To be fair, if you're developer, you'll probably also want an i7 (since a lot of compilation tasks are highly parallel and the extra cores will help a lot)
I never compile on my own machine, but I can tell you that if I can't have 30 chrome tabs open at once we are going to have a problem.
That's right. But the i7 15-inch line starts from 2500 USD. I think lots of developers won't be able to afford at that price point.
i7 13.5" starts at 1,999. Still pretty crazy that prices are turning the opposite direction lately.
Thanks. Fixed this in my comment.
If the quality is there, I welcome it. I'd love to spend over 2000 on an X series ThinkPad that doesn't burn my skin and has a real screen (3:2 or better).
It’s unfortunately the expected thing, as powerful general purpose computers become a specialized niche tool for developers, since regular consumers are being satisfied with phones and tables and inexpensive laptops. The market is no longer growing, it’s shrinking.
That doesn't seem too bad. If you use it daily (240 days a year) and the machine lasts two years, then that's a bit more than $5 / day. I think it's reasonable.