Agreed about operating systems. Windows 10 was basically like Microsoft handing a Nobel Prize to Richard Stallman.
The point I'm trying to make is that maybe I wouldn't lose money on depreciation if I got a Macbook, ran Linux on it, and sold it 3 years later. My laptop isn't terrible, in part thanks to the general stagnation of hardware/lithography process development, but I am considering a replacement.
Whatever money you may save on depreciation, you would likely more than make back in savings by buying a Dell XPS or something.
I was looking at reviews on recent XPS models actually. Seems they've taken one step forward (design, keyboard layout) and two steps back (overheating, fan noise, keyboard feel, build quality). And the costs for equal storage and RAM haven't changed since I bought my laptop. At that point the only real reason I have to upgrade might be to get a fresh battery (non removable batteries, yay) and that's not worth the cost of a new laptop.
In my experience that applies only if you opt for the top of the line, maxed out MBP. And then you're truly talking ridiculous sums for a laptop and which will only find buyers among a pro crowd who just can't afford the newest top of the range specs.
IMHO with the switch to ARM that's going to be a very risky strategy.