Most laptops become e-waste after a few years. Want an example? Macbooks before 2017 which no longer get any more major system updates and run as slow as turtle compared to the latest ones.
Not really. I’m still using 2013 MBAs daily, and they’re pretty snappy. I do keep them on a cool, old Yosemite, though.
macOS Catalina is still receiving security updates and supports devices from 2012 and later. Not receiving new features after 5 years hardly makes a device e-waste.
I'm still using my mid-2012 11-inch macbook air. My new M2 air is shipping this week, but my old one is still good for a lot of things.
Amazingly, I herd a couple of 2013 Asus T-100 that run Win10 OK, on 2GB RAM I think. Mostly they only stand and wait nowadays.
I'm using a 2015 Macbook which is still totally adequate for every task I use it for, other than intense DAW stuff.