Is it fair to say that maybe the author doesn't value repairability? Maybe they just want a 'premium' laptop in the way the Apple laptops are premium, but want x86 and Linux/Windows? Surely for as large as a market there is for Apple laptops there is for a non-macOS equivalent.

The author begins by stating that "the absolute nightmare that is opening [the X1 Carbon] up to replace parts or clean them properly" rules it out.

He then eliminates the MacBook because if "something needs replacing I basically have an expensive paperweight, because everything is soldered together".

This would suggest that the author does, in theory at least, value repairability.