I'm considering ordering the pinebook as a replacement for my rMBP too.
For me, CPU power and RAM are not that important, I don't need MacOS (any unix system will do for me) and I don't play games (or at least none that would require a powerful GPU).
The pinebook offers 4k60 over USB-C (my MPB only does 4k30 over hdmi, and the mDP ports on the early rMBP have a design flaw that makes them unusable for 4k monitors). The 10Ah battery in combination with the low-power hardware should give very good battery life.
What I'm looking for in a laptop is a metal case, decent keyboard and upgradability. The pinebook seems to offer just that. At a low enough pricepoint not to be disappointed if it has some flaws. (Any flaw on a 3000 euro macbook would make me mad, and it has many).
> mDP ports on the early rMBP have a design flaw that makes them unusable for 4k monitors
what is the context on this? I have a 2015 MBPr hooked up to two 4k monitors on my desk right now, and I am not having any issues...
I would also worry about the GFX ability to actually output 4k/60 for anything other than a terminal (The ARM Mali-T860MP4 GPU doesn't look like it is going to be able to deal with 4k video for example)
The early (first?) retina macbook pro's (sold from mid 2012 till 2013) have a design flaw on the motherboard, this causes external 4k displays to show noise, weird colors, lose sync or not turn on at all. Apple 'solved' this by not listing the 2012 macbook pro on the supported device list for 4k monitors [0] (this list appeared in 2015)
It seems like a signal timing issue on the early motherboards. The macbook negotiates 60Hz with the monitor, but as soon as the monitor switches to 60Hz it loses sync. If you install linux you can work around this issue by forcing the output to 30Hz.
The issue was solved in the following motherboard revision, somewhere in 2013. So that's why your MBP plays nice with your monitors.
(btw, I was not complaining that my almost-7-year-old 2012 device does not work with modern 4k displays. I was just trying to explain why a 200USD pinebook would be an upgrade over my 2012 macbook.)
Software & systems engineering. I am tired of Apple positioning themselves as premium brand and fucking up every product cycle since Steve Jobs passed away. I need very little and I would like to pay them but not for these broken ideas like removing the jack from all mobile devices or screwing with the keyboard. If they are serious about being a premium brand they have to do better.
I'm wondering too. Generally you spend that much money because your time is valuable and Apple offers a safe and "no bullshit" experience. A $200 ARM laptop by a company that isn't known to support it's hardware well doesn't sound like it's in the same market at all.
