It was enlightening, and depressing, to get past the Apple and Adobe hype/lies to find that Adobe merely ported and did not rewrite the fundamental flawed, patchwork and shovelware laden code its been peddling for what now is decades at ever higher prices.

Nauseating really.

 

[JPAlbert]

I wouldn't buy a "maxed out" Mac of any kind.
But that's just me.

My advice is that you would do far better to get a "mid-level-equipped" MacBook Pro, either 14" or 16".

 

[jeffharris]

Hi I am this close to buying a new maxed out MacBook Air to replace my dell that just died. Has anyone had any hardware failures on the M series hardware?

My MacBook Pro M3 Max is doing just fine.

Buggy software is a different issue.

 

[Zeee]

I had a 2020 MB Air M1 for 4 years. Picked up an M4 in January for a bigger screen. Never had any issues.

 

[Zeee]

I had a 2020 MB Air M1 for 4 years. Picked up an M4 in January for a bigger screen. Never had any issues.

I should have said my MB Airs are for travel so they don't get daily usage. When I was gone for two months strait my M1 got a workout. So do my M4 this past February and March.

--
Funny how millions of people on an internet platform where they can communicate instantaneously with people on the other side of the world using incredibly powerful handheld computers linked to orbiting the satellites hundreds of miles in space don’t believe in science. Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

[Saint 112]

Hi I am this close to buying a new maxed out MacBook Air to replace my dell that just died. Has anyone had any hardware failures on the M series hardware?

I bought a MB M1 Air in early 2021 and use it as both my desktop (mainly) with a screen and a keyboard and as my laptop. I make an intensive use of it and I never had a glitch.

Nick

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

I wouldn't buy a "maxed out" Mac of any kind.
But that's just me.

My advice is that you would do far better to get a "mid-level-equipped" MacBook Pro, either 14" or 16".

Sound advice but I want 32gb of ram, and a 2tb ssd in the lightweight air chassis. I want the 15 inch screen, lightweight slim form factor of the air. It will do everything I want it to do.

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

Not hardware failure, my M4 Macbook exceeded my expectations about performance and battery life in my usual image processing workflow. I am duly impressed.

What has been an utter failure, due to my naive expectations, is that Adobe software-Photoshop-runs any more stably on Apple ARM than it doesn't on Windows or macOS X86. I constantly run into the same issues on both AMD and nVidia GPUs in Windows, AMD in X86 macOS.

After encountering the exact same perpetual bugs in Photoshop on the M4, mostly video driver related, I queried a couple of chatbots about the underlying causes.

It was enlightening, and depressing, to get past the Apple and Adobe hype/lies to find that Adobe merely ported and did not rewrite the fundamental flawed, patchwork and shovelware laden code its been peddling for what now is decades at ever higher prices.

Nauseating really.

I am ok then, I detest Adobe since they moved to the crazy overpriced subscription model. I haven’t used any of their software in years. I am only worried about hardware failures. The M1 is the same age as my Dell that died. So if not a lot o them are having issues, then away I go.

 

[Pierre Lagarde]

Hi I am this close to buying a new maxed out MacBook Air to replace my dell that just died. Has anyone had any hardware failures on the M series hardware?

MacBook Air M1 still running great, with still 98% battery capacity after more than 3 years, never had any problem with it.

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

Great news. I am currently on my iPad 10th gen with Logitech keyboard setup and it’s doing ok. I wish I had the Pro in 13 inch with the Magic Keyboard so I could have a bit more real estate for the keyboard, but I think I will be fine using this. It’s a little less powerful than my notebook was, but where it’s using iPad apps it’s more optimized so it’s actually faster in most situations.

Once we get straightened away, I will be ordering my MacBook Air. I was sort of holding off to see what will be released in the new year?

 

[jeffharris]

I wouldn't buy a "maxed out" Mac of any kind.
But that's just me.

Always get as much RAM as possible. You get more bang for the buck with more RAM.

External SSDs are far cheaper than getting a bigger internal SSDs. Be sure it’s a Thunderbolt SSD, not generic USB-C, for more speed.

I got a 4TB Thunderbolt SSD for backing up (actually making a bootable clone) of my MacBook Pro’s internal SSDs. It does a clone, about 2.5TB of 4TB, in just under 30 minutes. it used to take HOURS with a 7200rpm hard drive.

Yes, contrary to my own advice , I got a 4TB internal SSD in my MacBook Pro. It’s my business Mac and I carry all my project files (2D CAD, 3D models, specs, photos, etc.) when going to clients’ offices. I found it easier just to have it all in one place, than carry an external SSD around.

If I didn’t need to do that, a 1TB or 2TB internal, plus external storage, would be sufficient

My advice is that you would do far better to get a "mid-level-equipped" MacBook Pro, either 14" or 16".

Yep, but more RAM!

 

[Pierre Lagarde]

Great news. I am currently on my iPad 10th gen with Logitech keyboard setup and it’s doing ok. I wish I had the Pro in 13 inch with the Magic Keyboard so I could have a bit more real estate for the keyboard, but I think I will be fine using this. It’s a little less powerful than my notebook was, but where it’s using iPad apps it’s more optimized so it’s actually faster in most situations.

Once we get straightened away, I will be ordering my MacBook Air. I was sort of holding off to see what will be released in the new year?

Cool... If you don't already know, I'd only be careful about internal disks size. People tend to choose base size, but bigger disks are usually faster and make the system work easier + having 1Tb inside is really comfortable on the go when you need to transfer/backup big quantities of pictures, for instance.

For the rest, I bet you know about what you need as for RAM (a comfortable amount is more about "futureproofness" than any other concern, but it's important) . Those M4 are overkill anyway for anything, to my sense .

 

[Htbaa]

I have a MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. Battery capacity is at 86% max after a bit over 4 years of use now. It was my main work computer for a couple of years (web development and photo and video for hobby), then got a Mac Studio M1 Max with 64GB RAM and 1TB storage which was my main workhorse until recently. Short story: some stuff changed in life and now I mostly work from my MBP in clamshell mode.

Both machines haven't had any issues (yet, hopefully it stays that way). My iPad Air with an M2 (I think, bought it November last year or so) hasn't had any issues either. Would've been upset if it would've!

So far my experience with Apple hardware is that it's reliable. For me 16GB RAM still seems to be sufficient (and I usually have a lot of apps open, some of them quite demanding). For both work stuff and my photo/video hobby. The Mac Studio does perform a lot better, but still the M1 is plenty fast for me (and probably a lot of other people). That said, if I were to get a new laptop now I wouldn't go for 16GB RAM but opt for more RAM.