One benefit is that computer stays connected even if you go somewhere else with your phone.

It's one of those small things that makes like a bit easier. On Lenovo/HP these have been around for years and they don't cost that much.

Battery consumption and antenna efficiency are two major pain points. iPhones suck battery like a horse drinks water when in hotspot mode, and the large surface area of even a small MacBook Air would allow for some pretty interesting antenna design.

And it isn't really ironed out to behave in Germany where on a train you have frequent losses of phone connectivity. Every time it loses signal, the hotspot drops out and disconnects.

You can save battery in hotspot mode by using Bluetooth instead of WiFI, or even better connect the phone and laptop with a cord.

But that’s an ok tradeoff. They offer a cellular iPad, why not MacBook.

They might once they are off Qualcomm modems (the new 16e is now an Apple modem). Qualcomm charges them a royalty fee per device sold.

This is a weak argument. Qualcomm is charging for iphone and ipad too. They could do it if they wanted.

The real reason is Apple wants you to buy an ipad for on the road. Laptops, according to them, are strictly for office/home usage where wifi is available.

Different battery, different bills

The integration is fine, but it's not perfect. It kicks my wife off her iPhone Hotspot every time she closes the lid on her laptop. It also burns the battery on her iPhone, which is a concern in the exact situation you'd want cellular connection (places with no wifi often don't have outlets either).

Anecdotally, I've also seen her get issues when going from an area with bad connection to an area with good connection (iPhone will disconnect).

The experience with a non-iphone is also not seamless, though that's to be expected.

Point being that reliable and easy cellular access on a MacBook would be a pretty nice improvement. This is especially true given how much of what people do on computers relies on the internet these days.

> The experience with a non-iphone is also not seamless, though that's to be expected.

Dunno about that, I've been using Androids for hotspotting for years, and haven't noticed any issues.