Windows Laptop Makers 'Worried' About New MacBook Air Impacting Sales

[tweaknmod]

I’d love to see Apple worried.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve owned and loved many Apple products over the years, but competition is good for consumers, as well as for innovation.

Now, the M-series chips are nothing short of amazing. The new hardware changes are awesome (though polarizing in some circles). Apple has been hitting it out of the park recently, and we win with great gadgets we get to work and play with!

What I’d love to see is a new player in the game that really pushes Apple to further and further levels. The marriage of hardware and software, both made in the same house, with the same goals and direction is the ticket. MS have done some very cool things, but are still lacking…

I know this is extremely unlikely to happen, and it’s all good, since I’ll be very happy with my current Apple gadgets for many years to come, but a real challenger to Apple would be fantastic.

Everybody wins when some of the most talented people in the world, backed by billions in R&D, compete to make the best consumer and professional devices possible.

Just a thought.

 

[bobbie424242]

People in the market for a Wintel laptop are not interested in a mac, and vice-versa...

 

[CaptainV]

I have a Windows desktop PC and we use windows laptops at work but am really tempted to buy an Apple Laptop as a main private pc. Are there people here that have a windows gaming pc next to their Apple computers?

 

[JLD94]

Interesting that the $1199 will crowd out others. I was looking forward to the the new Air redesign with M2 but the price increase killed the prospect for me. I have never owned a Mac but wanted to give it a try, it's just I can't bring myself to spend $1600 on the configuration that I would want. I don't do anything special with my computers but like to have one that is decently speedy with good specs.

I would be interested in the M1 air if it had the 1080 camera for around $1300 for the configuration I would want. That was already a stretch of what I would normally spend but was willing to pay the apple premium to try it. Anyway maybe one day I will try it but right now it's out for me.

 

[JamieLannister]

It's always the cost factor. AAPL isn't doing well at all and in this china Joe economy expect apple to not sell as well due to costs. For me personally I am short on AAPL and it's going fabulous! once the old man is either dead or 25th'd (which will never happen with these corrupt politicians), expect AAPL to tank further instead of rising.

BUT as a personal computer/privacy computer, I would never give my money to any windows system. NEVER. MacOS is easily the best OS for my needs. For everything else gaming, MacOS is terrible.

 

[George Dawes]

They’re irrelevant, who cares what they think ?

Apple innovate , the rest follow /copy

Always been that way

 

[pratikindia]

Apple is still expensive for people outside US. So there is no need to worry. Entry level Apple laptops cost more than double(sometime triple) compared to a Windows laptops. Business and scientific users are not going to consider Apple.

 

[2021]

It's always the cost factor. AAPL isn't doing well at all and in this china Joe economy expect apple to not sell as well due to costs. For me personally I am short on AAPL and it's going fabulous! once the old man is either dead or 25th'd (which will never happen with these corrupt politicians), expect AAPL to tank further instead of rising.

Is this a joke post or did you find out about the stock market a few days ago?

 

[Cromulent]

I'm waiting for the M2 MacBook Air to be available to order to see if I can get a decent deal on an M1 MacBook Air. I'll only be doing light work on it, so I don't need the top-of-the-range one, but I want to stay in the Apple ecosystem.

 

[EdT]

People in the market for a Wintel laptop are not interested in a mac, and vice-versa...

I switched from Intel to an Apple desktop in 2009 for computers. I bought my first iPhone in early 2011, leaving Android based Motorola. My first Apple laptop was 2013. I didn’t suddenly go all in with Apple and If I have a good reason to change to a different computer I will, I won’t stay with a brand just because I already have one. I may wait a short time to see what Apple does about being out-performed by company X but if it looks like that brand will maintain a lead then I will change. I almost did a few years ago because Apple’s computers were less capable but more expensive than Intel/AMD models.

 

[fuchsdh]

The SSD change will happen, no doubt about it. Apple wouldn’t leave money on the table for the Air but skimp on the Pro.

It will come down to how reviewers treat the change and if benchmarks show much difference. Reviewers that know Apple feeds their content pipeline and want to remain day one reviewers will keep that in mind.

I think they (rightfully) decided it wasn't a big deal. On paper losing that speed is a major negative, but outside of running benchmarks or high-IO workflows it's not something you're going to care about. We have definitely passed the point of anyone noticing how fast their SSD is in day-to-day operations.

It's much more an issue with the MacBook Pro, where it already has a tough time justifying its existence and its "Pro" branding, considering you arguably get a better computer for the same price or cheaper in every way but edge-case performance.

 

[paulrustad]

I guess it's time for the EU to regulate the market and force Apple to give their processors and license macOS to every other PC brand so that they can keep up. /sarcasm

Don’t give them any ideas! They’d be more than happy to oblige.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I don't get it. Apple's had laptops at this price point for more than a decade. This is nothing new. Where Apple could (but won't) make a dent in Wintel laptops is at the $500-$800 price point. I am guessing 80% of Windows laptops sell in this price range (at least at the consumer level). Also, I have to wonder how many tech industry laptop users are going to switching from Apple back to Wintel when they upgrade their current Apple/Intel laptops because they need the Intel processors to do some of their work.

I agree. This reads like a "rah rah Apple" story aimed at Apple people and pushing the superiority button.

Windows people generally need Windows software. Silicon killed bootcamp and Parallels can only offer some of Windows able to run well within Windows for ARM. Windows people can't jump to Mac and run Windows. If they need Windows, they need Windows.

Windows laptops that can look a lot like Apple laptops generally have PC margin instead of Apple margin, creating a "normal" perception/reality of laptop pricing SOUTH of Apple laptop pricing. Windows people needing a new laptop don't 'defect' to Apple to pay upwards of TWICE that norm (to them)... AND give up the ability to run some applications that only run on Windows.

Will SOME be attracted to the new Air? Sure. Some are always attracted to any new stuff. Will MANY make that leap? That's harder to say. Apple people are of course VERY ENTHUSIASTIC about new Apple goodies. Silicon has some tangible advantages over Intel/AMD guts. But Windows people are generally not Apple people.

To make it personal: I'm a long-term Apple user who makes my living mostly on Macs. However, some clients need me to run Windows software not available on Macs. Intel Macs offered bootcamp so that I had BOTH in one box. That was a tremendously useful benefit to me. Silicon splits that back out again, resulting in needing to create old-fashioned bootcamp of owning BOTH a Mac and a Windows computer.

As an Apple person, I can certainly appreciate "latest & greatest" from Apple (shelled out large for Studio Ultra) but if I was entirely a Windows person and needed a new computer, I'd probably buy a new Windows PC/laptop at lower prices (courtesy of lower margin) and broad compatibility with the apps "I" need. I might covet the Air (or some other Mac). I might desire Power Per Watt over Raw Power. I might get my head wound up into efficiency over raw horsepower, or cooler temps or quieter fans, etc.

But whether that makes me switch or not seems less likely to drive mass worry among those who make such products. If I'm them, maybe I try harder to roll out even more attractively-packaged Windows machines and key my marketing around what those can do that new Macs can't: run ALL Windows software, big games, raw power, raw graphics power, flexibility to adapt to changing needs for RAM/Storage, not made obsolete by OS updates so quickly, etc. None of that is meant to put Apple down- I'm an Apple guy- but the tangible differences between platforms is glaring... and many buyers of new computers should be able to as easily latch on to some of the things just referenced as concepts like power-per-watt and X more hours of battery life, etc.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Yes, but how many high end laptops are purchased, period? If there’s, say 500,000 sold in a year, then huge swaths of 500,000 is still less than 500,000. And 500,000 is not a significant part of the pc buying market.

Are you forgetting the business sector? A decent business laptop starts > $1500.

 

[Mousse]

PC makers just need to build a better laptop.😏 Be like Alfred E Neuman.

The fact that there are some niche PC only programs is the reason PC ain't dead yet. That and the Windows version of Office is superior to the Mac version. The Gubment needs to look into why MS cripples the Mac version of Office.🤨

 

[JM]

How long before the M1 macs are all snatched up by resellers? 😞

 

[JPack]

I think they (rightfully) decided it wasn't a big deal. On paper losing that speed is a major negative, but outside of running benchmarks or high-IO workflows it's not something you're going to care about. We have definitely passed the point of anyone noticing how fast their SSD is in day-to-day operations.

It's much more an issue with the MacBook Pro, where it already has a tough time justifying its existence and its "Pro" branding, considering you arguably get a better computer for the same price or cheaper in every way but edge-case performance.

SSD performance remains important for those choosing 8/256, due to swap.

At launch, many people noticed M1 8/256 performed nearly as well as 16/256. I think Apple felt they left money on the table and decided to close that loop on M2, with a small benefit of lowered BOM.

 

[bradman83]

They should be worried. I haven't seen real innovation on the Windows laptop side in a while. A lot of new laptops are still shipping with low-DPI screens and CPUs that require loud fans to cool them when you do pretty much anything.

Apple Silicon Macbooks are absolutely ground-breaking. I really hope they end up kicking the rest of the industry into innovating again.

I don't think that's a fair assessment. The past 10 years have seen PC laptop makers experiment with a variety of new form factors (detachable, 2-in-1s), embraced touch screens with pen support (some with pens that stow inside the laptop), they started the push towards ultra-thin bezels in their premium tier models, embraced biometric authentication methods before TouchID came to the Mac and other more niche features like displays built into the trackpad to act as a numeric keyboard. Have these all been perfect? Of course not. Neither were the Touch Bar, butterfly keyboard, or webcam notch. This doesn't mean the M-series isn't a major leap forward in laptop CPU design, but it's housed in a laptop that hasn't changed much from a design language or functionality perspective since 2010.

 

[Danfango]

Perhaps they should stop shipping garbage to customers?

Edit: I have used 20 different windows laptops from bottom end to top end workstations from multiple vendors and they are all horrid.

 

[nquinn]

How is this any different or worse than the existing M1 at $999 or cheaper with deals?

Since M1 / late 2020 now it would be insane to buy most PC laptops unless you needed Windows.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I can see the emptiness and despair in Justin Long's eyes as he holds that cheap Acer laptop... eyes filled with deep sadness.

His eyes filled with sadness...

... but he bought a boat with the money he got from Intel.

That'll cheer him up!

 

[TTTedP]

Is this a joke post or did you find out about the stock market a few days ago?

from the sounds of it, he just got back from the Q convention.

 

[nquinn]

Perhaps they should stop shipping garbage to customers?

Edit: I have used 20 different windows laptops from bottom end to top end workstations from multiple vendors and they are all horrid.

Which would you say is most tolerable? thinkpads? Need to replace something for my mom (70) and she doesn't want to learn macOS

 

[Woochoo]

What’s different now than the past 10 years that makes them worry more?

That they can't "clone" an Air with almost identical components and design, just with different OS and sell it cheaper (without the high tax Apple price) as a big call for customers. What changed is that now Apple has top notch CPUs that have no competition in any laptop when it comes to performance per watt. Even in raw performance, only a few surpass it but using 90-100W and having a ridiculous battery lifetime. You won't find any other laptop with the battery lifetime of the Air, while also being cappable of handling heavy tasks without sweating.

 

[dumastudetto]

They can't compete with Apple anymore.

Best OS.
Best hardware and software integration.
Most powerful CPUs and GPUs.
Privacy and security built-in.
Seamless integration across all device types (computers/phones/tablets/watches/tv/airpods/tags)

Apple is so far ahead now the competition will never ever catch up.