I have used Macs since the Classic era. My best Mac was a PowerBook G4 that could run Windows on a VM faster than most Windows machines at the time. My first MacBook was brilliant, but I have noticed a decline since then. My 6-year-old MacBook Pro really struggles nowadays, whereas I remember a time when people proudly said their 10-year-old Macs were still snappy even during rosetta. Currently, Linux is the preferred choice for work. Windows 11 Enterprise is not bad when stripped of all social, news, and 360 ads overhead, but Microsoft is really trying hard to mess it up there too.
Edit: 6 years old, not 4, and also Intel Macbook, so due an upgrade for sure
Your M2 MacBook Pro really struggles? That is genuinely crazy, given that I use one as a daily driver and it feels just as fast as the day I bought it.
I think the Apple Silicon transition has increased Mac longevity far beyond the Intel or PowerPC eras, and I am quite baffled you think otherwise.