The Mouthy Money Podcast

No money topic is too big or too small. Welcome to the Mouthy Money Podcast,…

Iran war revives spectre of 2022 market shock

An energy shock in 2022 is a harbinger for potential investment market disappointment in 2026…

Two years until pension freedom age rises – and what to do about it

It’s time for fellow millennials to start thinking about building an ISA bridge to beat…

The pension lie we tell ourselves

There’s a lie many of us tell ourselves about pensions and we don’t want to…

The tide is finally turning in favour of first-time buyers

First-time buyers are finally reaping the benefits of higher wages and stagnant property prices in…

A beginner’s guide to crypto trading

Cryptoassets have become a familiar topic in recent years, often discussed in the news…

A guide to Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the largest global platforms for trading cryptoassets. In partnership with…

Should the Bank of England prepare for aliens? A thought experiment in extreme risk

The Bank of England is duty bound to consider and prepare for exogenous shocks to…

The mortgage market in 2026: Cautious optimism as rates ease

With 1.8 million homeowners set to remortgage in 2026, the odds of getting better rates…

Is Rachel Reeves trying to get us to buy up her debt?

New limits on cash ISA allowances will push higher volume savers into putting more cash…

‘Fat Cat Day’ distracts us from the biggest employment issue of 2026

‘Fat Cat Day’ returned on 6 January this year…

Recently, my MacBook Pro broke. I admit that it was my fault, but my clumsiness when it comes to beverages and expensive electronic items is something that I believe I share with the majority of my peers. I remember a friend back at art college, for example, who screwed up her keyboard in a coffee related incident – these things happen. And so, flustered as I was when my MacBook wouldn’t turn on, I built up the strength to toddle on down to Stormfront (York doesn’t have an Apple store), preparing to swallow hard and cough up a few hundred quid.

However, when I got to Stormfront, the nice lady behind the counter informed me that there was in fact, nothing that they could do to help me. She then went on to explain that just a month prior to my visit, Apple had declared my five year old MacBook Pro to be ‘vintage’. This confused me, because the definition of vintage is an item that is at least 20 years old. The woman explained that, to Apple, ‘vintage’ is a product older than five years old and so they won’t make spare parts for it anymore – and it was clear that my computer needed a spare part. She told me that, although they couldn’t help me, an independent computer shop across the other side of York might be able to.

Apple had declared my five year old MacBook Pro ‘vintage’. This confused me, because the definition of vintage is an item that is at least 20 years old.

So, my mother gave me a lift over there. They charged me £300 for a new battery and a charger, before declaring that, in fact, this wasn’t the problem. The actual problem was the keyboard (as the power button was water damaged) – Apple had stopped making these so there was nothing that could be done. I wasn’t completely convinced by this, and so, promptly searching eBay for a new keyboard, I found one for about £18. I was also informed that a couple of years after Apple declare their tech to be ‘vintage’, they then proclaim it to be ‘obsolete’, which means that they will cease to provide any technical assistance to it whatsoever. You know how every time you call up Apple care you have to read out your serial code to the technician? It’s so that they can check whether they’re allowed to help you. This is definitely something to bare in mind if you’re ever thinking about buying a refurbished Apple product.

In the end, my computer was fixed, but it got me thinking – what happens when my expensive computer actually dies? Apple have made so many disastrous changes to the MacBook Pro line in recent years, should I forgo it all together and switch back to Windows?

Maddy Sutherland

Maddy is a freelance illustrator who lives in Glasgow. She's recently graduated and is working hard to make ends meet.