Dear all,
I have the following question, since I still own a 15" MBP 2015. When will it be vintage? Shortly before it gets vintage I want to head to the Apple store and ask for an SSD Upgrade (If that would be possible to have a bigger one, since these SSDs can still be changed.)
According to my understanding the vintage time for this model is: June 2018 + 5 years = Somewhere in June 2023? What do you think?
Thank you very much!
I’d be super tempted to replace the SSD myself. It looks a lot like an m.2 drive, but it seems to be something different only available from OWC. It looks as simple as upgrading the RAM on slightly older non-retina Macs.
If you are feeling more foolish you can try this which lets you put in many m.2 drives:
https://www.amazon.ca/Sintech-Adapter-Upgrade-2013-2015-MacBook/dp/B01CWWAENG/ref=sr_1_1
Yes, thank you. I always thought about this idea. However there are numerous forum posts, where people talk about starting issues etc. after changing the ssd themselves. I need an “official apple” solution, to have a peace of mind.
For what it is worth, I just did this a few days ago with my 2015 MacBook Pro 13 inch and so far things seem to be okay. I went from 256GB to 1 TB, so there is definitely a lot more “breathing room.” I’m also interested in know when these machines will be considered “vintage.”
Your local Apple Store does not offer SSD upgrades. Save yourself a trip unless you want to purchase a new MBP. I had to break this news to 3-4 customers a month when I was in the store. Some people had a hard time grasping this reality…
Your best bet would be an Authorized Apple Service Provider who can provide this service. However replacing the Apple SSD with a larger version will be costly if they can offer it. Most likely, they would offer to use a 3rd party brand SSD. This would give you a larger SSD for less cost. Probably a faster SSD as well.
The DIY route through www.macsales.com is the best option IMHO. They will supply you everything you’ll need. I believe they are offering a mail-in service too.
I believe a mac is deemed vintage when they have not been on sale for about 5 years (in practice between 5-7 years). Which would mean for the 2015 it’s either this year or next.
Thank you so much for your answer @tim_walker .
Could you kindly tell which SSD you used and what system you are running (and for how long?) (Any changes in speed?)
Thank you very much!
No, Apple stopped selling the mpb2015 in around July 2018. (Apple stops selling 2015 MacBook Pro - 9to5Mac)
And according to Apple the following rule applies: “Owners of iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, or Apple TV products may obtain service and parts from Apple service providers, including Apple Retail Stores and Independent Repair Providers, for 5 years from when Apple last distributed the product for sale.” (Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support)
That means the Macbook Pro 2015 will be Vintage around July 2023.
That’s good news! Did not know they sold them that long!
Yes, at that time people still wanted to have the different ports plus it was the time fo the faulty new keyboards and the touch bar. It was apples backdoor to satisfy those Pro users, who didnt like the new macbook pros so much. Those Macs were 3 year old but still being displayed in the Apple Stores in Early 2017 I remember. Finally we will see a revival of this model witht he 14" / 16" model. Btw. this macbook is still running like a beast without any failures.
I totally agree, love my 15", planning to replace the battery and keep it running until it drops!
My battery was replaced previously for free, because it was under the Apple service programm. (Important notice for batteries in certain MacBook Pro units - Apple)
So my battery is only a few months old. However thats not really relevant for me for now in times of Home Officing.
Yes that is also my plan. I want to use it until the logic board burns out, since it is still so powerful. May I ask what OSX you are using? I am still on the latest Mojave, because that has been the most solid OSX I had since a while. I also have a Macbook pro 2015 model 13" lying aroudn and tested there Big Sur. Forget it. Already with a clean install I can tell that the machine instabntly became LAGGY. Would be interested in your opinions though about OSX 10.14 or Big Sur as I may need to update in 2022/2023 when the Apps I am using are not supporting 10.13 anymore…
I’ve had it running big sur since the betas last year, and find it performs really well for my needs. It has some minor issues, but not more so than any new OS version would have. Since I use my iPad 70-80% of the time I do not notice it that much though.
I expect the next OS to be a stability step for macOS, which hopefully solves those. (F.e. Mail.app search is a mess)
that’s what I was hoping for after Catalina, but it has been anything but stable for me.
Would you suggest staying on Mojave as long as I can? From what I read there are also some issues with Catalina (Mail etc.)…?
I wish I could go back to Mojave but I think that the update to Big Sur did a firmware update that stops me from going back. For me. Mojave was the last operating system that I was happy with. It might be missing a few bells and whistles, but it was rock solid for me. Catalina messed up Time Machine pretty badly along with losing many years worth of email. Big Sur has a whole host of other issues. Frequent app lockups, networking dropouts, keyboard shortcuts sporadically not working, audio issues with Airplay, and on and on.
Just my experiences.
YMMV.
When I did OS upgrades I always assumed that I could revert to at least Mojave.
Nor so!
Thanks Apple
A Firmwareupdate which makes it unpossible to downgrade? Seriously? How about starrting Mojave from an external SSD? That must work I guess?.
What I always believe: Big Sur is suitable for M1 macbooks. If you have a Macbook below those standarda Big Sur will not work well. I will just hold off to Mojave as much as I can than.
For whatever it’s worth, even if Apple were willing to upgrade the SSD for you (I suspect @MacGuyMI is correct that they won’t) they’re not going to stand behind it any better than your trusted local repair shop. And honestly, the odds that a current Genius Bar tech in 2023 is going to have ever opened up a 2015 MacBook is pretty minimal.
Just updated my 2015 MBP SSD for the second time. My OWC SSD kept having kernel panics, so I am trying a Fledging SSD. The actual steps of replacing your SSD are not hard. You can do it! 