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Average Laptop Lifespan by Brand (2023 Update)

Average Laptop Lifespan by Brand (2023 Update)

A laptop’s lifespan is influenced by various factors, from how you use it and where you use it to the quality of the materials used to manufacture it. Find out how long do laptops last below.

A good laptop brand will usually last longer, so your quest will always be buying that good laptop that will last as long as possible.

Today, we’re going to talk about this: what is the average laptop lifestyle of various top brands out there.

Please have in mind that these averages don’t guarantee that your laptop will run flawlessly for that long. It also doesn’t mean that most laptops created by all brands can’t last a lot longer. Consider it more of a guideline.

What is the average laptop lifespan by brand in 2023?

Laptops are an important part of our life, but with the evolving technology, they will usually become obsolete before their lifespan will end.

But if you want to know how long will a specific brand last, the chart below (as well as the rest of the article) will help you with that.

We are covering here some of the best known laptop brands out there, including their average lifespan as well as battery life.

Have in mind that most laptops, if taken care of properly, can last much longer than the values below.

Laptop BrandAverage Life SpanBattery life
HP3 to 5 years10 hours and 45 minutes
Apple4 to 7 years12 hours
Microsoft4 to 5 years14 hours and 30 minutes
Dell3 to 5 years6 – 10 hours
Lenovo3 to 5 years8+ hours
ASUS3 to 5 years6 – 12 hours
MSI4 to 8 years11 hours
ACER5 to 6 yearsAround 8 hours

Average Laptop Lifespan by Brand

laptop lifespan by brand

The lifespan of a good laptop depends on the brand – but a lot more so on the way you use them and how well you care for them. But talking averages, let’s check them out in depth below!

The average lifespan of a good brand is around 5 years. This is based on the average lifespan of the components used to build the laptop. But on most occasions, most laptops will last a lot longer.

When we’re talking about components, we’re talking mainly about the motherboard, battery, RAM, processor or even the storage device. These are the things that get damaged or end their lifetime in about 5 years, reducing the life of your laptop.

Fortunately, if one of these elements fails, you have the option to replace them (or even upgrade them) if you don’t want to buy a new laptop.

But based on personal experience, by the time these components will fail, there will be much better options available on the market, at fair prices, so repairing wouldn’t make much sense.

Now, let’s talk a bit more in depth about the lifespan of the various brands of laptops and how long should a laptop last.

These things are generalizations, though so don’t expect them to be set in stone. Any laptop can break after 6 months if handled or used improperly, or it could last 10+ years under the right circumstances.

Today, we are going to talk about some of the most important brands (as well as the most popular ones at the moment): HP, Macbooks (Apple), Surface laptops (Microsoft), Acer, ASUS and Lenovo.

IMPORTANT: The numbers below are just estimates. Just like some models could break down relatively fast, most of them will actually have a longer lifespan than the average. So use the numbers below as estimates, not rules set in stone.

HP Laptops’ Lifespan

hp logo

HP has been working hard over the past years to build up their reputation for high-end laptops. As a result, they have invested a lot in the quality of the materials and components used.

This means that HP laptops have an average lifespan of around 5 years, but they will generally last much longer if used properly.

According to their official website, a mid-range HP laptop will last on average 3 years. Overclocking, using it in improper places and not handling them with care can reduce their lifespan.

If you want to make sure that you get the biggest possible lifespan from your HP laptop, go for a business-class model like the HP Elitebook. (affiliate link)

Based on my own experience, I can say that all HP laptops can easily last for 5 years. In most cases, you will want to replace them because they are outdated, and not due to any major failure.

Apple Macbooks Lifespan

macbook

Apple products are known for their pretty high prices and many criticize them for this reason alone. However, at the same time, Apple uses really high quality components, resulting in longer lifespan for their laptops.

While the life span of these products is officially around 5 years, I know various people who owned a Macbook for around 10 years. While they had to replace the storage unit or various other components, the laptops themselves still work – and can perform tasks with relative ease.

Therefore, I would consider Macbooks some of the best products in terms of longevity. No matter if you’re choosing the cheaper Macbook Air or a Macbook Pro, you will get an extremely durable and high quality product.

You can check out Macbooks on Amazon here (affiliate link)

Microsoft Surface Lifespan

microsoft surface laptop lifespan

Microsoft entered the laptop market relatively recently and their Surface line is considered the Macbook of Windows-based laptops.

While the comparison is usually made based on design and price, the truth is that the quality of the components is really high as well. This makes them extremely durable and they will most likely become obsolete before breaking down.

While you could expect an average lifespan of around five years for Surface laptops, with some proper care you can expect much longer life for your product. The battery is the one that will most likely die first – but that can be replaced easily.

If you’d like to check out various Microsoft Surface laptops available for sale, you can do so on Amazon (affiliate link).

Lenovo Laptops’ Life Span

lenovo thinkpad

Lenovo is usually considered a budget laptop line, so most of their products have an expected lifespan of around 3 years. However, their mid-range and top products can easily last 5 years or more.

My wife, who only uses her laptop for basic stuff (mostly browsing the internet and other browser-related activities) never wanted anything than a Lenovo laptop.

She first used a tiny 11.6″ Lenovo Thinkpad model for a few years, before switching to a larger display one.

That model is already four years old and, except for it being a bit slow due to specifications (older processor and just 4GB RAM), it runs flawlessly. And this was a cheap, $300-range laptop!

In other words, if you take good care of your laptop, it will have a pretty solid lifespan, no matter if it’s a budget laptop or a top brand.

So if you want a cheap, but solid laptop, pick your favorite Lenovo model (affiliate link)

Acer Laptops’ Lifespan

acer laptop lifespan

And now we’re moving to what is my favorite laptop brand: Acer. I have used them constantly over the years, including for gaming and I had no problems with them.

Sure, I managed to destroy my first laptop’s battery by keeping it plugged in non-stop, but apart from that, I had no problems with Acer laptops.

Therefore, I would consider the estimated life span of 3-5 years a very safe bet. Most likely, as it is the case of all other brands out there, it will last much longer.

ASUS Laptops’ Lifespan

asus laptop lifespan

The average laptops life span for an ASUS laptop is around 5 years. Some models can last 3 years, while others will definitely last more. So it’s safe to say that the average lifespan for an ASUS laptop is 3-5 years.

However, if you take good care of your laptop, you will easily see it last well longer. It’s not uncommon for ASUS laptops to last up to 10 years. But at that point, they would be severely outdated unless you upgraded them along the way.

Wrapping up

The thing that matters the most is how YOU use your laptop and what you do with it. Nowadays, it’s very difficult to consider a brand better than another based on durability, as the tech world has advanced a lot in recent years.

There are things you can do to increase the life span of your laptop, and we’re going to quickly look at them below.

Factors that influence your laptop’s lifespan

There are many factors that influence your laptop’s durability, but we’re listing the most important ones below:

Usage

The average lifespan of a laptop directly depends on how you use and treat your laptop. When you take good care of it, it will last longer.

If you keep it exposed to more extreme temperatures, humidity or if you drop it or throw it away, then you will negatively influence it’s life span.

Take good care of it, and it will easily last longer than the average expected cycle.

Overclocking

This is something that gaming laptops go through, but you can try it for any reasons you might see fit.

Overclocking your laptop pushes it beyond its limits, reducing its lifespan. So try to do this sparingly, if really needed. If not, even better as you’re prolonging its life.

Battery charging

A laptop computer is not like a desktop – keeping it plugged in at all times will do more bad than good. This is a sure way to destroy its battery.

While more modern laptops are starting to offer battery charging protection features (like allowing the battery to charge to 80 – 90 percent only), most of them don’t.

So try to only keep it plugged in just when needed or, if the model allows it, remove the battery if you want to constantly keep your laptop plugged in.

Extreme temperatures and humidity

Extreme temperatures (especially too hot, but also too cold) can cause damage to your laptop’s component. Even more, very high humidity levels can cause your laptop to short circuit, destroying it.

Therefore, you must make sure that you are always using your laptop in a safe environment, appropriate for the product you have. Otherwise, its life will be much shorter than anticipated.

Extremely warm temperatures are the worst for laptops though, as the components will overheat faster. You can solve this problem partially with a cooling pad.

Other things of note and signs you might need a new laptop

We’ll quickly go through a few other things that you need to consider when trying to prolong the life of your laptop:

Cheaper to buy new than repair: Like other old electronic devices, when the cost of repair is as high or higher than just getting a new device, it’s time to upgrade and say goodbye to your old laptop.

Software and apps take too long to load: The thing about old laptops is that no matter how good you take care of them, eventually, they grow old and don’t work as they should. If you start noticing a decline in the loading speed and sometimes apps take too long to load, it’s time to get a new laptop.

Protect from liquid spills: Like humidity that has a negative effect over a laptop’s life expectancy, liquid spills are just as bad (if not worse).

Whenever you spill a liquid on your laptop, you should shut it down ASAP, unplug it and let it dry completely before trying to use it again. And hope no permanent damage has been done.

Blocked fans and fan noise: Even clogged fans will cause your laptop to overheat. This, in turn, will lower the life expectancy of your laptop’s processor and/or GPU (if it has a dedicated one). So make sure yours is properly ventilated at all times. If you hear your fans starting to make too much noise, it’s time to clean or replace them.

Physical damage: Obviously, if you start hitting and smashing your laptop when you go into rage mode from losing at your favorite game (or for whatever reason), you will risk destroying it.

Also, don’t throw it away and try not to do any physical damage as there’s always a chance to produce irreparable damage, from a destroyed display to broken circuitry and internal parts.

Size difference is getting too big: Yes, this is a thing. Technology moves fast, and laptops are becoming smaller, thinner and lighter by the year, if you suddenly notice you are carrying what looks like a brick compares to most other laptops on the market, maybe it’s a good sign for an upgrade.

Software updates don’t support your year: MacOS and also Windows have a certain time when they stop supporting older devices, usually this time frame is long, like at least 5 years, but beyond that they may stop support laptops that are older, so if you have an older laptop and you can’t download the latest software, maybe it’s a good sign to get a new one.

Conclusion

In today’s article, we covered the average life span of various popular brands out there, but hopefully learned that although brands are important when it comes to the quality of the components used, it’s your handling of the laptop that is important as well.

I would say that most laptops nowadays can easily last for around 5 years – with most of them being able to live a longer life with only minimal repairs needed (if any).

If you still have any comments, questions or things to add – don’t hesitate to write a comment in the comments section below.

js

Saturday 7th of October 2023

hi. can I ask where did you get the data for the lifespan of the laptop? thanks