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IDC: Chromebooks Outsold Macs for the First Time in 2020
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Anyone that talks down on the Chromebook likely hasn't even ever used one. They're a great cheap device that gets folks online. Anymore, there isn't much you can't do on a Chromebook you wouldn't be using a standard Mac or Windows laptop for anyways via apps...especially for school or home use. You can use Microsoft Office apps, you can manage your photos, play games, watch Netflix, and, of course, browse the internet.
Which Chromebook device do you recommend? Thinking of picking up the Lenovo Duet to try but would prefer something with a bigger display.
I have to hand it to Google. ChromeOS is a fantastic product for the money you're paying. ChromeOS and MacOS don't compete. Chromebooks are internet appliances like iPads, not full blown work computers.
Could not have said it better. Apple's greed is going to cost them a generation. Why not cut the price to schools basically to cost or less.....let those kids cut their teeth on Apple products and you'll have a generation who will have Apple's for life.
Uh, don't buy a Chromebook unless it's for school or work. For personal reasons, stick with MacOS bro.
It’s because MacBooks were being suck since 2016 and very little people would want to buy a laptop without SD card slot and USB ports which requires full load of dongles.
Well, I don’t wholly know if they’re perfect for education, but I’d imagine you’re right about school purchases being the reason. It’s certainly the first thing I thought of, and I’d imagine that Apple’s B2B sales (both Mac and iPad) were down last year (likely true for the whole industry).
A 200 dollar Chromebook is 95% of the Computer 95% of the everyone needs.
Given how cheap they are, makes sense. I feel like if I didn't work as a designer/developer, I'd probably rock a Chromebook as I'm already in Google's ecosystem anyways.
Yeah and I'm sure you need so much computing power to do advanced tasks like posting on Macrumors over 700 times...
Do people really need sd cards, or just some "professional" photographers can't stop complaining about it? Yeah, the 2016 models sucked, but not because of lack of ports.
That is exactly where the 12" MacBook excelled. The MacBook "Air" is almost 50% heavier and a lot bigger in size.
The 12" MacBook is so portable that I often forget it's in my bag even.
Any other Apple laptop is bulky in comparison.
And an iPad, well, has all the iOS limitations, and no built-in keyboard.
But Apple also decided to no longer play in the ultra portable market either...
No Chromebook equivalent, no ultra portable MacBook.
Not sure whether Apple isn't missing a big boat here.
Sometimes I get the impression Apple products are built for Apple employees. People with very good salaries who drive to work in cars. Those people do not need cheap laptops, nor do they need ultra portable laptops.
So perhaps it never even occurs to Apple that there are people who want these features?
One thing many PC users discount is the market for what I term personal productivity software/utilities (think Quicksilver, OmniFocus [and other GTD applications], outliners, clipboard managers, text shortcut expanders, etc., the market for which is surprisingly mostly non-existent on PC). Some of these do have web based versions, but much of it is macOS exclusive (even the applications that don’t strictly need to be native) and much of it needs to be native. I’ve noticed for some time that most PC software, particularly anything enterprise-y, has migrated to the cloud over the past few years. I’m assuming it’s because businesses would rather spend $200 on a basic thin-client-ish computer than $2000 on a full fledged workstation for most users.
The one reason why I want an SD card slot is because I can keep a MicroSD card in it with a full bootable macOS installed.
If you are on the road and your Mac starts to act up or the OS becomes corrupted, what do you do?
Reboot from the Recovery Disc partition?
Have you ever tried that?
It either immediately wants to download a massive OS update first via the Internet - which if you do not have fast or any access at all leaves you with what? Nothing. A fully bricked Mac.
Or, if you manage to get the Mac booting from it, after sometimes hours (!) of waiting for the download, it is so limited that you likely will not get anything done in a quick bind.
The Recovery Disc partition is a useless tool for most emergency cases.
Even Apple service personnel admitted as much to me.
With a separate MacOS install on an SD card, you can boot from it, and likely still have access to all apps and data on the main HD - and therefore keep working right there and then. And fix your main HD macOS when you have time.
On the SD card you can even install custom repair tools and all the apps you may need in an emergency.
Sure, you can do all that with any external HD or USB stick too.
But those have a strong tendency to get lost, forgotten or left at home. Especially if they are too big (external HDs) or too small (USB sticks).
A MicroSD card that always sits in my MacBook can never be forgotten or lost.
And it is as small and lightweight as it gets.
There is no better recovery tool in an emergency.
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I generally agree. I've owned a few chromebooks over the years and settled on a Pixelbook for the last 3 years. I'm running web, Android, Linux, and Windows apps on it. There's one app that I heavily rely on that is only available on Windows, MacOS, and iOS so it prevents me from sticking with the Pixelbook.
The Duet is an excellent option... especially if you get it on sale. I recently picked one up for my wife. $250 for the 128 GB model. The idea is to be able to replace her iPad and Macbook Air. (if you've been considering the Duet then you know it includes the kickstand and keyboard cover) I picked up the Lenovo USI stylus for it and it offers a user experience comparable to an Apple Pencil. (latency is quite good)
As an iPad replacement, it is terrific. It is actually more capable than the iPad Pro. My wife appreciates the fact that she can use the desktop Chrome browser on it rather than the mobile browsers on the iPad. Performance is acceptable.
It will probably be too small to replace her MBA, but as a proof-of-concept, if there is a 13" model released, it'll be a must-buy on day-1. (She likes the Pixelbook but appreciates how the keyboard removes from the Duet to allow her to use it as a proper tablet)
I think the new M1 MacBook Air at $800 (actually $799) educational stands a real chance at turning this around. The vast majority of Chromebooks I've used are hands-down pieces of absolute junk, because that's what you get when you buy a budget chromebook. There are some nicer ones, but of course they cost more, and then where is the value to the education market when compared to (for example) the $800 M1 MacBook Air? Here is a typical $400 Chromebook, which is as cheap as you want to go; I've used a number of the cheaper ones and you might as well just take your $$$ out back, throw it in a barrel, pour lighter fluid on it and roast your hot-dogs: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Chromebook-i3-10110U-Integrated-82B80006UX/dp/B086383HC7/ref=sr_1_24?crid=1OQ1RL2YHOEXU&dchild=1&keywords=chromebook&qid=1613601314&s=pc&sprefix=chromebook,aps,183&sr=1-24
By many metrics that's not even close to half the computer that the M1 MacBook Air is, and I bet the lifespan doesn't end up being half either, making it more expensive in the long-run.
Although, if the MacOS continues to degenerate maybe this will be a moot-point eventually, Big Sur is GUI disaster and our kids are having a TERRIBLE time with our 22 new M1 MacBook Airs. The tiny black and white icons in Pages alone, for example, are driving them nuts, and I had to go to every one of them and turn the "reduced transparency" function on because the menu-bar transparency was reducing legibility enough for some students that it was causing issues due to certain desktop pic/color combos.
That said, I do hope Apple eventually enters the market with a touch-screen Mac at an even lower price point than $799 for education at some point.
By many metrics that's not even close to half the computer that the M1 MacBook Air is, and I bet the lifespan doesn't end up being half either, making it more expensive in the long-run.
Although, if the MacOS continues to degenerate maybe this will be a moot-point eventually, Big Sur is GUI disaster and our kids are having a TERRIBLE time with our 22 new M1 MacBook Airs. The tiny black and white icons in Pages alone, for example, are driving them nuts, and I had to go to every one of them and turn the "reduced transparency" function on because the menu-bar transparency was reducing legibility enough for some students that it was causing issues due to certain desktop pic/color combos.
That said, I do hope Apple eventually enters the market with a touch-screen Mac at an even lower price point than $799 for education at some point.
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Well, the "problem" is that for $799 you can buy 3 or even 4 (!) Chromebooks.
Sure, they are 3x to 4x as bad. But 2 or 3 more kids can do their school work just fine with it.
If the MacBook Air would be 25% more expensive than a Chromebook that "does the job", Apple would have a chance.
But at 300-400% more expensive - any better quality no longer matters.
Lenovo Flex 5 Intel i3/8GB/128GB has been as low as $350 at Costco. Since it's pretty much a PC laptop you can optionally install Windows, Linux or even Hackintosh so it will far outlive the Macbook M1 which will hit a dead end like PowerPC once Apple stops supporting it. That and the fact that Windows is dominant on desktop and Linux in the backend/data center give kids a flexible tool to prepare them for the future.