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Ask HN: Is there any optimism for non-macOS laptops in the near future?

4 points by DashAnimal ↗ HN
In the market for a new laptop. The M1 line is obviously way ahead of the margin in comparison to everybody else, but OS-wise I just do not enjoy the experience at all. Do we see any possibilities of Windows or Linux laptops catching up in the near future in terms of performance and battery life? I'm out of the loop here-- is Intel working on anything that may improve the experience dramatically? Is Microsoft still committed to Windows on ARM? Are there current market laptops people are still considering?

7 comments

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downrightmike
Entirely up to you, there are always trade offs.
version_five
I think I agree that Mac is "ahead" as the best well rounded system right now. But I wouldn't say the competitors are unusable by any means. I have a mac that I use for zoom and MS applications, but i have a linux laptop for development (thinkpad) that is fine for me.

Macs don't have the same range of cheaper options as other computers. I'd like to hear a comparison of a macbook vs whatever the MS surface equivalent is. Are they not competitive?

All told, I would almost certainly buy another mac first if I needed a new laptop. But I don't believe we lack options from other vendors.

WallyFunk
Have you looked at the Librem 14?[0]. I don't own one, but would like to own one. They seem state-of-the-art enough for my needs, and have privacy measures you can't find in Mac like hardware kill switches etc

[0] https://puri.sm/

ttyp3
"It's the trackpad, stupid."
lioeters
I've been comparing these laptops, considering a move from an old Macbook to a Linux laptop.

- System76 Oryx Pro - https://system76.com/laptops/oryx

- Tuxedo Stellaris - https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/de/Linux-Hardware/Linux-Note...

You're right that the M1 line is ahead in terms of hardware, but there are other factors at play. For me it's about "voting with my dollar", what I want to be supporting - i.e., not macOS or Windows.

chickenimprint
I don't get the obsession with the M1. The Intel 12900h is equal at 45w and substantially faster at higher wattages. Same goes for the AMD 6900HX which also scales really well into lower wattages. Dedicated GPUs of course mop the floor with Apple IGPs, admittedly with more energy. All that with a cheaper and less dense architecture. The fact that Apple - a company with 14 times the market cap of Intel and AMD and exlusive access to TSMC 5n for their PC processors - has failed to beat them is embarrassing.