I never understood why people claim the Macbook is so good.

Bad keyboard, bad aluminium body, soldered ram...

Is it just the Apple Silicon that somehow makes it worth it? It's ARM, most software is still written and optimized for x86.

I adore my Linux setup and have switched back to it after using M1 Pro for 3 years.

But through all the Dells, Thinkpads and Asus laptops I've had (~10), none were remotely close to a full package that MBP M1 Pro was.

- Performance - outstanding

- Fan noise - non-existent 99% of the time, cannot compare to any other laptop I had

- Battery - not as amazing as people claim for my usage, but still at least 30% better

- Screen, touchpad, speakers, chassis - all highest tier; some PC laptops do screen (Asus OLED), keyboard and chassis (Thinkpad) better, but nothing groundbreaking...

It's the only laptop I've ever had that gave me a feeling that there is nothing that could come my way, and I wouldn't be able to do on it, without any drama whatsoever.

It's just too bad that I can't run multiple external displays on Asahi...

(For posterity, currently using Asus Zenbook S16, Ryzen HX370, 32GB RAM, OLED screen, was $1700 - looks and feels amazing, screen is great, performance is solid - but I'm driving it hard, so fan noise is constant, battery lasts shorter, and it's just a bit more "drama" than with MBP)

> Is it just the Apple Silicon that somehow makes it worth it? It's ARM, most software is still written and optimized for x86.

I am very much a Linux person. But the battery life with macOS on the Apple Silicon is absolutely insane.

Excellent power efficiency in apple silicon - good battery life and good performance at the same time. The aluminum body is also very rigid and premium feeling, unlike so many creaky bendy pc laptops. Good screen, good speakers.

I’ve never heard someone describe the aluminum body as bad.. what do you not like about it?

The number one benefit is the Apple Silicon processors, which are incredibly efficient.

Then it’s the trackpad, keyboard and overall build quality for me. Windows laptops often just feel cheap by comparison.

Or they’ll have perplexing design problems, like whatever is going on with Dell laptops these days with the capacitive function row and borderless trackpad.

The keyboard and body are not bad at all - rather, they're best in class, and so is the rest of the hardware. It is a premium hardware experience, and has been since Jony Ive left, which is what makes the software so disappointing.

Feel like these critiques are 10 years old.

"... bad aluminium body ..."

Would you elaborate ?

I believe there are a few all-metal laptops competing in the marketplace but was unaware they were actually better than the apple laptops ... what all aluminum laptops are better and how are they better ?

Rarely mentioned is the audio, the Mac's bass and overall sound is much better than any other laptop its size.

the screen is very good, the trackpad is very good, the screen does not wobble or bend - it is sturdy. and it is quiet!

If the Macbook has a bad keyboard (ignoring the Butterfly switches, which aren't on any of the M series machines, which are the ones people actually recommend and praise), then the vast majority of Windows machine have truly atrocious keyboards. I prefer the keyboard on my 2012 Macbook to the newer ones, but it's still better than the Windows machines I can test in local stores.

I prefer the aluminium to the plastic found on most Windows machines. The Framework is made from some aluminium alloy from what I know, and I see that as a good thing.

The soldered RAM sucks, but it's a trade-off I'm willing to make for a touchpad that actually works, a pretty good screen, and battery life that doesn't suck.

> "I never understood why people claim the Macbook is so good."

Apple's good enough for the average consumer, just like a 16-bit home computer back in the day. Everyone who looks for something bespoke/specialized (e. g. certified dual- or multi-OS support, ECC-RAM, right-to-repair, top-class flicker-free displays, size, etc.) looks elsewhere, of course.

It sounds like you have not tried a M series laptop in the last 3 years. Shrug.