Apple's branding means something. The company shoudn't risk its premium notebook brands tomorrow with cutthroat pricing. If there is a sub-$1,000 laptop, Apple should differentiate by something, such as new subbranding, lesser configuration or design appeal. Apple should keep the premium brands above $1,000.
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Unveiled a couple of months ago at the Computex trade show, Intel's new 'Ultrabook' design is a set of guidelines for PC notebook makers aimed at marrying the performance and capabilities of a traditional notebook with "tablet-like features" in a "thin, light and elegant design."
A direct response to Apple's hot-selling MacBook Airs, Intel says it plans to reach a 40 percent share of the consumer notebook market with the "no-compromise" Ultrabook designs by the end of 2012. Its guidelines call for the systems to retail for less than $1000 and sport form-factors that are no more than 20mm thick.
The first Ultrabook notebooks were slated to arrive at that price point in time for the 2011 holiday shopping season but a new report reveals that "actual production costs" to build the new notebooks are roughly as high as Apple's MacBook Air retail prices, which could "render the hope [of matching the Air's pricing] practically infeasible."
For MacBook Pro 2016 alternatives, there are many devices in the small but powerful category. The Razer Blade is an excellent option, with a much better GPU. What it lacks in a Touch Bar it makes up for with features like an SD card slot and headphone jack (the MacBook Pro doesn't have either). Though the Blade may be touted as a gaming notebook, it's a tiny, powerful machine that should suit users with design or gaming needs. Ultimately, it's hard to justify the MacBook Pro's high price, especially when there are more reasonably priced competing options.
While both devices are solid picks, there are plenty of options in each category. The Dell XPS 13 is an excellent ultra-portable notebook that straddles the line between the MacBook Pro and Surface Pro 4. HP's EliteBook 840 presents a similarly priced laptop that even has a touchscreen to provide a bit of the tablet experience of the Surface Pro. It's a worthy opponent for Microsoft's adorably awkward not-quite-tablet-not-quite-laptop. Still, it's a solid device to be taken seriously. For similar portability in a more laptop form, try Microsoft's Surface Book.
With the AMD Radeon Pro graphics processor, this notebook accelerates graphics tasks. Its pre-installed macOS offers a plethora of applications and features that include Mail, Contacts, Calendar, iTunes, Safari and more for maximum utility. 2ff7e9595c
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