I think that the MBP actually has the better CPU and the better thermals (the latest XPS is not that great in this regard).
Other than that, I completely agree
110 karma · joined February 25, 2019
Other than that, I completely agree
Having used Gnome 3 with Wayland and libinput (the best Linux trackpad experience at the moment) until last year, I can say that while the latency and acceleration curve are definitely not there, at least the animations are better implemented than those of Windows 10
My previous Windows laptop had a super annoying constant display flickering, even on a fresh installation.
After months, I learned that I had to disable "auto-resfresh display" (or something similar) that in an Intel app because it was enabled by default (and re-enabled after every major update). Compared to macOS/Gnome, I think that Windows shows poor taste in many aspects
I still think than MacBooks's resolution is the best compromise though
For me, the MacBooks still have the best build quality, trackpad, speakers, display resolution (instead of the FHD vs overkill 4K choice) and, more importantly, I just prefer macOS and its approach on laptops. Furthermore, you can still sell a used macbook after years for quite high prices compared to the Windows alternatives. Granted, I'd never buy some of Apple's products/configurations (like an iMac, the Mac Pro or the 16 MBP with 64 GB of RAM), but a base MBP with 16GB of RAM is more than adequate for me nowadays and it's not much more expensive than the alternatives.
If you don't care about the OS (or prefer Windows/linux), then obviously a macbook doesn't make any sense these days
The 2014 model you're considering was actually the 2nd configuration offered by Apple itself at the time (the cheapest with a dGPU), so I would compare it with the 2nd configuration offered by Apple today. This means the 16" with an i9, 16GB, 1TB and a Radeon 5500M that costs 2799$.
You could argue that getting the same amount of RAM 5 years later is not acceptable and you would actually be right, but today you still get double the cores/threads, much faster RAM, double the storage (and, again, much faster), a much more powerful GPU and a better display. So I'd say that the only big issue of today's MacBooks compared to 2014 ones is the RAM price.
It's not like competitors started putting more RAM in their laptops though, today 8Gb is still the standard.
FWIW, the Y CPU in the Air is set at 9W instead of the usual 4.5W
In my experience this is true, but not for technical reasons. It just seems to me that there a lot of people happily using almost 10 years old macbooks just because they want a macbook, but probably can't afford a new one.
Just try to sell a 6/7 years old mac and then try doing the same with a Windows laptop from the same year: you'll sell the mac much more quickly, for a higher price.
I think that old macbooks still have a market, most old laptops don't, but this is just my impression.
On all the retinas you have to separate them from the chassis using a thread (something like a fishing line). It's not too hard to do, but it's not fun neither.
My only issue with it is the battery which will fail sooner or later, but it shouln't be too hard to remove it.
I mean, I was very happy about the Laptop 3 repairability, but if the MBP is 1/10, then 5/10 looks a bit too much to me.
Apple will certainly upgrade the 13" model as well next year, maybe moving to a 14" format.
They really wanted to release this 16" sooner because the 15" was by far the most criticized one and they wanted to show to the "Pro" market that they're still there.
The only cases where I have personally seen that a whole keyboard replacement was needed were those caused by a liquid spill, but Apple is never going to cover those since they could easily damage the logic board and you wouldn't be "safe" even after months.
But yes, at the end of the day using screws instead of rivets would be better for everyone