If you want 32gb of RAM, it's not an option, but I recently bought a Lenovo Carbon X1 laptop and it's really great [1]. I used to develop on a 2015 Macbook Pro, which was a fantastic computer, but I don't like the new ones as much. I've also used a 2017 Dell XPS 13 and it was good, but the Lenovo feels better to me.
Things that make it great:
1) Slightly larger screen at 14" is very nice, but the overall computer is still lighter than a MBP.
2) Keyboard is fantastic
3) Build quality feels like it can hold up to more abuse than MBP or Dell XPS
4) Has USB-C ports, but also has old USB-A style ports, so no need for adapters.
I dual boot with Windows and Linux. For better or worse, I still need to use Excel sometimes and LibreOffice's version doesn't cut it. The only thing I miss about macOS over Ubuntu is the ability to install Microsoft Office (without using Wine).
[1] plug for Costco who sells a nicely loaded (i7 processor, 16gb RAM, 512GB hard drive) version for $1500, or $1400 on sale.
Would you not be better with a VM for Excel, if that's all you need Windows for?
At a previous job I persuaded IT to build a Windows VM with all of their normal stuff in, so that I could boot Linux natively - it was a good way of working.
Things that make it great:
1) Slightly larger screen at 14" is very nice, but the overall computer is still lighter than a MBP.
2) Keyboard is fantastic
3) Build quality feels like it can hold up to more abuse than MBP or Dell XPS
4) Has USB-C ports, but also has old USB-A style ports, so no need for adapters.
I dual boot with Windows and Linux. For better or worse, I still need to use Excel sometimes and LibreOffice's version doesn't cut it. The only thing I miss about macOS over Ubuntu is the ability to install Microsoft Office (without using Wine).
[1] plug for Costco who sells a nicely loaded (i7 processor, 16gb RAM, 512GB hard drive) version for $1500, or $1400 on sale.