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1080p screen, awful headphone audio quality, limited to 16GB of RAM, and ships full of Windows crapware - I guess "Apple has made its MacBook line worse, not be

1080p screen, awful headphone audio quality, limited to 16GB of RAM, and ships full of Windows crapware - I guess "Apple has made its MacBook line worse, not better" from the intro is describing reversion to the mean.

svennek 9y ago
As a X1 Carbon (4th gen) and X1 Yoga (1st gen) user with FHD and WQHD (2560x1440 if memory serves) repectively , I am going back to FHD on the next versions. That resolution (WQHD) in a 14" notebook is way overkill for my late 30-something eyes... FHD looks like a sweetspot... (Also HIDPI does not work that great everywhere) Also, the X-series are light ultrabooks, not workhorses. If you want a work-horse take the P-series (take for example the P70, which is much larger and heavier, but is a beast). A quick reinstall of windows combined with installing only the lenovo solution center (or whatever it is called today) fixes the crapware problem... (or install of a linux) I am an extremely happy user with the given limitations... I do dev work, basic graphics work, database tuning/queries on it with no prolems.... I agree with the subject of the article, the X1s are done right.. even if I didn't actually read it (yet).. I also know still-happy users on gen1 and gen2 (I had a W-series there myself)...
- lima 9y ago
  I'm using Linux and I'll never go back to FHD. Works extremely well, even the fractional scaling.
  - neverminder 9y ago
    2560x1700 13 incher here, running vanilla Ubuntu 16.04, no issues whatsoever and the screen is crystal clear.
  - sofaofthedamned 9y ago
    Same here, looks great on Gnome/Wayland but the integrated graphics sometimes can't keep up on my XPS 13.To be fair it was the same on my old retina Macbook Pro (2013). I know I lose battery because of the res, but it's pretty much worth it.
  - xur17 9y ago
    Same here. I've been surprised by how well it works.
  - notyourday 9y ago
    I'm using Linux on Toshiba Radius 12 4k with either 1 or 2 4K displays (i.e. laptop itself or laptop and external display). I got it nearly 2 years ago for $700 on sale. The screen is Amazing though I only realistically use browsers, sublime and a pile of xterms.
fgonzag 9y ago
I'll take battery life over QHD for my laptops. honestly most of the time I can't even see the difference. PPI wise FHD at 15" is almost same as my 2k 32" ultra wide at my desktop, and I'm supremely happy with it.
- SmallDeadGuy 9y ago
  Not sure what you mean by FHD and 2k as they are essentially the same (2048x1080 vs 1920x1080). I assume you must mean 4k (or rather, UHD with 3840x2160) instead of 2k.
  - fgonzag 9y ago
    Dumb mistake, was supposed to be 1440p.
gruturo 9y ago
This will of course be a matter of personal preferences, but yes, I concur with the sentiment: Apple made its MacBook line worse, not better: - They confine better specs to the touchbar models, which I would tolerate (not love) if it had the decency of starting after the ESC key. As it is, it's an abomination which must die, die, die. - They give you USB-C ports (yay) at the expense of leaving you with zero USB-A ports (nay). - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one - They took away MagSafe which I love and has saved my laptop - They took away the SD slot (but left the headphones jack? While arguing in favor of its removal on the iPhone? A bit inconsistent?) - They massively bumped prices, making it considerably less appealing from a price/specs ratio perspective - ...and they max out at 16GB just as you criticized the Lenovo.
- iwasakabukiman 9y ago
  For the headphone jack, I'd argue that different use cases for laptop and phones mean removing the headphone jack on one and leaving it on the other is justifiable. The other things you mentioned are definitely annoyances I run into occasionally with my MacBook Pro. > - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one What do you mean? My laptop came with an 87W charger and a cable that works fine with it.
  - gruturo 9y ago
    >> - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one >What do you mean? My laptop came with an 87W charger and a cable that works fine with it. The supplied USB-C cable only supports USB-2 data speeds (480Mbps). If you want to achieve USB-3 or 3.1 speeds (either 5Gbps or 10 Gbps), while still having the full 5A charging current supported by the 87W charger, you need to buy this $12.99 cable from monoprice: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24285 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24285 We're talking a laptop which can be configured between $2500 and $4100 and you need to go buy a better cable for it. I'm sorry but this is not the Apple I used to love.
    - 9y ago
willtim 9y ago
At least Lenovo provide a choice. If you want a mobile Xeon workstation with 64GB ram, they sell it.

svennek 9y ago

As a X1 Carbon (4th gen) and X1 Yoga (1st gen) user with FHD and WQHD (2560x1440 if memory serves) repectively , I am going back to FHD on the next versions. That resolution (WQHD) in a 14" notebook is way overkill for my late 30-something eyes... FHD looks like a sweetspot... (Also HIDPI does not work that great everywhere) Also, the X-series are light ultrabooks, not workhorses. If you want a work-horse take the P-series (take for example the P70, which is much larger and heavier, but is a beast). A quick reinstall of windows combined with installing only the lenovo solution center (or whatever it is called today) fixes the crapware problem... (or install of a linux) I am an extremely happy user with the given limitations... I do dev work, basic graphics work, database tuning/queries on it with no prolems.... I agree with the subject of the article, the X1s are done right.. even if I didn't actually read it (yet).. I also know still-happy users on gen1 and gen2 (I had a W-series there myself)...

lima 9y ago
I'm using Linux and I'll never go back to FHD. Works extremely well, even the fractional scaling.
- neverminder 9y ago
  2560x1700 13 incher here, running vanilla Ubuntu 16.04, no issues whatsoever and the screen is crystal clear.
- sofaofthedamned 9y ago
  Same here, looks great on Gnome/Wayland but the integrated graphics sometimes can't keep up on my XPS 13.To be fair it was the same on my old retina Macbook Pro (2013). I know I lose battery because of the res, but it's pretty much worth it.
- xur17 9y ago
  Same here. I've been surprised by how well it works.
- notyourday 9y ago
  I'm using Linux on Toshiba Radius 12 4k with either 1 or 2 4K displays (i.e. laptop itself or laptop and external display). I got it nearly 2 years ago for $700 on sale. The screen is Amazing though I only realistically use browsers, sublime and a pile of xterms.

fgonzag 9y ago

I'll take battery life over QHD for my laptops. honestly most of the time I can't even see the difference. PPI wise FHD at 15" is almost same as my 2k 32" ultra wide at my desktop, and I'm supremely happy with it.

SmallDeadGuy 9y ago
Not sure what you mean by FHD and 2k as they are essentially the same (2048x1080 vs 1920x1080). I assume you must mean 4k (or rather, UHD with 3840x2160) instead of 2k.
- fgonzag 9y ago
  Dumb mistake, was supposed to be 1440p.

gruturo 9y ago

This will of course be a matter of personal preferences, but yes, I concur with the sentiment: Apple made its MacBook line worse, not better: - They confine better specs to the touchbar models, which I would tolerate (not love) if it had the decency of starting after the ESC key. As it is, it's an abomination which must die, die, die. - They give you USB-C ports (yay) at the expense of leaving you with zero USB-A ports (nay). - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one - They took away MagSafe which I love and has saved my laptop - They took away the SD slot (but left the headphones jack? While arguing in favor of its removal on the iPhone? A bit inconsistent?) - They massively bumped prices, making it considerably less appealing from a price/specs ratio perspective - ...and they max out at 16GB just as you criticized the Lenovo.

iwasakabukiman 9y ago
For the headphone jack, I'd argue that different use cases for laptop and phones mean removing the headphone jack on one and leaving it on the other is justifiable. The other things you mentioned are definitely annoyances I run into occasionally with my MacBook Pro. > - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one What do you mean? My laptop came with an 87W charger and a cable that works fine with it.
- gruturo 9y ago
  >> - They supply you with a low spec charging cable, indistinguishable from a high spec one >What do you mean? My laptop came with an 87W charger and a cable that works fine with it. The supplied USB-C cable only supports USB-2 data speeds (480Mbps). If you want to achieve USB-3 or 3.1 speeds (either 5Gbps or 10 Gbps), while still having the full 5A charging current supported by the 87W charger, you need to buy this $12.99 cable from monoprice: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24285 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24285 We're talking a laptop which can be configured between $2500 and $4100 and you need to go buy a better cable for it. I'm sorry but this is not the Apple I used to love.
  - 9y ago

willtim 9y ago

At least Lenovo provide a choice. If you want a mobile Xeon workstation with 64GB ram, they sell it.