Is this still worth it in 2023?
I think it may beâŚ
I am still using this at work (teaching). Iâm less concerned if it gets banged around or that someone will walk away with it. It does 90% of what my newer one does. Every time my colleague picks it up, she comments on how light it is - lighter than the new macbooks. I was thinking of it bringing it traveling with me and the only thing stopping me is needing to also carry a whole separate charging brick.
Itâs a great device.
I would say a hard no unless you plan on running Windows or Linux on it. You cannot legitimately install the latest macOS on this model, and it has been classified as âvintageâ by Apple. Additionally, no one knows when Apple will fully drop Intel support completely as they are almost done transitioning to Apple Silicon.
It was a good device back in the day, but I cannot in good conscience recommend devices like this to anyone anymore.
This is kind of an unanswerable question as written, because this is clearly an individual value proposition. Is it worth it to buy this machine if you have an M2 Max MacBook Pro? Absolutely not.
If the question is, âDoes there exist a situation where this machine represents a âsmartâ purchase in 2023?â Absolutely.
If you need a laptop and your budget is $250 or less, this is likely the best option youâll find anywhere.
I try to maintain one MacBook that is still supported in some way by Apple. 2015 is my current year, and like stated above, this year will likely be dropped fully before fall comes around. I am looking for a 2017 or newer one within my experimenting budget.
I support a lot of old hardware, but the 2015 Apples are as old as I deem to still have relevancy. I almost cried when I stripped my 2009 MBP for parts.
I prevent a lot of folks from buying new devices by adding storage and memory, and doing a fresh OS install without bloatware. I still support some 2012 laptops(think $100 Wally world specials) that folks just love.
This is a bad take. Sure, you canât officially install the latest Mac OS.
You can officially install the second latest Mac OS, which is almost certainly going to get security updates for at least a couple years yet, and itâs trivially easy to unofficially install the latest Mac OS.
This is still a solid machine thatâs better in virtually every way than a comparably priced brand new laptop, and as you mentioned, has plenty of life left in it as a linux machine even if Apple ends support for it tomorrow.
For folks who donât mind Windows 11 and buying from WM, this Lenovo is currently $229 with an 11th-gen i3 and 14" FHD. Memory and storage on the lighter side, but it appears to be upgradable.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-3i-14-FHD-Laptop-Intel-Core-i3-1115G4-4GB-128GB-SSD-Windows-11-in-S-Mode-Platinum-Grey-81X700FGUS/125496557
I upgraded a thrifted Dell Latitude E6430 (3rd gen) recently â 8GB + SSDs. W10 and Mint (dual boot) on one drive, Windows XP on the other because the the diagnostics software itâs to run didnât play nicely under emulation.
(Note that I am not staff. I just volunteer to help out on the forums.)
That Lenovo isnât a bad deal, but folks who donât mind buying Lenovo is also probably a meaningful filter. Rightfully or not, the fact that theyâre a Chinese-headquartered company causes concern for some buyers. I personally donât mind, and find their low-end products to be in a pretty good spot generally, with better price/performance than HP and Dell, and better build quality/reliability than the Asus/Acer/MSI/etc. entries in the segment.
That one you linked in particular is a good example, as it avoids the common âtrapâ in this price range, which is cheap, slow eMMC storage. That said, compared to this MacBook, the Lenovo will likely have worse battery life by anywhere from 2-5 hours, will definitely have a cheaper battery that wonât last as long before wearing out, and weighs about 50% more.
Performance comparisons are kinda tricky and usually not particularly useful between Mac and PC hardware for âbasicâ users. I can tell you with certainty than anyone using this MacBook for basic general use, i.e. web browsing, email, documents, music, movies, etc., is not going to have any performance issues. With the Lenovo, youâre going to feel the limitations of 4GB of RAM in basic web browsing. Upgrading should be cheap and easy though, and if youâre comfortable doing that and want Windows instead of Mac OS, itâd make a perfectly serviceable machine.
If RAM can be upgraded on this, itâs something Iâd like for the simple fact of Intel processors allowing for dual OS.
Plus, Apple silicon doesnât allow for equal multi display as Intel Mac MiniâŚ
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Do not read below this line 
SUPERFLUOUS REMINISCING
I had 2006 iMac dual boot setup. The versatility ticked all boxes for personal & business use. Helped me through buyerâs remorse transition 
The 13" black (hole) Macbook (brick) received after âupgradingâ via PowerMax trade-in of my beloved aluminum Powerbook. To this day, I miss look +feel; especially using that keyboard!
It was a âDeLorean-Back to-the Futureâ work of art while also a great laptop:
sized well for portability with finish brushed aluminum construction which dispersed heat perfectly.
Huge contrast to what was received in its place. A plastic? shelled heap of shyte black 13" MacBook! In 6-9mo cracks or chips at corners, around side ports creeping onto keyboard panel.
This was start of era where Apple had mass recalls & repair/replacement of laptop batteries and often charging cables! After few years it seemed Apple unable or unwilling to fix production quality, nor repair devices with pre-existing (at purchase) problems if said devices past 3yr mark Applecare!
After Apple abandoned this blackhole POS with a replaced power supply & new Mag cable, replaced/exchanged battery== laptop wouldnât hold a charge, then bluetooth wentâŚitâs sitting in non-climate controlled storage unit in TUCSON ARIZONA where all naughty tech stuff should go: melting slowly into darknessâŚ
Mint is a most excellent choice of a powerful OS on older hardware. I fully approve! It will do anything the user wants.
Yep. Nowadays for regular use, I run a mix of W10, Mint, and MX Linux here.
A lot has changed since I started working on computers 3+ decades ago â back then, overclocking was done by desoldering the crystal oscillator and replacing it with a higher frequency. No memory modules â it was all individual DIP chips.
One thing that hasnât changed â the 15-pin VGA along with PS/2 ports. Theyâre still regularly found these days.
Berlker- you have not only a bad take but an ignorant one.
Seems like you havenât taken a look at Appleâs new(ish) documentation where they clearly state that they wonât fully support anything other than their latest OSes:
Additionally, their security updates for older OSes are not as comprehensive as stated themselves in the above link and you can see for yourself here:
Donât take my word for it though, thereâs proof from publications that prove Apple has been like this for years:
Stop giving bad advice that may land innocent users into trouble. Apple is just like other electronics and PC manufacturers that purposely plan obsolescence and leave gaping security vulnerabilities in their older products.
Most users out there canât be bothered to modify their firmware on their own with other peoplesâ code that may even brick the device if theyâre not too careful.
Apple has made it pretty much clear- you need to pay to play.
Nothing new here. Apple has never had an explicit policy on legacy OS support, but obviously fully supports the current major OS version, and has historically almost universally provided (sometimes fewer, sometimes slower) updates for the previous two major OS versions. Even the rather breathless Ars article you linked points out that this unofficial-but-consistent policy has been in place âsince the very early days of Mac OS Xâ.
Most knowledgeable people would consider a Mac to be âobsoleteâ when it is no longer possible to install the [current version - 2] OS without third party modification. If you want the most up to date, fastest system with all the shiniest new features, you buy a machine that supports the current OS version. If youâre looking to spend less than $300 on an Apple computer, you are of course going to compromise on speed and features, and to a more or less negligible extent, security.
So yeah, I guess donât recommend older hardware like this to pro-democracy activists living in territory controlled by totalitarian regimes. For regular people with regular people threat profiles, theyâre fine.
If anyone in those shoes has this machine (or any MacBook Air going back to 2009) and wants to unofficially install the latest Mac OS, it might take you an hour or so.
As others have mentioned, OpenCore Open Patcher does allow the adventurous to install MacOS Ventura on pretty much all Macs from 2012 onward (Macs before 2012 has compatibility issues, mainly GPU acceleration).
The Ars Technica article gives a plausible reason. By explicitly supporting old hardware, Apple is legally liable to any vulnerabilities even if the hardware and software/driver are from a third party (Intel, AMD, Broadcom, tons of licensed software bits they have no knowledge/control, etc) and Apple has to rely to them for the fixes which may not be available in a timely manner or possible (think Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities).
The current situation is a fair middle ground. Apple wonât lock MacOS down very hard so you can still install Ventura (with updates) with no guarantee and absolve Apple of any obligations. Microsoft does the same thing with Windows 11 and explicitly provides instructions aptly named Installing Windows 11 on devices that donât meet minimum system requirements (at your own risk, obviously).