If you look back at older keynotes with Jobs (I just checked out a few on Youtube) you'll notice how passionate he is about always giving the cutting edge, the fastest, the latest of everything. This thing screams! It's the SuperDrive! It's the AirPort Extreme! The Pentium Toaster! Whooooosh! But after the Intel switch it's been more like... Look at how thin this is. Look at this material. What a design. Isn't this gorgeous? Same hyperbole but the focus has mysteriously shifted away from speed, power, capacity and breakthrough innovations to anal obsessions with superficial aspects.
I see it as a good thing, honestly. Apple should rightfully be commended here for adapting to the changing world. The needs of "pro" users and "enthusiast" types will never be satisfied. For them, there's always the latest and greatest processors, drives, memory, and graphics cards. But really, this is a small part of the overall market.
The needs of the typical "consumer" and average person has tapered off when compared to technology. We are talking web browsing, office apps, chatting, photos, movies, music, and most importantly, facebook in this space. In terms of gaming we're talking mostly World of Warcraft too, which quite nicely scales down well to slower computers and runs decently on low end hardware.
Almost anything will suffice for most consumers in terms of computer specs. Hence, it's no longer about pushing the bleeding edge of technology in the consumer space. When almost any machine will suffice, you don't distinguish yourself based on specs - you distinguish yourself on fashion.
Apple has succeeded tremendously in this area. Apple computers are fashionable compared to other vendors. The latest soccer mom doesn't much care to get a 3.0 ghz machine in order to get on facebook. But if it matches the furniture and the household decor? Well then the higher price justifies itself in her mind.
