Windows Laptop Makers Seize The Innovation Lead From Apple – The ‘Book Mystique

I love my 13 inch MacBook Air, a mid-2013 model with a 1.3 GHz processor, 4 GB RAM, and a 250 GB SSD. The Air is probably the best Mac I’ve ever owned, although it has stiff competition from my late 2008 aluminum MacBook which is still going strong and now running OS X 10.11 El Capitan after nearly seven years of service.

However, I have to observe that the Windows computer makers, especially Microsoft, appear have seized the lead in laptop initiative and innovation.

The current MacBook Air models date back to 2010, and their non-Retina displays are beginning to be embarrassingly pedestrian compared with the high-resolution screens that comparatively priced Windows machines are equipped with. Apple’s MacBook Pro models are also overdue for a major refresh, if not a full redesign, and Apple seems to have allowed itself to be distracted by development of the 12 inch MacBook with Retina display. It’s a fetching little device, but saddled with a relatively pokey processor and Apple’s strange decision to have a single USB-C port handle all connectivity throughput including even battery charging, requiring additional purchase of an array of adapter dongles. While the little MacBook’s form factor is elegant on its own, a jumble of adapters plugged into it is far from graceful.

And while it has the Retina display, it’s not touchscreen enabled, and indeed Apple has shunned touchscreens for laptops. I don’t entirely disagree with the logic of that pertaining to traditional clamshell machines, since the ergonomics are horrible, but there seems to be a strong trend toward convertible or hybrid laptops from which the screen module can be detached to serve as a tablet computer on its own.

The new Microsoft Surface Book is pretty much state-of-the-art in that category, and I would be seriously beguiled were I were a Windows person.

Hopefully the second generation 12-inch MacBook will finally get Intel’s Skylake 6th generation core processing power, which Apple has been slow to adapt. However, personally I’m more interested in what Apple will come up with in the form of Skylake powered entry-level laptops to replace the long-in-the-tooth MacBook Air machines. Its market longevity is testimony to the solidity and goodness of the original 2010 MacBook Air design, which was a quantum leap improvement over the original 2008 MacBook Air, and which has been copied by a generation of Windows UltraBook laptops.

Indeed the 12 inch MacBook in general puts me in mind of that machine, and although I hasten to add that the new MacBook is not nearly as compromised as the 2008 machine was, I’m hoping its next revision will be as successful and the MacBook Air’s has been.

Meanwhile, Windows laptops like Microsoft’s new Surface Book and a range of new XPS series machines from Dell point the way Apple should be headed with the next generations of its MacBook families.

Surface Book combines Skylake 6th Generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and up to one terabyte of data storage with Intel HD graphics 520, optional discrete NVIDIA GeForce graphics, an integrated backlit keyboard, glass trackpad, and a detachable screen-cum-tablet featuring a 13.5-inch 3000 x 2000 resolution (267 ppi)PixelSense Display (the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro’s screen is only 2560 x 1600 (227 ppi) resolution. The Surface Book also has a 8.0 MP rear-facing auto-focus camera, with 1080p HD camera and a 5.0MP front-facing 1080p HD camera. MacBook Pro has only a front facing iSight camera. Surface Pro is equipped with 802.11 ac Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n compatible) — a notch more advanced than MacBook Pro’s 802.11 ac Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/ compatible).

Starting at $1,499 with a 128 GB SSD and 8GB of system RAM, the Surface Book is actually a couple of hundred bucks more than the most closely configured $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro, but offers a larger, higher-resolution display, the superior Skylake processors and more advanced graphics support plus the convertible tablet feature. Some Windows oriented commentators have complained about the Surface Book’s price, but it’s generally competitive with MacBook Pro pricing. The Surface Book’s enclosure is fashioned from magnesium, and it weighs in at 3.34 lb. (Tablet only: 1.6 lb.).

As for Dell laptops, its XPS 13 also features Skylake 6th generation Intel Core processors and graphics, storage and memory options up to 1TB SSDs and 16GB system RAM, and Thunderbolt 3. Dell claims the XPS 13 the smallest 13-inch laptop on the planet within an 11-inch footprint, as well as the first with a virtually borderless InfinityEdge display, and offering up to 18 hours, 14 minutes of battery life the longest of any 13-inch laptop, and undercuts even Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air with a base price starting at $799, although you’ll have to go with the $1,499 250 GB SSD/8GB RAM model if you want a (non-detachable) touchscreen. The XPS 13 will be available beginning Oct. 8 on Dell.com in the United States starting at $799.00.

Meanwhile, the Dell XPS 12 takes on the Retina MacBook, undercutting Apple’s smallest laptop by $300 in base price while adding 2-in-1 versatility with easy switching between laptop and tablet thanks to a magnetic connection that enables one-handed transitions. XPS 12 is also the only 2-in-1 device with a 4K Ultra HD display option, with 6 million more pixels than a Full HD display, and includes high resolution cameras — 8MP world-facing, 5MP user-facing. The 2-in-1 XPS 12’s “mobility base” has a full-size backlit keyboard and a touchpad for working on-the-go, as well as the custom-built Dell Premier Folio, which provides a stand for the tablet with variable angle positions and also keeps the device safe during travel. And the XPS 12 is equipped with USB 3, Thunderbolt 3, a media card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC), a dedicated Power in/charging port, VGA, and HDMI. The XPS 12 will be available beginning in November on Dell.com in the United States starting at $999.

In the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s market slot neighborhood, Dell offers the XPS 15 line with the first virtually borderless InfinityEdge display to a 15-inch laptop, making it the smallest 15-inch laptop on the planet according to Dell. At just 11-17mm thick and starting at 3.9 lb (the 15-inch MacBook Pro weighs 4.49 lb) with a 56 Whr. battery, SSD, and non-touch display, the XPS 15 is also the lightest performance-class 15-inch laptop, and features a 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) resolution display option and what it claims is the only 100 percent minimum Adobe RGB display on a laptop. The XPS 15 is powered by 6th generation Skylake Intel Core processors (up to i7 Quad Core), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics (2GB GDDR5), RAM up to 16GB at 2133 MHz, up to 1TB hard drive or 1TB PCIe SSD storage, and Thunderbolt 3. Additionally, the XPS 15 offers up to 17 hours battery life with a FHD display, an 84 WHr battery and SSD. The XPS 15 is available http://Dell.com in the United States starting at $999.00.

It seems evident that Dell, and especially Microsoft, have seized the laptop innovation initiative, and Apple has a lot of catching up to do. Hopefully, we will at least soon see those Skylake upgraded MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs at minimum. However, Apple still has one big advantage — OS X — although even that is not as huge as it used to be before Windows 10.