If you are thinking about buying a used M1 Mac, you want to know one thing: how long it stays updated and safe. The short answer is that an M1 machine you buy today has many years of life left, both for new macOS versions and for security updates.
Apple launched the first M1 Macs in late 2020, starting with the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. Looking at past Intel models, Apple usually delivers major macOS upgrades for about 5 to 7 years from a Mac’s launch or discontinuation. After that, the company keeps shipping security patches for the latest three macOS releases, which extends practical support for another 2 to 3 years.
Recent macOS versions also show how long Intel machines stayed on the list. macOS Sonoma, for example, dropped most 2017 models, giving them around 6 to 7 years of full OS updates. This pattern gives you a useful baseline when you think about M1.
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Expected support timeline for M1 Macs
In practice, that history points to at least 7 years of major macOS releases for M1 Macs, counted from late 2020. That takes you to roughly 2027–2028 for new versions, with security updates likely stretching into the early 2030s if Apple keeps its current three-version policy.
On top of that, Apple has already said future macOS versions will focus only on Apple silicon, starting with M1 and newer chips. So instead of being left behind, M1 sits at the front of the line for upcoming features.
How long an M1 Mac stays usable
You also need to separate official support from real-world usefulness. Many older Intel Macs kept working well years after Apple stopped shipping new OS releases, helped by strong hardware and lighter workloads.
The same, and likely more, applies to M1. The chip still handles everyday tasks, creative work, and light development very comfortably. If you look after the battery and storage, you can reasonably expect a used M1 Mac to stay a capable daily machine for close to a decade, even after Apple eventually ends major updates.
Why is it so hard for security patches to continue. This basically tells that security architecture is designed to fail and to generate business for newer models.
In the says of AI assisted development this is unacceptable security breach. Time to build systems that lasts forever.
use linux
it’s called Fedora Asahi Linux for M1 & M2 macs…
$$$$$$$ is why. 🙁
Because some security issues are flaws in the actual chip design, often not found until years later and cannot be fixed without a hardware replacement. Government also installs all sorts of backdoors…