You keep, over and over again, beating this "low-end" drum. Do you mean the machine that would satisfy every one of 90% of all Apple laptop users? That's some serious low-end workmanship there.
Like numerous others in this thread, I cannot for the life of me understand defending Apple on not allowing more than 1 laptop when machines 50% cheaper can do it.
For me, one is all I want but I wanted more than I'd be upset that a capable hardware laptop cannot do it.
Let's be realistic.
Yes, the new MBA
is some serious low-end workmanship there.
Some here, like you, apparently want that
lowest end of Apple's laptops to be so competent as to obviate the need for any higher end Mac laptops. However, a vendor like Apple needs to build a
line of products (laptops in this discussion),
with multiple products logically segmented to create that line.
It would be a very poor decision for Apple to configure the lowest end of Apple's laptops to also meet the needs of the folks like me who routinely buy the higher end Apple laptops. A company needs to maintain a well-developed, properly segmented line of products to make it all work long term.
Rejoice that the MBA is such a
spectacular product for Apple's lowest end instead of whining because Apple configures its lowest end laptop as a low end box - - like Apple should do.
Note that Apple's very successful business model is to make superior products of above average competence (that do cost more). That's why Apple's lowest end laptop is so great. Apple's very successful business model also means yes, there will be cheaper non-Apple boxes with added features at the even lower end; like multiple displays driven by some cheaper crap Dell box.
Edit: If anything the new lowest-end MBA laptop might actually be
too competent; personally I just consider it to be spectacular. And with the lowest end M2 laptop so good it makes me very hopeful about what the coming high end M2 MBPs may be like. [Please Apple give us back 4 TB ports!!]
