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Apple Silicon-powered Macs will be better than Intel-based laptops, at least after a few product cycles. I say "better" in terms of performance/watt. But will

Apple Silicon-powered Macs will be better than Intel-based laptops, at least after a few product cycles. I say "better" in terms of performance/watt. But will their margin of superiority be large enough to cause the seismic shifts in Windows/x86 land that this article suggests? I'm not sure. If Apple's laptops are 25% or perhaps 50% better, I'm really not sure that's enough to cause a major upheaval. I think we will wind up in a middle ground different from the upheaval JLG suggests. We are already at a place in which your average laptop is "good enough for most people"; being 25%-50% better than "good enough" is a nice competitive advantage but that's not going to necessarily turn the world upside down. - "Power users" will appreciate the CPU improvement. At this point, that essentially means video editors. It would mean gamers, but Macs still won't be the first choice for gaming. - "Extremely mobile users" will appreciate battery improvements. However, I suspect most laptop users use them chained to a desk most of the time anyway. I would love 50% more battery life, but it's not really actually that much of a factor for me personally. - "Cheap laptop buyers" won't be buying Macs anyway as Apple (wisely) doesn't seem like it wants to play in the sub-$1000 space. Though... maybe it will now.

dangus 6y ago
Your last paragraph and your fourth paragraph are the big upheaval. If you ask me, Apple is going to make a ~$700 passively cooled (sealed like an iPad) MacBook Air with similar/better performance to the current model. Most importantly, it will have the same build quality and “expensive” feeling. Sure, there are plenty of laptops now with similar build quality to Macs, but none of them are actually cheaper than a Mac. Load up a ThinkPad X1 Carbon or XPS 13 with a high DPI display and comparable specs and you’ll see what I mean. But now you’re going to have Apple saving $200 compared to every other computer by not giving Intel a dime. The A13 chip is a $10 line item in the component cost of an iPhone. This barely even costs Apple R&D money since it was already a part of the much larger iPhone and iPad business. Literally nobody will be able to touch Apple on the value end of the spectrum unless they go into bargain basement territory. Are customers going to buy a $600 plastic 1080p laptop with big fans, keyboard deck flex, and 5 hour battery life or will they buy a $700, thin, fanless, retina aluminum Mac with the same performance, 10 hour battery, and a much better fit and finish? If this all sounds a little unrealistic, I’ve got an iPad Air to sell you!
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  I hope and pray (to the extent that an atheist can pray) that this is what will happen. There is zero question in my mind that Apple can do what you say, for the reasons you say. The only potential obstacle is institutional will. You would now have a larger overlap between low-end Macs and the higher-end iPads. In my opinion, this is not a problem because I don't view those product lines as conflicting. But does Apple?

dangus 6y ago

Your last paragraph and your fourth paragraph are the big upheaval. If you ask me, Apple is going to make a ~$700 passively cooled (sealed like an iPad) MacBook Air with similar/better performance to the current model. Most importantly, it will have the same build quality and “expensive” feeling. Sure, there are plenty of laptops now with similar build quality to Macs, but none of them are actually cheaper than a Mac. Load up a ThinkPad X1 Carbon or XPS 13 with a high DPI display and comparable specs and you’ll see what I mean. But now you’re going to have Apple saving $200 compared to every other computer by not giving Intel a dime. The A13 chip is a $10 line item in the component cost of an iPhone. This barely even costs Apple R&D money since it was already a part of the much larger iPhone and iPad business. Literally nobody will be able to touch Apple on the value end of the spectrum unless they go into bargain basement territory. Are customers going to buy a $600 plastic 1080p laptop with big fans, keyboard deck flex, and 5 hour battery life or will they buy a $700, thin, fanless, retina aluminum Mac with the same performance, 10 hour battery, and a much better fit and finish? If this all sounds a little unrealistic, I’ve got an iPad Air to sell you!

JohnBooty 6y ago
I hope and pray (to the extent that an atheist can pray) that this is what will happen. There is zero question in my mind that Apple can do what you say, for the reasons you say. The only potential obstacle is institutional will. You would now have a larger overlap between low-end Macs and the higher-end iPads. In my opinion, this is not a problem because I don't view those product lines as conflicting. But does Apple?