From what I can see apple laptops have a longer working life than other higher end laptops, there must be a reason 2010 macbook airs are still selling on ebay for $400+.
Sure they do. My mother is still using my MacBook white 2008, which I upgraded from 1GB to 4GB RAM and replaced the battery. I also expect to get at least two more years from my MacBook Pro 2012 after upgrading my disk to a SSD and the RAM to 16GB.
I was specifically replying to this comment:
> Why is hardware upgradeability so important? What's the harm in just upgrading to the next device?
Not everybody has the money to buy the next device, so upgrading is a great option to get a couple more years of work from a little old but otherwise solid laptop.
Apple laptops have their share of woes (see the video issues on earlier Macbook Pros).
But, whatever the reason, Apple hardware tend to hold on to its value longer, without doubt.
I recently sold my 2010 13' Macbook Air, dented and with a cracked screen a for 300$ on ebay (and I expected more based on similar auctions), about 1/4 the price of a new model for a broken 4.5 years old model.
Technically you could just upgrade every year and recoup at least 60%-70% of the original price.
I was specifically replying to this comment:
> Why is hardware upgradeability so important? What's the harm in just upgrading to the next device?
Not everybody has the money to buy the next device, so upgrading is a great option to get a couple more years of work from a little old but otherwise solid laptop.