I'm no die hard apple fan, but you would think I was if you heard me talking about my 16" m1 pro. It's an absolute beast, battery for days, and I've never heard the fan spin up once. It would take a lot for me to even give another machine a chance.
There's something about being very well constructed with high attention to detail / finishes. Growing up my parents had a new Subaru and a much older Mercedes station wagon. As a teen driving both, you could feel the difference in finishes, and overall solidness of the Mercedes, it felt like driving an adequately powered slab of marble where as the much newer Subaru felt, well plastic and fragile in comparison.
I’ve been very happy with the 16” M1 Pro’s I’ve done work on. It’s probably the first laptop I’ve used where the load threshold at which its fans make noticeable noise feels somewhat appropriate (rather than spinning up for little to no reason), its power level feels more desktop-class than laptop-class, and I don’t have to keep my eye glued to the battery meter even when running heavy IDEs.
I’m even kinda happy about the notch, because it prompted Apple to add a strip of extra pixels for the menubar to live in, leaving the remaining 16:10 area fully open for use by apps.
The only downside is its weight, but given all of its other upsides I can live with that.
I've been rocking this same device for a while now and it's revived my apple fanboyness just a little. The hardware itself gets an A+ from me.
What I really want from Apple at this point is better UX on MacOS. Stage Manager is an interesting idea but, to me, it's not really a fix for any of my problems so I've just disabled it. I've used two 4k external monitors for years on MacOS and the same little annoying bugs plague me. Specifically, I think how MacOS handles full-screen apps is just not quite right. I don't understand why things feel clunky in just this area of the experience. We need what happened in iOS a few years ago when they got rid of the home button and were forced to make opening/closing/switching between apps much more fluid. I need MacOS to feel fluid like that. Then, it'd really be "perfect" for me.
It's less difficult than I thought to to get an M1 Max chip hot enough to spin up fans. Run CitiesSkylines on a 4K display with all of the graphics maxed out for a few hours. ;)
Or do 8 parallel runs of transforming and merging a massive amount of jpgs into less massive pile of pdfs. Just about fully pegged all of the cores for hours.
What surprised me was how fast everything still was. Without the fan, I wouldn't have known the load the system was under.
The thing that's holding me back from getting one is the memory markups. The base configuration is too low and I can't just change the memory myself because everything is soldered.
Same experience here. However, I regret getting the 512GB drive option. I'm constantly monitoring my disk space as I do work and personal stuff on the same machine. Like I build Docker images as part of work and have to regularly purge out old images. Good thing macOS intelligently makes space (I have about 250GB in the Photos library) so I also get a random free 10GB from time to time.
I was issued one by my new employer. I'd much rather have a 4th USB-C port than the less versatile HDMI. For myself I'd probably go for a 15" MacBook Air instead, even if maxed out on RAM it's not that much cheaper than a MBP.
Another factor: I live in the UK, where they have a particularly crackpot derivative of the ISO QWERTY layout that well nigh unusable for a programmer. Apple is the only laptop vendor that will allow you to choose your keyboard layout, so when I buy anything else, I order from the US, with all the customs hassles that implies.
Meh. I have battery for 10 hours, better than the 7 on my Linux machine but not stellar. Graphics are mediocre. Lack of ports means I have to carry dongles around. And putting up with macOS (with no Linux available) is a complete dealbreaker.
Yet my 4 year gaming laptop that back then costed half of a m1 macbook pro when it was new renders any typical Blender scene 4 times faster than it (using the newest Blender version with Metal support).
I suspect the fan doesn't turn on because it is heavily throttled.
Gosh, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen1 and Gen2 are awful, dreadful, terrible machines. I can understand having a thermal constraint tied to the thinness of chassis, but you would think it’d maybe throttle instead of shutting off in the middle of work. After blowing through 4 separate nano configurations all with the same fundamental problem and riddled with quality issues and borderline abusive support getting bounced around “specialists”; I’m much happier with a M1 Pro MacBook Pro. Not nearly as light, but it’s worked every time I open the lid and want to use it for as long as I want. And that to me is the bare minimum.
I have a desktop with a few gpus in it for “fun”, so a laptop for me often is a client to access more power if needed. I run Sunshine and get 4k60 streaming for desktop, 3d modeling, video editing, and even gaming on occasion. Now with a MacBook instead of a thermally constrained thinkpud I can even do that stuff on the m1 locally do a degree.
That's interesting, I've been running a Nano Gen1 for over a year now with no issues whatsoever (running both Linux and Windows).
What I have had happen is my work Dell machine (Windows) shutting off if it overheats. I have to make sure it's on a surface that does not heat up and lets air flow freely. Resting it on the couch will kill it within 10-20 minutes.
I use the Nano from the couch/bed for hours with no issues.
Huh I’ve been using a Thinkpad X1 Nano for nearly 2 years now primarily for personal dev work, and it’s by far my favorite laptop I have ever owned. It replaced a 2020 M1 MacBook Air, which replaced a 2016 MacBook Pro, which replaced a 2009 MacBook Pro. This laptop is so good, it will take a really good reason for me to upgrade before a decade. I pair it with a much more powerful desktop, so I wanted a lightweight laptop that’s totally capable, and I have found it absolutely delivers. I’ve been running Arch Linux on it for what it’s worth.
On the other hand, I cannot stand my work M1 MacBook Pro, but that’s primarily because it weighs so much and the keyboard is pretty mediocre, so it’s not fun to travel with. It’s more of a docking laptop, which defeats the purpose of a portable machine for me.
I've always owned 15" laptops, and i've never had any trouble fitting them in bags, even in a sleeve. I understand why people might want 7" or 10" netbooks, but a 12" machine just seems like a waste of space to me. I understand that most people feel very differently, though!
> webcam that doesn’t make it look like your laptop (or you) are a potato during a videoconference
And also doesn't look up your nose - my XPS 15 has the camera underneath the monitor, and it's terrible.
> a great keyboard, look to the 2008-11 era ThinkPads for inspiration
Keyboards are one of those things where tastes vary so much. I dislike every ThinkPad keyboard i've tried. Maybe we need interchangeable keyboards, with various styles available?
> a useful number of ports
Interested to see that ethernet doesn't make the cut. I definitely appreciate having that without having to bedongle the machine.
I downsized from a 15" MBP to a 13" M1 Air, and I haven't felt much pain from the smaller screen. My approach to IDE-driven development is about the same on both. The big difference is solo laptop vs laptop+external monitor(s).
As someone who travels frequently, the M1 Air has been simply amazing. It's so small and sturdy, and fairly light compared to the bigger/bulkier/heavier 15 I had before... and I'm at far less risk of breaking the screen while it's in my bag.
The bigger machines have a much greater surface area which the contents of the backpack can put pressure against. So the larger screen laptops are more susceptible to being pressed too hard near the middle of their screens and breaking.
I wish there were some ultra-rigid screen backs which would eliminate that concern. I don't need something as serious as a Panasonic Toughbook, but something with some arched curved ridges to add strength would be nice.
Really depends on how much time you spend working portable or not. 14" seems like the best compromise for me on power, portability and screen size. 15" is a little big and the lightweight 15" laptops feel a little too flimsy at times.
I bought a used Thinkpad 220 and it's a cool little swiss army type of device. The keyboard is VERY different from modern thinkpads. More tactile and a lot of cool features. Would be interesting with a technical update. I think the Japanese Panasonic Let's Note may be the closest modern equivalent.
I had one of those XPS machines (though a 13) where the webcam was in the "chin" under the screen, and also not in the center horizontally. I basically never used it.
Their later designs have crammed it in at top-center as is more typical.
> I've always owned 15" laptops, and i've never had any trouble fitting them in bags, even in a sleeve. I understand why people might want 7" or 10" netbooks, but a 12" machine just seems like a waste of space to me. I understand that most people feel very differently, though!
I've settled on the 12" size, mostly because it's the smallest viable laptop that you can still type on. If you look at the ThinkPad X201 [1] as an example from the post, the device is the exact width of the keyboard with no bezel. So, you could have an 11" or smaller device, but it would mean sacrificing a lifetime of typing muscle memory to do so.
> I've always owned 15" laptops, and i've never had any trouble fitting them in bags, even in a sleeve. I understand why people might want 7" or 10" netbooks, but a 12" machine just seems like a waste of space to me. I understand that most people feel very differently, though!
In my freshman year of college, I still hadn't gotten a smartphone yet due to being on my parents' phone plan still, but since there was wifi everywhere on campus, I used to carry around a Nexus 7 tablet everywhere. I could literally fit the 7" tablet in my pocket, which always seemed to take people by surprise. I think 7" is a lot smaller than some people realize; I don't think I could even type comfortably with both hands on a netbook that small!
My 12 inch Macbook is half the weight of a 15 inch model of the same year. That's almost a kilo less in your bicycle bag or backpack. It's very noticeable, especially if you're always on the go, but not always between desks.
If you do a lot of walking around, using public transport etc. And you tend to want to pull your laptop out and use it in places where you maybe don't have a proper desk/table to put it on then having a really small laptop can be really nice.
I remember loving my ~8 inch netbook during university. With virtual desktops it was more than adequate for coding projects even if the best seat I could find was on the floor against a wall.
The added rigidity feels good too, even something really cheaply built out of plastic will have little to no flex, and probably survive being dropped at that size.
I believe the primary appeal of a 12” laptop is that it’s the smallest that one can make a laptop while still having a full size keyboard. Any smaller and you have to start shrinking keys, which has strong negative effects on usability.
This is part of why the 12” MacBook and its spiritual ancestor, the 12” PowerBook G4 were popular.
For me, 12" is the smallest size you can fit a non-compromised, normal keyboard layout in.
I also carry around a smaller messenger bag which 12" laptops just about fit in. I tried to pull off a 17" Dell mobile workstation, but got very tired of lugging around a backpack and having no battery life.
A high-quality wifi card and software is more valuable to me than ethernet ports, which are so bulky that I don't especially care if they come built in. The Framework approach here is ideal.
For me, the smaller the better. I'm fortunate enough to do most of my real work at a desktop setting, so I'd like the laptop to be as portable as possible.
With that in mind, in terms of pure form factor, the Asus Flip Chromebook (2015) was about as close to perfect as possible. Sure, its processor was anemic even at release. I'd want a higher quality screen. But the keyboard was very good by my standards. The 10 inch screen was the perfect size and was 16:10. Weighed around 1.8 pounds (0.82 kg). If I could have that form factor with modern tech, I'd be in heaven.
Second favorite is the current iteration of the iPad Mini. If I could get that with an M1 or M2, full MacOS, then I'd be happier than (insert metaphor here).
Third favorite was the 2015 Macbook. I'd wish for a better keyboard and more ports, but overall the form factor & weight was extremely good. Would be stellar with a modern Mac kb and Apple Silicon.
Fourth fave was a tiny Sony Vaio from 2000. Forget the model name / number. Also under 2 pounds with a 10 inch screen. Honorable mention to the Asus Eee of 2008. Screen was too small but otherwise it was a perfect size & weight.
I guess I'll have to try a GPD laptop one of these days. They seem to be among the only ones providing tiny & small laptops.
Personally, i have found my perfect laptop: The Thinkpad R60, though ancient is - for the things I do - simply perfect. It runs really good with various BSD systems (and of course Linux), has an easily changeable battery, a - in my opinion - great keyboard, is repair- service and (modeartely) upgradeable. I have mine now for over a decade and will keep it running as long as spare parts are available. Will i ever buy a successor? Maybe... but (besides possibly the MNT Reform) i have not found anything which trigger the "must have" reflex in me.
I keep hearing this, also for phones, and people usually associate it with certain materials.
Why? I'd rather have a light plastic laptop/phone that works well, is light, and survives a few hits than an overpriced piece of fashion. Bonus points for phones with cracked backs because glass "feels more valuable".
Of course I understand the value of e.g. good hinges, keyboards etc., but pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to.
> an SD card reader, why not, they’re $5 … also the ability to upgrade the basics, like memory and storage
> 12” body … to fit the 13" to 14" screen it would have very small bezels, this is a great size for fitting in bags and sitting on small tables
Remove one and it makes the perfect laptop much more attainable. It’s near impossible to fit removable hardware and many ports in a small body. Thinkpads are pretty close, but even some of those have to have a flip open expanding port for Ethernet. An hdmi port is taller than many laptops. The small body really is a huge plus for mobility and comfort, but you can’t have ports/etc with that.
Oddly enough my perfect laptop is still the google pixelbook. Enough power for what I need, flawless construction, incredible trackpad and keyboard, runs Linux and chromeos/android apps, is absolutely gorgeous, and super portable.
Downside is there are like no ports so you need a usb hub, the bezel is huge, and … it hasn’t been improved in like half a decade.
I'd add "expandable storage" (and "can be fixed") because even if it's an Apple-esque SoC (which we're clearly going to be seeing more of in the future by other brands), there is no reason to not offer one or ideally two m.2 slots that you can just stick more, "slower", storage in.
Two aspects in which Apple's newest Macbook Airs fit at least my own "peak laptop" definition are:
1) no fans whatsoever
2) no coil whine when I plug my headphones in and stress the CPU
The keyboard is exactly the right size and the right font for me, but I'll concede that muscle memory is an individual thing. I've owned Apple's laptops and keyboards made in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2019, and 2022, and they are very hell-bent on being consistent about key size and placement, I should give it to them.
I'd like a Linux laptop that would beat this.
XPS13 is a close contender because that 3840x2400 screen is the right kind of ratio and super crisp, but man, that fan noise and the coil whine are just killing the mood. Maybe Thinkpad X13s, but Linux support and its screen are both very meh at this point.
I bought a 12" Macbook last year because my 15" is too heavy to lug around. It's so light that I forget that it's there. I spent months on the road with it. At home I would just plug it into my USB-C monitor and use a keyboard and Magic Trackpad.
Unfortunately it's too slow to play YouTube Music in the background, especially if Docker is also running.
I would buy an M2 version in a heartbeat if Apple made them. I recently bit the bullet and got an M2 Air. It's a lovely machine that's better in every respect, but it's 30% heavier, and I can feel that every time I take it with me.
A 900 gram laptop that charges with a phone charger is just incredible to have.
> 2560/1600 = 1.6 (this is a good aspect ratio, the perfect laptop has a ratio ≤ 1.6)
Not just laptops, but monitors in general should be 16:10 or taller. 16:9 only became popular thanks to the computer display industry naively adopting the aspect ratio of televisions. But 16:9 comes from the film industry and has nothing to do with computer productivity. It's a shame that so many monitor manufacturers still focus almost exclusively on 16:9 (or even wider, when width is easily achieved by multiple monitors, side-by-side). I'm fine with the wide options existing, but give me some taller options, too, please.
The size of a laptop often affects the size and distribution of its keyboard keys.
What's appropriate for the user has a lot to do with the size of their hands, and I think this gets overlooked by many who are instead thinking about display size.
As a person with smallish hands who programs (types a lot), anything larger than an X40/X60 ThinkPad form factor has been very annoying to use.
The move to widescreen aspect ratio displays has completely wrecked laptop typing efficiency in my world, since it tended to stretch out the keyboards beyond what my fingers can reach without lifting a palm.
I wish laptop keyboards were treated more like specialized instruments fitted to buyers hands, like shoe sizes. If you consider how much $$ is paid to people that type all day, it's asinine that the laptop industry hasn't matured into optimizing that interface for individuals. Can't I at least get two hand size variants in the average laptop ordering page? Instead it feels like things have only regressed in this department since the classic ThinkPad days.
1. Make it 16:10. There is plenty of bezel for that. 1900x1200 or something like that. 1200p was pretty common on good CRT monitors in the 90s.
2. Make the number pad optional. Framework is doing that with their 16" model. I'll bury my number pad and give a party.
3. Keep the three physical buttons on the touchpad. By the way, it can probably do gestures and it definitely register clicks but I use it only to move the pointer and scroll with two fingers. I bought the physical buttons because I want to click with them. The middle one pastes the text selected with the left one (Linux.)
4. Keep it user serviceable. I replaced RAM, disks, keyboards, battery a few months ago, it aged well.
5. Maybe make it 2 kg.
6. Maybe trim some bezel on the sides and make it less wide.
7. Definitely make it work with a much slimmer power unit.
8. It's got USB 3 and 2 ports, DisplayPort, VGA, SD card. Probably add an USB C but I don't know. HDMI? I've got a converter for that.
9. Current year CPU and RAM.
10. Discrete graphic card? Don't know, probably not worth it. I have to watch videos and move my desktop, that's all.
While there is a lot to like about modern ThinkPad X1 series, beware that modern Intel "MIPI" webcams (like the one in this model) are unlikely to be convenient to use on Linux for the time being [1]. MIPI support is coming to Linux, both kernel and user space, but it is highly nontrivial, and a reasonable estimate is two years from now [2]. Or, you can make it work right now, but it requires some temporary hacks [3].
Get an IBM ThinkPad 380XD, swap out the screen for a Chromebook Pixel's 2560x1600 screen, then swap the board out for the Macbook M2's silicon along with as much RAM and as many ports as you can fit in the chassis.
Port Windows 2000 to it, hit me up and name your price.
M1 or M2 MacBook Airs *with 16 GB RAM* (and this is the catch). These are notoriously costlier (and difficult on retailer sites where you get deals) to have compared to their 8GB counter part - Apple already making it difficult for users to keep the laptop around for longer, because that default 8GB RAM is going to run out sooner than you think. And you can not upgrade it once bought.
Anything on Windows (or Linux considering you'd install that) I wouldn't even touch below 24-32GB or 16GB to begin with and then expandable up to at least +16GB.
It is so shocking to see people declare their laptop just works at the soldiered xGB RAM. Well, a year and half later it will start feeling the pinch.
Sadly JDM exclusive and has soldered RAM, but the latest models come with a 3:2 display, decent I/O (e.g. RJ45, full sized SD card reader, even VGA (!)), magnesium alloy chassis and a removable battery in a sub 1.1 kg package. Can't speak for the quality of the trackpad or keyboard though.
One missing criterion: allow purchasing without Windows pre-installed, and thus with a slightly reduced price. I resent that all new "Windows-default" PCs include the OS (presumably driving up the price) which I am going to immediately erase.
[+] [-] maximamas|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wnc3141|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jwells89|2 years ago|reply
I’m even kinda happy about the notch, because it prompted Apple to add a strip of extra pixels for the menubar to live in, leaving the remaining 16:10 area fully open for use by apps.
The only downside is its weight, but given all of its other upsides I can live with that.
[+] [-] willio58|2 years ago|reply
What I really want from Apple at this point is better UX on MacOS. Stage Manager is an interesting idea but, to me, it's not really a fix for any of my problems so I've just disabled it. I've used two 4k external monitors for years on MacOS and the same little annoying bugs plague me. Specifically, I think how MacOS handles full-screen apps is just not quite right. I don't understand why things feel clunky in just this area of the experience. We need what happened in iOS a few years ago when they got rid of the home button and were forced to make opening/closing/switching between apps much more fluid. I need MacOS to feel fluid like that. Then, it'd really be "perfect" for me.
[+] [-] kayodelycaon|2 years ago|reply
Or do 8 parallel runs of transforming and merging a massive amount of jpgs into less massive pile of pdfs. Just about fully pegged all of the cores for hours.
What surprised me was how fast everything still was. Without the fan, I wouldn't have known the load the system was under.
[+] [-] jimmychoozyx|2 years ago|reply
14 inch M2 Macbook Pro.
Combine it with the Anker 737 Power Bank, and it's a match made in heaven.
[+] [-] matteoraso|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] humblepie|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fmajid|2 years ago|reply
Another factor: I live in the UK, where they have a particularly crackpot derivative of the ISO QWERTY layout that well nigh unusable for a programmer. Apple is the only laptop vendor that will allow you to choose your keyboard layout, so when I buy anything else, I order from the US, with all the customs hassles that implies.
[+] [-] DonHopkins|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrepd|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CraigJPerry|2 years ago|reply
I can’t help wonder if the m2 air 15” is the best on the market currently.
[+] [-] sanderjd|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] atoav|2 years ago|reply
I suspect the fan doesn't turn on because it is heavily throttled.
[+] [-] dreday|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oktwtf|2 years ago|reply
I have a desktop with a few gpus in it for “fun”, so a laptop for me often is a client to access more power if needed. I run Sunshine and get 4k60 streaming for desktop, 3d modeling, video editing, and even gaming on occasion. Now with a MacBook instead of a thermally constrained thinkpud I can even do that stuff on the m1 locally do a degree.
[+] [-] koyote|2 years ago|reply
What I have had happen is my work Dell machine (Windows) shutting off if it overheats. I have to make sure it's on a surface that does not heat up and lets air flow freely. Resting it on the couch will kill it within 10-20 minutes.
I use the Nano from the couch/bed for hours with no issues.
[+] [-] pwpw|2 years ago|reply
On the other hand, I cannot stand my work M1 MacBook Pro, but that’s primarily because it weighs so much and the keyboard is pretty mediocre, so it’s not fun to travel with. It’s more of a docking laptop, which defeats the purpose of a portable machine for me.
[+] [-] emrah|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] twic|2 years ago|reply
I've always owned 15" laptops, and i've never had any trouble fitting them in bags, even in a sleeve. I understand why people might want 7" or 10" netbooks, but a 12" machine just seems like a waste of space to me. I understand that most people feel very differently, though!
> webcam that doesn’t make it look like your laptop (or you) are a potato during a videoconference
And also doesn't look up your nose - my XPS 15 has the camera underneath the monitor, and it's terrible.
> a great keyboard, look to the 2008-11 era ThinkPads for inspiration
Keyboards are one of those things where tastes vary so much. I dislike every ThinkPad keyboard i've tried. Maybe we need interchangeable keyboards, with various styles available?
> a useful number of ports
Interested to see that ethernet doesn't make the cut. I definitely appreciate having that without having to bedongle the machine.
How about adding:
- Ability to charge from USB-PD
Or is that a given these days?
[+] [-] michaelteter|2 years ago|reply
As someone who travels frequently, the M1 Air has been simply amazing. It's so small and sturdy, and fairly light compared to the bigger/bulkier/heavier 15 I had before... and I'm at far less risk of breaking the screen while it's in my bag.
The bigger machines have a much greater surface area which the contents of the backpack can put pressure against. So the larger screen laptops are more susceptible to being pressed too hard near the middle of their screens and breaking.
I wish there were some ultra-rigid screen backs which would eliminate that concern. I don't need something as serious as a Panasonic Toughbook, but something with some arched curved ridges to add strength would be nice.
[+] [-] dayvid|2 years ago|reply
I bought a used Thinkpad 220 and it's a cool little swiss army type of device. The keyboard is VERY different from modern thinkpads. More tactile and a lot of cool features. Would be interesting with a technical update. I think the Japanese Panasonic Let's Note may be the closest modern equivalent.
[+] [-] zerocrates|2 years ago|reply
Their later designs have crammed it in at top-center as is more typical.
[+] [-] hot_gril|2 years ago|reply
Not a given on the Thinkpads the author mentions as being near-perfect, which are known to get perma-bricked using PD from a charger while plugged into a monitor also providing PD: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X-Series-Laptops/X1-Ca...
2016-2019 MBPs also had an issue with PD on the left side causing thermal throttling.
[+] [-] yabones|2 years ago|reply
I've settled on the 12" size, mostly because it's the smallest viable laptop that you can still type on. If you look at the ThinkPad X201 [1] as an example from the post, the device is the exact width of the keyboard with no bezel. So, you could have an 11" or smaller device, but it would mean sacrificing a lifetime of typing muscle memory to do so.
[1] https://images.anandtech.com/doci/3822/lenovo_x201.JPG
[+] [-] saghm|2 years ago|reply
In my freshman year of college, I still hadn't gotten a smartphone yet due to being on my parents' phone plan still, but since there was wifi everywhere on campus, I used to carry around a Nexus 7 tablet everywhere. I could literally fit the 7" tablet in my pocket, which always seemed to take people by surprise. I think 7" is a lot smaller than some people realize; I don't think I could even type comfortably with both hands on a netbook that small!
[+] [-] nicbou|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] p1necone|2 years ago|reply
I remember loving my ~8 inch netbook during university. With virtual desktops it was more than adequate for coding projects even if the best seat I could find was on the floor against a wall.
The added rigidity feels good too, even something really cheaply built out of plastic will have little to no flex, and probably survive being dropped at that size.
[+] [-] LorenDB|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jwells89|2 years ago|reply
This is part of why the 12” MacBook and its spiritual ancestor, the 12” PowerBook G4 were popular.
[+] [-] amiga-workbench|2 years ago|reply
I also carry around a smaller messenger bag which 12" laptops just about fit in. I tried to pull off a 17" Dell mobile workstation, but got very tired of lugging around a backpack and having no battery life.
[+] [-] joe5150|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pico303|2 years ago|reply
Once you’ve used a Mac touchpad, it’s impossible to go back to a Windows/Linux laptop. I’ve tried…
[+] [-] wishfish|2 years ago|reply
With that in mind, in terms of pure form factor, the Asus Flip Chromebook (2015) was about as close to perfect as possible. Sure, its processor was anemic even at release. I'd want a higher quality screen. But the keyboard was very good by my standards. The 10 inch screen was the perfect size and was 16:10. Weighed around 1.8 pounds (0.82 kg). If I could have that form factor with modern tech, I'd be in heaven.
Second favorite is the current iteration of the iPad Mini. If I could get that with an M1 or M2, full MacOS, then I'd be happier than (insert metaphor here).
Third favorite was the 2015 Macbook. I'd wish for a better keyboard and more ports, but overall the form factor & weight was extremely good. Would be stellar with a modern Mac kb and Apple Silicon.
Fourth fave was a tiny Sony Vaio from 2000. Forget the model name / number. Also under 2 pounds with a 10 inch screen. Honorable mention to the Asus Eee of 2008. Screen was too small but otherwise it was a perfect size & weight.
I guess I'll have to try a GPD laptop one of these days. They seem to be among the only ones providing tiny & small laptops.
[+] [-] RalfWausE|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blauditore|2 years ago|reply
I keep hearing this, also for phones, and people usually associate it with certain materials.
Why? I'd rather have a light plastic laptop/phone that works well, is light, and survives a few hits than an overpriced piece of fashion. Bonus points for phones with cracked backs because glass "feels more valuable".
Of course I understand the value of e.g. good hinges, keyboards etc., but pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to.
[+] [-] soared|2 years ago|reply
> 12” body … to fit the 13" to 14" screen it would have very small bezels, this is a great size for fitting in bags and sitting on small tables
Remove one and it makes the perfect laptop much more attainable. It’s near impossible to fit removable hardware and many ports in a small body. Thinkpads are pretty close, but even some of those have to have a flip open expanding port for Ethernet. An hdmi port is taller than many laptops. The small body really is a huge plus for mobility and comfort, but you can’t have ports/etc with that.
Oddly enough my perfect laptop is still the google pixelbook. Enough power for what I need, flawless construction, incredible trackpad and keyboard, runs Linux and chromeos/android apps, is absolutely gorgeous, and super portable.
Downside is there are like no ports so you need a usb hub, the bezel is huge, and … it hasn’t been improved in like half a decade.
[+] [-] TheRealPomax|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lylejantzi3rd|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] WesolyKubeczek|2 years ago|reply
1) no fans whatsoever
2) no coil whine when I plug my headphones in and stress the CPU
The keyboard is exactly the right size and the right font for me, but I'll concede that muscle memory is an individual thing. I've owned Apple's laptops and keyboards made in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2019, and 2022, and they are very hell-bent on being consistent about key size and placement, I should give it to them.
I'd like a Linux laptop that would beat this.
XPS13 is a close contender because that 3840x2400 screen is the right kind of ratio and super crisp, but man, that fan noise and the coil whine are just killing the mood. Maybe Thinkpad X13s, but Linux support and its screen are both very meh at this point.
[+] [-] nicbou|2 years ago|reply
Unfortunately it's too slow to play YouTube Music in the background, especially if Docker is also running.
I would buy an M2 version in a heartbeat if Apple made them. I recently bit the bullet and got an M2 Air. It's a lovely machine that's better in every respect, but it's 30% heavier, and I can feel that every time I take it with me.
A 900 gram laptop that charges with a phone charger is just incredible to have.
[+] [-] bhauer|2 years ago|reply
Not just laptops, but monitors in general should be 16:10 or taller. 16:9 only became popular thanks to the computer display industry naively adopting the aspect ratio of televisions. But 16:9 comes from the film industry and has nothing to do with computer productivity. It's a shame that so many monitor manufacturers still focus almost exclusively on 16:9 (or even wider, when width is easily achieved by multiple monitors, side-by-side). I'm fine with the wide options existing, but give me some taller options, too, please.
[+] [-] pengaru|2 years ago|reply
What's appropriate for the user has a lot to do with the size of their hands, and I think this gets overlooked by many who are instead thinking about display size.
As a person with smallish hands who programs (types a lot), anything larger than an X40/X60 ThinkPad form factor has been very annoying to use.
The move to widescreen aspect ratio displays has completely wrecked laptop typing efficiency in my world, since it tended to stretch out the keyboards beyond what my fingers can reach without lifting a palm.
I wish laptop keyboards were treated more like specialized instruments fitted to buyers hands, like shoe sizes. If you consider how much $$ is paid to people that type all day, it's asinine that the laptop industry hasn't matured into optimizing that interface for individuals. Can't I at least get two hand size variants in the average laptop ordering page? Instead it feels like things have only regressed in this department since the classic ThinkPad days.
[+] [-] pmontra|2 years ago|reply
1. Make it 16:10. There is plenty of bezel for that. 1900x1200 or something like that. 1200p was pretty common on good CRT monitors in the 90s.
2. Make the number pad optional. Framework is doing that with their 16" model. I'll bury my number pad and give a party.
3. Keep the three physical buttons on the touchpad. By the way, it can probably do gestures and it definitely register clicks but I use it only to move the pointer and scroll with two fingers. I bought the physical buttons because I want to click with them. The middle one pastes the text selected with the left one (Linux.)
4. Keep it user serviceable. I replaced RAM, disks, keyboards, battery a few months ago, it aged well.
5. Maybe make it 2 kg.
6. Maybe trim some bezel on the sides and make it less wide.
7. Definitely make it work with a much slimmer power unit.
8. It's got USB 3 and 2 ports, DisplayPort, VGA, SD card. Probably add an USB C but I don't know. HDMI? I've got a converter for that.
9. Current year CPU and RAM.
10. Discrete graphic card? Don't know, probably not worth it. I have to watch videos and move my desktop, that's all.
[+] [-] stncls|2 years ago|reply
> Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2
> [...]
While there is a lot to like about modern ThinkPad X1 series, beware that modern Intel "MIPI" webcams (like the one in this model) are unlikely to be convenient to use on Linux for the time being [1]. MIPI support is coming to Linux, both kernel and user space, but it is highly nontrivial, and a reasonable estimate is two years from now [2]. Or, you can make it work right now, but it requires some temporary hacks [3].
[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X1_Nano_(Ge...
[2] https://www.spinics.net/lists/kernel/msg4467429.html
[3] https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=277462&p=3
[+] [-] wanda|2 years ago|reply
Port Windows 2000 to it, hit me up and name your price.
[+] [-] crossroadsguy|2 years ago|reply
Anything on Windows (or Linux considering you'd install that) I wouldn't even touch below 24-32GB or 16GB to begin with and then expandable up to at least +16GB.
It is so shocking to see people declare their laptop just works at the soldiered xGB RAM. Well, a year and half later it will start feeling the pinch.
[+] [-] scrlk|2 years ago|reply
Sadly JDM exclusive and has soldered RAM, but the latest models come with a 3:2 display, decent I/O (e.g. RJ45, full sized SD card reader, even VGA (!)), magnesium alloy chassis and a removable battery in a sub 1.1 kg package. Can't speak for the quality of the trackpad or keyboard though.
https://panasonic.jp/cns/pc/
[+] [-] amatecha|2 years ago|reply