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My Thinkpad Carbon X1 has a user-replaceable battery and is practically the same weight and size as a MacBook Air. So it is certainly not a compromise I agree w

My Thinkpad Carbon X1 has a user-replaceable battery and is practically the same weight and size as a MacBook Air. So it is certainly not a compromise I agree with. The "disposable" label was a bit harsh, but there are other compromises in the MacBook Pro, for example the SSD, which is more prone to failure than other components, is soldered on to the logic board.

Xylakant 9y ago
We may have a different notion of "user-replaceable". I'd only consider a battery that can be swapped without opening up the laptop user-replaceable. Soldering the components to the board is the same kind of trade-off: It saves weight, space and increases battery lifetime. You also compare the relatively new X1 with an outdated (though still sold) Macbook that was designed and built at a time when no laptop even got close to the size, weight and battery life of a MacBook Air, especially the 11" version. There were other laptops just as small, but they'd compromise on battery life, others that had the same battery life, but weighted more. Granted, it's certainly an extreme compromise, but I know more than a handful of people that would never trade their 11" Air for anything else. You can, btw., have the SSD changed, it's not soldered to the board for Airs. It's just an uncommon form factor that few vendors sell. See https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-faq/macbook-air-mid-2013-how-to-replace-upgrade-ssd-storage.html https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-f... for example
- willtim 9y ago
  On the X1 Carbon, you will have to remove some screws, but Lenovo provide a guide to the process: https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/pd103715 https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/pd103715 I believe the latest X1 Carbon weighs significantly less than a MacBook Pro.
  - Xylakant 9y ago
    You’d be surprised: 1.39kg for the carbon, 1.37kg for the MacBook (13”) The latest Pro models are comparable to the Airs in weight.

Xylakant 9y ago

We may have a different notion of "user-replaceable". I'd only consider a battery that can be swapped without opening up the laptop user-replaceable. Soldering the components to the board is the same kind of trade-off: It saves weight, space and increases battery lifetime. You also compare the relatively new X1 with an outdated (though still sold) Macbook that was designed and built at a time when no laptop even got close to the size, weight and battery life of a MacBook Air, especially the 11" version. There were other laptops just as small, but they'd compromise on battery life, others that had the same battery life, but weighted more. Granted, it's certainly an extreme compromise, but I know more than a handful of people that would never trade their 11" Air for anything else. You can, btw., have the SSD changed, it's not soldered to the board for Airs. It's just an uncommon form factor that few vendors sell. See https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-faq/macbook-air-mid-2013-how-to-replace-upgrade-ssd-storage.html https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/macbook-air-f... for example

willtim 9y ago
On the X1 Carbon, you will have to remove some screws, but Lenovo provide a guide to the process: https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/pd103715 https://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/solutions/pd103715 I believe the latest X1 Carbon weighs significantly less than a MacBook Pro.
- Xylakant 9y ago
  You’d be surprised: 1.39kg for the carbon, 1.37kg for the MacBook (13”) The latest Pro models are comparable to the Airs in weight.