It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… Oh, wait, I already used that conceit. Anyway, having recently spent a lot of time with the Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch and the MacBook Pro Retina 15, it’s natural for me to compare the two. I realize that they are quite different machines, the X1 being built for portability at the expense of capability when compared with the MacBook. The X1, while pricy by PC standards, is much less expensive than the Apple.
Then there’s the matter of the OS. Hardly anyone cross-shops Win 8 and OS X computers. Most users have made a practical or emotional commitment to one or the other camp. I try to be OS-agnostic, even though price, choice, and service policies make me tend to choose PCs. I welcome the opportunity to spend more time in Apple’s OS, and to compare it to Microsoft’s latest. There are more similarities than there used to be. If you were happy with Win 7, and I was, you can look at the Win 8 start screen as a prettier equivalent of OS X’s Launchpad. There are similar small-g gadgets and small-w widgets in both OS’s. I like Apple’s network tools center better than Microsoft’s collection of network tools, which are so weak that I usually go for the command line. I prefer Microsoft’s task manager and resource monitor to the Apple equivalent, and like all the information that Microsoft gives during file transfers, especially in Win 8. I think it’s great that the underlying OS for Apple is Unix, which is an old friend.
So, with the understanding that I’m comparing an Apple with a kumquat, here goes:
Display. The Lenovo display isn’t bad, but the Retina display is a marvel. Crisp, colorful, bright. Winner: Apple.
Keyboard: The Lenovo keyboard isn’t up to the best they can do, but it is far, far, better than the short-travel, flat-topped, spongy Apple keyboard. And, Apple, can I please have a forward delete key? Winner: Lenovo.
Pointing devices: Both computers have nice touch-pads, if you go in for that kind of thing. The X1 has my favorite laptop pointing device, Ted Selker’s Trackpoint, and a well-implemented multitouch display as well. Winner: Lenovo.
Login/waking from sleep experience: The Mac doesn’t wake up when you wiggle the mouse, at least with the mouse I have installed; you have to press a button. The X1 has a fingerprint reader, which makes logging in fast and easy. Winner: Lenovo.
Wired Ethernet: Neither computer has a real Ethernet port. I think an RJ-45 connector would be too thick for these svelte machines. The Lenovo Ethernet adapter connects through a USB-2 port, so it’s slow. The Apple adapter connects via Thunderbolt, but in a moment of overenthusiastic cost cutting, Apple left off the link lights. Still, performance beats convenience here, and the winner is Apple.
Power connector: I was initially disappointed that Lenovo chose to change the power connector on the X1, but, upon looking at the machine closely, I can understand why: the old connector would have been too thick. The trick Mac connector with the magnet is nice, but it’s awfully easy to pick up the computer with the power cord inserted and have it fall off. Winner: Apple, by a nose.
Command-line. Apple certainly makes it a challenge to find the command-line interface. Search for shell. Nothing. Search for command. Nope. Search for terminal. That’s got it. Why terminal? I dunno; why name a user interface after a device, and one that nobody’s used for years? Once found, the Mac command-line interface is a nice place to be. It’s bash, which is a grown up version of the Bourne shell. I thought I remembered Macs using the C shell, but that may be my advanced age. Anyway, it’s real Unix – POSIX compatible — on your laptop; what’s not to like? The X1 standard command line interface is pretty much the one you remember from MS-DOS, but, should you prefer it, there is a fancy one called PowerShell that’s quite nice for computer administration. Winner: Apple.
Smothering embrace. Microsoft has emulated Apple’s customer bear hug: app store, sign in to account to set up computer, cloud storage, etc. Winner: certainly not the customer.
Weight: The carbon fiber case on the X1 is sturdy and light, and makes the aluminum case on the Mac seem clunky. The Apple seems like it weighs a ton by comparison. The Apple has a bigger screen, but the weight difference is more than can be attributed to just that. Surprisingly, Lenovo covered up the carbon fiber with their usual tactile black finish, so you’d never know it was there is no one told you. Winner: Lenovo.
Thickness: A virtual tie. I’ve never been very concerned about this, but you can tell that it was a priority item with the designers of both computers.
Hinge: The Apple hinge won’t let you tilt the screen back very far. The X1 hinge allows you to make the screen nearly horizontal, a plus when you’re using the computer on a desk stand that tilts the keyboard up. Winner: Lenovo.
Battery: The MacBook battery is not user-replaceable. Neither is the X1 battery. This is not good at all, but in the case of Apple, it’s much worse, because Apple won’t replace the battery on-site. See the next point for why that’s important. Winner: there are two losers here, but Lenovo is the least bad.
Warranty: Although you have to pay extra for it, the Lenovo is available with an on-site warranty; you get to watch the tech fix the computer. You have to take or send an Apple in for service if it breaks. What happens to your data while the machine’s in the store being serviced? Who knows? Winner: Lenovo.
Storage: The MacBook is available with a substantially larger SSD. You’ll pay for it, but it’s there if you want it. Winner: Apple.
RAM: You can get twice as much in the Mac. Winner: Apple.
Processor: The MacBook is stronger. Winner: Apple.
Price: Winner: Lenovo.
Overall: Too close to call. I’d pick the Lenovo for travel and casual productivity use, and the Mac for serious photography on a desktop replacement.
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