EDIT: Getting a ton of great responses thanks everyone <3 Once this is up for 24 hours or so I’ll make another edit summarizing everyone’s recs for future reference. Keep ‘em coming!

TL;DR Have any recs for non-Apple phones/laptops that have lifespans of at least 5+ years?

Wanted to get everyone’s opinion on want brands/products have worked for them. I’m lightly techy and not afraid to put some effort in, but also don’t want to build everything from scratch. I think Apple’s products are often anti-consumer, anti-privacy, anti-yadda yadda yadda.

At the same time, with both phones and laptops, I’ve found my Apple products to have double or even triple the lifespan of any other brand. I did my research and bought a $1000+ HP laptop with Ryzen7 a little over two years ago, and due to a flaw in the hinge which is now subject to a class action lawsuit, the screen has cracked and it’s mostly unusable. Other purchase haven’t failed quite that dramatically but don’t tend to last as long. On the other hand, my or my partner’s old Macbooks and iPhones are easily seeing 5+ years of use in addition to software updates.

So let me know what’s worked for you!

  • Vuipes
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    2310 months ago

    I would not trust apple products. Self cracking display on laptop? Updates that slow down devices on purpose? no, thanks

    • @jaackf@lemm.ee
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      910 months ago

      Never had any issues on any of my macbooks and I’ve had them for over 5 years each. My 2012 mbp still runs as good as the day I got it!

      • @gustulus@lemm.ee
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        1010 months ago

        I can’t say the same about my 2012 mbp, it’s been basically useless for like 5 years now.

      • Vuipes
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        110 months ago

        I was referring mainly to newer models, the older line around 2012 was really good.

          • Vuipes
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            210 months ago

            You are right, I didn’t know about this.

        • @jaackf@lemm.ee
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          210 months ago

          Fair enough, you’re right they were great. Tbf everything up until the 2015 models were solid, as they were somewhat upgradable. Though, I’ve got a new M1 MAX and it’s easily the best laptop I’ve ever owned!

          • @NightAuthor@beehaw.org
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            10 months ago

            Performance wise, sure… but I also believe that’s the model that, if you’re lucky, will fry itself to 100% uselessness, and make your data completely unrecoverable.

            If you must use a MacBook, keep backups, and keep AppleCare on it. Just consider it your apple device subscription.

    • @TheFriendlyArtificer@beehaw.org
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      410 months ago

      My key caps have been falling off my work provided M1 Air. Thankfully, the keyboard is so crap I can barely tell the difference.

      Ended up repurposing an old XPS 13 that I found in a supply closet as my dev box.

      Wayland+Sway == Infinitely better experience