There are tradeoffs with this machine compared to a Macbook Pro. Intel laptops also have twice as fast USB along with Thunderbolt 3. At 350 cd/m2 and 84% sRGB the relatively low resolution screen is also going to be darker with poor color reproduction.
However, in addition to the CPU power, and a sane configuration being half the price, the weight looks really good. At 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) it weighs like a 13" MacBook Pro rather than a 15 or 16 inch one. I've found the difference between 3 and 4 lbs surprisingly noticeable if frequently moving the computer or commuting with it.
> There are tradeoffs with this machine compared to a Macbook Pro. Intel laptops also have twice as fast USB along with Thunderbolt 3.
On the other hand, this has a builtin HDMI port, ethernet port and the capacity for internal expansion (unlike the Macbook), so the performance for external expansion is a lot less relevant.
Who wants to carry around a bunch of overpriced dongles anyway?
> At 350 cd/m2 and 84% sRGB the relatively low resolution screen is also going to be darker with poor color reproduction.
I wish somebody would make laptops with high quality screens and low end everything else. Sometimes that's all you need.
Plus, the low end processors often have the best battery life.
Sadly, the plain MacBook doesn't have a low end price. :)
An upcoming ARM MacBook could be a great machine for a text editor, terminal, and browser, but I fear there will be new user limitations that block customizations like Karabiner and Hammerspoon that I would miss too much.
However, in addition to the CPU power, and a sane configuration being half the price, the weight looks really good. At 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) it weighs like a 13" MacBook Pro rather than a 15 or 16 inch one. I've found the difference between 3 and 4 lbs surprisingly noticeable if frequently moving the computer or commuting with it.