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My reaction to this was: $1200 machine: - slow, low capacity SSD - non-native scaled resolution - only one external display support - cheap plastic in keyb

My reaction to this was: $1200 machine: - slow, low capacity SSD - non-native scaled resolution - only one external display support - cheap plastic in keyboard keys - old charger "The best laptop, this is what Apple thinks the best laptop is" It's still, without a doubt, a great machine. But the amount of corner-cutting in an otherwise premium laptop is inexcusable.

avidphantasm 4y ago
It’s not a premium laptop, it is an entry-level Mac, which amounts to a mid-level PC, except PCs don’t have AppleSilicon, so this can best high-level PCs in some regards.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  > It’s not a premium laptop, it is an entry-level Mac As if those two things are mutually exclusive.
- dividedbyzero 4y ago
  An entry level laptop at that price point definitely is a premium product. It happens to be plenty powerful, but what most people will probably do on it would work just as well on a machine less than half the price. I'd put it in the luxury segment of laptop computers, which is why Apple can get away with the markup. You're not just buying the hardware metrics, you're also buying a design, aesthetics, finish and status. Yes, a Macbook signals status in lots of places, most people aren't SV software engineers (and even there, not getting the option may be perceived as a loss of status).
  - avidphantasm 4y ago
    You are also buying a machine that will last substantially longer than most PCs costing less. If you can afford them, Macs are usually more cost-effective in the long run. I guess that makes it premium, but it’s not a high-end machine.
    - lostmsu 4y ago
      Without stats this is just a myth now.
      - avidphantasm 4y ago
        A few years ago IBM reported lower TCO [1]. I also have plenty of anecdotes from family & friends keeping entry-level Macs for 5+ years, while those who cheap out and buy PCs barely get 2 years out of them. [1] https://www.jamf.com/blog/debate-over-ibm-confirms-that-macs-are-535-less-expensive-than-pcs/ https://www.jamf.com/blog/debate-over-ibm-confirms-that-macs...
        lostmsu 4y ago
        The link you posted is a PR piece. It does not have actual research details. For all we know they might have made it up.
- rwalle 4y ago
  Come on, there is no way you can keep your face straight and say a $1,200 laptop is not a "premium" laptop. Who are you kidding? An average college student from a common middle class family is definitely NOT going to purchase this laptop, unless they make an intentional choice.
neilalexander 4y ago
> - slow, low capacity SSD Low capacity, sure. It's hardly slow though — it is still likely going to be orders of magnitude faster than what the vast majority of people buying this machine will really need out of the entry level Mac. As always, HN seem to look at things through a very specific lens. The Air has never been marketed as the purely performance machine for purely performance needs. That's what the Pro line is for.
- balfirevic 4y ago
  > it is still likely going to be orders of magnitude faster than what the vast majority of people buying this machine will really need out of the entry level Mac. It's going to be 100x faster than what those people need?
  - powerhour 4y ago
    Minimum 100x, yeah. I'd wager the majority of users will use their MBA as a web browser and the occasional PDF reader.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  > As always, HN seem to look at things through a very specific lens. The Air has never been marketed as the purely performance machine for purely performance needs It's not a "specific lens". It's a laptop that costs over a thousand dollars. Somehow it doesn't deserve a native resolution display, not-cheap keyboard keys, support for more than one external display etc.
  - Tagbert 4y ago
    You can certainly run it in native resolution, but it doesn’t default to that setting.
Synaesthesia 4y ago
It's actually quite a fast SSD. The screen brightness and resolution is better than most PC laptops. Being 16:10 is a really nice addition and the Mac OS scaling works really well. My only criticism is it is expensive, and upgrading it is expensive too. Seems like a nice laptop.
teh64 4y ago
What do you mean by "old charger"? It supports USB-C to USB-C charging directly. The magsafe is also version 3, and the other end of the magsafe plugs into any USB-C charging brick. This is the best of both worlds: USB-C charging if you want it, and magsafe, which I think is much better anyway.
- wrycoder 4y ago
  And, I assume I could buy a replacement cable if it frays, unlike with my old MagSafe Air, where I just had to replace the whole charger.
  - teh64 4y ago
    Yup: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLYV3AM/A/usb-c-to-magsafe-3-cable-2-m-silver https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLYV3AM/A/usb-c-to-magsaf...

avidphantasm 4y ago

It’s not a premium laptop, it is an entry-level Mac, which amounts to a mid-level PC, except PCs don’t have AppleSilicon, so this can best high-level PCs in some regards.

dmitriid 4y ago
> It’s not a premium laptop, it is an entry-level Mac As if those two things are mutually exclusive.
dividedbyzero 4y ago
An entry level laptop at that price point definitely is a premium product. It happens to be plenty powerful, but what most people will probably do on it would work just as well on a machine less than half the price. I'd put it in the luxury segment of laptop computers, which is why Apple can get away with the markup. You're not just buying the hardware metrics, you're also buying a design, aesthetics, finish and status. Yes, a Macbook signals status in lots of places, most people aren't SV software engineers (and even there, not getting the option may be perceived as a loss of status).
- avidphantasm 4y ago
  You are also buying a machine that will last substantially longer than most PCs costing less. If you can afford them, Macs are usually more cost-effective in the long run. I guess that makes it premium, but it’s not a high-end machine.
  - lostmsu 4y ago
    Without stats this is just a myth now.
    - avidphantasm 4y ago
      A few years ago IBM reported lower TCO [1]. I also have plenty of anecdotes from family & friends keeping entry-level Macs for 5+ years, while those who cheap out and buy PCs barely get 2 years out of them. [1] https://www.jamf.com/blog/debate-over-ibm-confirms-that-macs-are-535-less-expensive-than-pcs/ https://www.jamf.com/blog/debate-over-ibm-confirms-that-macs...
      - lostmsu 4y ago
        The link you posted is a PR piece. It does not have actual research details. For all we know they might have made it up.
rwalle 4y ago
Come on, there is no way you can keep your face straight and say a $1,200 laptop is not a "premium" laptop. Who are you kidding? An average college student from a common middle class family is definitely NOT going to purchase this laptop, unless they make an intentional choice.

neilalexander 4y ago

> - slow, low capacity SSD Low capacity, sure. It's hardly slow though — it is still likely going to be orders of magnitude faster than what the vast majority of people buying this machine will really need out of the entry level Mac. As always, HN seem to look at things through a very specific lens. The Air has never been marketed as the purely performance machine for purely performance needs. That's what the Pro line is for.

balfirevic 4y ago
> it is still likely going to be orders of magnitude faster than what the vast majority of people buying this machine will really need out of the entry level Mac. It's going to be 100x faster than what those people need?
- powerhour 4y ago
  Minimum 100x, yeah. I'd wager the majority of users will use their MBA as a web browser and the occasional PDF reader.
dmitriid 4y ago
> As always, HN seem to look at things through a very specific lens. The Air has never been marketed as the purely performance machine for purely performance needs It's not a "specific lens". It's a laptop that costs over a thousand dollars. Somehow it doesn't deserve a native resolution display, not-cheap keyboard keys, support for more than one external display etc.
- Tagbert 4y ago
  You can certainly run it in native resolution, but it doesn’t default to that setting.

Synaesthesia 4y ago

It's actually quite a fast SSD. The screen brightness and resolution is better than most PC laptops. Being 16:10 is a really nice addition and the Mac OS scaling works really well. My only criticism is it is expensive, and upgrading it is expensive too. Seems like a nice laptop.

teh64 4y ago

What do you mean by "old charger"? It supports USB-C to USB-C charging directly. The magsafe is also version 3, and the other end of the magsafe plugs into any USB-C charging brick. This is the best of both worlds: USB-C charging if you want it, and magsafe, which I think is much better anyway.

wrycoder 4y ago
And, I assume I could buy a replacement cable if it frays, unlike with my old MagSafe Air, where I just had to replace the whole charger.
- teh64 4y ago
  Yup: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLYV3AM/A/usb-c-to-magsafe-3-cable-2-m-silver https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MLYV3AM/A/usb-c-to-magsaf...