HP Claims Innovation Over Apple With 'World's Thinnest Laptop'

[manu chao]

Need to see exactly how big those bezels are, and the overall laptop footprint, but I like it better than the impractical Macbook. Ports on the back are better than ports on the sides, imo. Whenever I used my MBAir on a desk, I used to hate having the wires coming out the sides whilst using a mouse.

With the MacBook One, Apple reduced that to cables coming out of one side only.

And with a laptop that thin, the only place to put ports are at the back because that is the only place where the combined thickness isn't split between the bottom part and the screen. And that also only works if the hinge is move forward a bit such that there is space behind the hinge for a full-height bar with ports. Note that Apple's G3 Powerbooks also had all ports at the back (thickness or lack of it wasn't the reason back then, rather that the PowerBook G3 had removable bays on both sides that could take a battery module, optical drive, ZIP drive or even second HDD).

I personally find ports at the sides easier to reach, in particular for stuff that gets removed frequently. Many people criticise that the iMacs have their ports on the back. So there are definitely downsides to either solution.

 

[thekeyring]

If Apple intro's an MBA or MBP with one port, then you have a valid point. When they don't, and we all know they won't, your point will make little to no sense.

The MacBook comes first, then the all-wireless MacBook Pros will come much later. Like with the removal of optical drives: None in the MacBook Air, people went mad. Then Apple introduced MacBook Pros without an optical drive, but updated and kept on the older MacBook Pros just incase people weren't ready. Then a few years later, there aren't any Macs with optical drives.

 

[morcutt11]

I see one advantage it has over Apple's ultrathin right away.
IT HAS MORE THAN ONE PORT.

It actually looks usable as a productivity machine.

I may be a Mac user, but Apple goofed big time by only having one USB-C port on their device.

I know that Apple's goal is is to drive everyone to wireless, but it also limits usability and the ability to adapt to situations and environments where you need a physical connection. I understand their issue with the cosmetics of having a bunch of ports on a PC, but they are handy...

 

[RockSpider]

It's looks great! But no OS X.

Yeah well, most people want a real operating system that runs everything, not just some things.

 

[pat500000]

What's so innovated about this? It's just copying...and redundant.

 

[manu chao]

It does look nice, however I too really don't see this fascination with being able to claim you made the thinnest laptop. Never have I looked at a MacBook Air or Pro and thought "wow that's nice but if only it was 4mm thinner...". On a laptop many things are important, high on the list is the performance of course. Screen size is about the only dimension of a laptop I'm interested in, same with phones, I actually liked a bigger phone. First time I held an iPhone 6 upgrading from a 4s I nearly dropped it, it felt too slim, I had to buy a case.

You miss the actual reason for thinness: Lower weight. And lower weight is something everybody can appreciate. Everything else equal, nobody complains about lower weight.

 

[thekeyring]

I see one advantage it has over Apple's ultrathin right away.
IT HAS MORE THAN ONE PORT.

It actually looks usable as a productivity machine.

I may be a Mac user, but Apple goofed big time by only having one USB-C port on their device.

Why? If the product isn't for you, get a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

 

[Casfin]

the obsession with 'thin' perplexes me. The vast majority of consumers don't want it.
And it most cases it's form over function.

Stupid/

 

[thekeyring]

Yeah well, most people want a real operating system that runs everything, not just some things.

The troll is strong in this one.

 

[SPUY767]

Here's betting that no one pisses and moans about the lack of 57 ports on this thing.

 

[TheGdog]

I've got to say, I'm impressed that they shoved Core I processor in there. Although its got a few challenges.

1. - Its thinner, but heaver and larger footprint. The whole point of the the macbook is to be ultra portable.

2. - Battery life is still in question.

I do find it funny how PC guys always laugh at how expensive Macs are. And then when a random (not high end) company like HP makes a competing product. It cost about that same.

Good design is expensive, regardless of who its from.

 

[s2mikey]

I know that Apple's goal is is to drive everyone to wireless, but it also limits usability and the ability to adapt to situations and environments where you need a physical connection. I understand their issue with the cosmetics of having a bunch of ports on a PC, but they are handy...

Yeah they are handy and required IMO. This concept of "everything you own is stored *somewhere* & dont worry about it" just isnt flying for me. And, my goodness, at what point does structural integrity start be compromised with these paper-thin devices? The Air 2 tablet suffered bad screen vibrations if you dare turned the volume up past a click or two. Some of these laptops are almost too light and feel easy to drop, slip out of your hand, etc.

How thin does this stuff have to be? It can be compared to the awful concept that women have to deal with where "being thin is never good enough". 100 lbs is too much, they should weight 85lbs. Ugh.

 

[emilonrails]

So "innovative" that they're using 'copper' (i.e. gold/rose gold)...a color trend Apple started. Not to mention, the promo video is completely Apple stylized. I'm surprised they didn't use a guy with a British accent.

 

[Kid Red]

To bad it runs windows, but damn HP, well done.

 

[manu chao]

I agree. Apple need to admit that if the Macbook Air came with a retina screen no-one would buy a Macbook. Come on Apple, it can't be that easy sourcing non-retina screens any more!

And if the MBA came with a retina screen, fewer people would buy it because it would be noticeably more expensive. A retina screen also consumes more power (the display itself and graphics power needed to drive it). Thus a MBA with a retina screen would not only be noticeably more expensive the current MBA but also have a shorter battery life and/or be thicker and heavier because of added battery.

 

[Saturn1217]

Granted aesthetically it is not to my tastes.

But from a weight, specs and battery life perspective this is exactly what I want. NOT a Core M, 1 usb-c port Macbook, or a 3.5 lb 13" rMBP!

Please apple, pretty, pretty please release something in the 2.5-2.8lb range that can functionally replace my 13" MBA.

 

[Rogifan]

Except HP never put Apple's name in there, it's the media that claim HP is trying to out-innovate Apple... and the media do this because slapping "Apple" next to anything in the tech world is good for web traffic/ad sales.

I'm sure HP was perfectly fine with this piece that ran on The Verge. And the comparison was 100% to Apple and the Mac.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/5/11365474/hp-spectre-13-announced-price-specs-release-date

Since this laptop runs Windows shouldn't they be comparing it to other Windows laptops like Surface and XPS? Like I said earlier, the media has already declared both of those more innovative than anything Apple is doing so wouldn't it be a better comparison point?

And if the MBA came with a retina screen, fewer people would buy it because it would be noticeably more expensive. A retina screen also consumes more power (the display itself and graphics power needed to drive it). Thus a MBA with a retina screen would not only be noticeably more expensive the current MBA but also have a shorter battery life and/or be thicker and heavier because of added battery.

A MBA with Retina display is basically a MBP. It's obvious to anyone with a brain why Apple didn't add retina to the MBA. Eventually the MBP will get lighter and the MB will get more powerful and cheaper. Apple doesn't need 3 laptop lines, or two that are so similar it's difficult to tell them apart (or price them differently).

Granted aesthetically it is not to my tastes.

But from a weight, specs and battery life perspective this is exactly what I want. NOT a Core M, 1 usb-c port Macbook, or a 3.5 lb 13" rMBP!

Please apple, pretty, pretty please release something in the 2.5-2.8lb range that can functionally replace my 13" MBA.

My guess is Apple is working on exactly this. Either they're working on something really radical or we'll get Skylake MBPs that are redesigned and lighter than the current models. There's a reason we haven't seen any Skylake Macs yet and I don't think it's because Apple can't be bothered.

 

[bigjnyc]

I'm not even going to opine on how this thing looks because I could care less. What I do care about is that someone is openly going after Apple, I hope this thing sells really well because then maybe the folks in Cupertino will realize they can't just keep making money based on the brand and the following. Perhaps they should start innovating again and giving customers significant upgrades instead of treating them like hamsters and dripping out upgrades little by little.

 

[RockSpider]

The troll is strong in this one.

Just stating facts, I own a Mac Mini Core i7, I run Windows 10 on it, because then I can run whatever I want, with OS X I'm limited.

 

[deeddawg]

The troll is strong in this one.

Yes. I don't know about others, but I regularly use software on OSX that doesn't exist on Windows. Back when I did need to run the occasional Windows program I just did that inside a VM. Haven't needed that for three years now though.

 

[leman]

Looks nice, even though I reserve the final judgement for when I can actually see and touch it in person. I though that Lenovo X1 looked good but when i had it in my hands it just felt cheap and horrible. But I quite doubt the 9 hour battery quote. Not unless they have severely underclocked the CPU

 

[DogHouseDub]

Nice piece of kit - considering HP doesn't have to innovate much (considering all their corporate accounts that are bound to HP products). Should keep the suits happy.

 

[Mindcrime]

Yes. I don't know about others, but I regularly use software on OSX that doesn't exist on Windows. Back when I did need to run the occasional Windows program I just did that inside a VM. Haven't needed that for three years now though.

There's writing software on Mac that just can't be replicated on Windows. I work in Windows during the day, and in OS X at night.

 

[crsh1976]

I'm sure HP was perfectly fine with this piece that ran on The Verge. And the comparison was 100% to Apple and the Mac.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/5/11365474/hp-spectre-13-announced-price-specs-release-date

Since this laptop runs Windows shouldn't they be comparing it to other Windows laptops like Surface and XPS? Like I said earlier, the media has already declared both of those more innovative than anything Apple is doing so wouldn't it be a better comparison point?

But you're quoting The Verge - unless you're saying The Verge runs ads disguised as articles, it's them who compares the laptop to Apple's. HP "only" claims their laptop is the thinnest, everybody goes and says "but what about Apple's laptops?!"..

Frankly, if we're to call HP on its insane claims, what about Apple's that the rMB is the future of notebooks?

 

[igorsky]

"Nearly hingeless" says HP, about their laptop that features two giant hinges