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I've wondered about the price too, but I think with $200 they could upgrade to a 12" IPS display and something like a Core M chip. Maybe the more square display

I've wondered about the price too, but I think with $200 they could upgrade to a 12" IPS display and something like a Core M chip. Maybe the more square display would be too exotic, 16:9 is weird in tablet mode but could be acceptable for the price. I'd expect USB 3.1 charging in that timeframe too. Backlit keys are a $20 option for Thinkpads so they should be achievable too. What's there is already so nice and the form factor works so well I'd be really surprised (and disappointed) if we don't see this in 2016, and it should be something of an inflection in the market to contrast with Apple's unrelentingly expensive offerings. The Pixel is clearly for Chromebook developers, or those with money to burn.

ghaff 11y ago
>Apple's unrelentingly expensive offerings It's really the relative expense of quality laptops more broadly. Story. I forgot my laptop on a weeklong business trip last week. It actually made sense to pickup a Chromebook for the week. After all, it was only about 3x what a forgotten laptop charger would have cost. Chromebooks aren't a laptop replacement but they are very useful. I don't know enough about component costs to know what a Chromebook+ which isn't a Pixel would cost. However, I do see them as a complement to a laptop rather than a replacement. And, by historical standards, a MacBook Pro is very cheap.
- davidy123 11y ago
  I agree by historical standards they are cheap, but by current volume, simplification (SOC) and process they should continue to drop in price. https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/attachments/content/attachments/15150d1440356386-untitled-jpg?s=d2e192a51882cefee4d114236c37f162 https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/attachments/content/attachmen... But the Macbook is a bit of an novelty, really it's the Macbook Air that I find to be badly overpriced now. I like to project on Apple cause I always look for some idealism that must exist somewhere past good design and profit margins since they can't simply be aspiring to smugness. So I find the Asus Chromebook Flip a good example of what a 2016 Macbook Air could look like because it has many attributes of excellent design while integrating practical innovations, yet remans inexpensive. With their own chip they could easily make a quality lower priced Air and still have profit higher than the rest of the industry. However Apple is unlikely to use the flip design, much less put a touchscreen on a keyboarded device. It would shatter their image. As well I think Apple has stacked their market, including the Apple resale market, such that any lower cost product would cause value problems across their line. So hopefully these factors create a good opening for a reasonably priced, quality product that is intentionally more open to the hacking mindset from a company like Asus.

ghaff 11y ago

>Apple's unrelentingly expensive offerings It's really the relative expense of quality laptops more broadly. Story. I forgot my laptop on a weeklong business trip last week. It actually made sense to pickup a Chromebook for the week. After all, it was only about 3x what a forgotten laptop charger would have cost. Chromebooks aren't a laptop replacement but they are very useful. I don't know enough about component costs to know what a Chromebook+ which isn't a Pixel would cost. However, I do see them as a complement to a laptop rather than a replacement. And, by historical standards, a MacBook Pro is very cheap.

davidy123 11y ago
I agree by historical standards they are cheap, but by current volume, simplification (SOC) and process they should continue to drop in price. https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/attachments/content/attachments/15150d1440356386-untitled-jpg?s=d2e192a51882cefee4d114236c37f162 https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/attachments/content/attachmen... But the Macbook is a bit of an novelty, really it's the Macbook Air that I find to be badly overpriced now. I like to project on Apple cause I always look for some idealism that must exist somewhere past good design and profit margins since they can't simply be aspiring to smugness. So I find the Asus Chromebook Flip a good example of what a 2016 Macbook Air could look like because it has many attributes of excellent design while integrating practical innovations, yet remans inexpensive. With their own chip they could easily make a quality lower priced Air and still have profit higher than the rest of the industry. However Apple is unlikely to use the flip design, much less put a touchscreen on a keyboarded device. It would shatter their image. As well I think Apple has stacked their market, including the Apple resale market, such that any lower cost product would cause value problems across their line. So hopefully these factors create a good opening for a reasonably priced, quality product that is intentionally more open to the hacking mindset from a company like Asus.