Macbook alternatives?

Etherton

Etherton

Will Bang for Poof
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
6,996
Are there any comparable size, build quality and battery life Windows 10 based laptops out there to the 2015/16 Macbooks? Loved the Macbook but OSX, meh... Other than the Dell XPS13.
 
Damn, was going to say the XPS 13... LOL

Uhhh, perhaps the Surfacebook would be my next choice since it also uses Microsoft precision trackpad drivers. The rest of the competition is iffy...

ASUS Zenbook UX390
Razer Blade Stealth
Acer Swift 7
HP Spectre

All I can think of off the top of my head. Honestly, the others probably aren't worth mentioning.
 
Dell Latitudes and Precisions, HP Elitebooks, Lenovo ThinkPads in the X/T/W series, that's about it - I don't purchase or use or even recommend anything but business class laptops and while it may be somewhat difficult to find anything that "small" anymore meaning a 13.3" display or something close to it the X2x0 series ThinkPads still offer a 12.5" display size and Dell has at least one Latitude model series with a 13.3" display available as well assuming you want a display that small which obviously means the laptop itself would be fairly small.

You'd have to check out the models for each brand to find something that matches up with your requirements or wants as there are quite a few from each brand that might work.

And of course there's the Surface Book and even a Surface Pro as well. I wouldn't consider the Spectre line from HP as business class but that's my personal opinion as HP themselves might. :)
 
Main concerns are the trackpad, battery life, size and decent performance.

Love the Surface Book but... Quite a bit heavier at 4.5 lbs. Specs and price vary heavily. Quite a bit bigger footprint too.

MS SP4... been there, done that. Would most likely still have it but I didn't like the kickstand style.

Funny you guys mention it, albeit opposing views. I was looking at the new HP Spectre last night. At 2.8 lbs it has a i7-7500u, 16gb RAM, 512gb NVMe & a nice display. Found it refurbished for $900 but only a 90 warranty. Is the year warranty wort another $300+ - doubting it. I also think my credit card offers a warranty itself.
 
While normally I'd buy refurbs or used hardware, the Spectre isn't all that old to be honest so if it's a refurb that means somebody returned it for a reason. ;)
 
jmilcher said:
Really the answer is obvious, the XPS 13. Any reason to not want a XPS 13?
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Trackpad sucked on the one I tried. Badly. That's been a few models back though.

Tiberian said:
While normally I'd buy refurbs or used hardware, the Spectre isn't all that old to be honest so if it's a refurb that means somebody returned it for a reason. ;)
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Good point. Reviews are mixed. Then again I just ditched a maxed out Macbook retina and everyone loves them.
 
Etherton said:
Trackpad sucked on the one I tried. Badly. That's been a few models back though.
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Ive owned a total of 4 XPS 13/15 variants. I now use a 9350. I did not like the trackpad on the older model. The 9350, 9550 both have phenomenal trackpads imo.
 
Etherton said:
everyone loves them
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Everyone, eh? :D

I find them practically useless myself, and if I want macOS that's what VMware is for these days. :p

And for the record no, I don't consider MacBooks business class hardware to be honest, it's consumer pretty shiny crap as far as I'm concerned.
 
Etherton said:
Just visited Dell and they're really proud of those. Upwards of $1500 for a decently spec'd model.
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I picked up a brand new 9350 XPS 13 for less than $600. I paid about $1000 for a nicely equipped 9550 about a year ago. I sold the XPS 15 after I used the 9350. Just my experience.
 
I currently have the XPS 13 9360, and I also owned three last gen 9350s. I didn't liek the trackpad on the 9350 but it seems to be fine on the 9360. The thing about the trackpad drivers is that it updates when microsoft does it. It's actually very fluid and responsive when you use Edge
 
Looks like the 9360 with an i5, 8gb and 256gb runs $1499. A bit on the pricey side.
 
9360 you can get from the Dell Outlet for around 1000 for those specs.
 
Etherton said:
Just visited Dell and they're really proud of those. Upwards of $1500 for a decently spec'd model.
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As they should be. The newest ones have the latest Precision drivers. Trust me when I say that you'll fall in love with it after a week of regular use.

OP, another laptop you might want to consider which has Macbook quality build, 9 hours battery, and is super thin is the Razer Blade Stealth. Very sexy notebook. Made by a gaming company, but you can put a dbrand skin on the lid and be off. Decently speced and priced too.
 
I switched from a MacBook last year to a ThinkPad P50. The only thing I miss is 8 hours of battery life. I'll happily take the 5 hours this gives me, as it also gives me a better keyboard, a docking station...and a whole lot more power for my VMs.

My 2013 MBPr had 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. My P50 has 3 512GB SSDs, and 64GB RAM. I can not only emulate a network of VMware based VMs, I can emulate a VMware 2016 Hyper-V-hosting domain controller server...emulating a separate network's worth of Hyper-V PCs as well.

It's actually made it hard for me to justify picking up a T320 at work...sure, it'll have a hex core CPU, but it'll only have 24GB of RAM.
 
Tiberian said:
Everyone, eh? :D

I find them practically useless myself, and if I want macOS that's what VMware is for these days. :p

And for the record no, I don't consider MacBooks business class hardware to be honest, it's consumer pretty shiny crap as far as I'm concerned.
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MacBooks have been the go-to laptops for the past few companies I've worked for, and I use one as a daily driver now (I run SalesForce and I code). What makes them shiny crap exactly? The price? I'd gladly pay twice over a piece of shit Lenovo or HP any day of the week (UNLESS I needed hardcore power, which I personally don't. I'd probably go towards a Dell then, just had too many build quality issues with the aforementioned).

That being said, the XPS 13/15 (the newer models) are fantastic machines, in both build quality and usability.
 
BiH115 said:
MacBooks have been the go-to laptops for the past few companies I've worked for, and I use one as a daily driver now (I run SalesForce and I code). What makes them shiny crap exactly? The price? I'd gladly pay twice over a piece of shit Lenovo or HP any day of the week (UNLESS I needed hardcore power, which I personally don't. I'd probably go towards a Dell then, just had too many build quality issues with the aforementioned).

That being said, the XPS 13/15 (the newer models) are fantastic machines, in both build quality and usability.
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You've clearly never used a HP Elitebook.
 
Or a modern Latitude or Precision. ;)

And yes, by design and classification the XPS series are consumer grade laptops, not business class - they don't come with the CompleteCare warranty that Latitude and Precisions do which offers on-site support if needed. I've always told people that I could take my Latitude to the balcony of my apartment building, throw it off the balcony, watch it hit the pavement and "explode" into dozens of pieces, watch it get run over by several vehicles, then whip out my phone and call Dell basically 24/7 and say "Ooops, I dropped my laptop and I need it replaced..." and within roughly 72 hours max I'll have a replacement delivered to my door.

And I'm not joking in the slightest but I've never dropped a laptop, ever, but maybe some day I will just to get the experience. :D

At any price would Apple ever offer an on-site warranty for laptops? Ain't happening, they only offer that for desktop hardware and force users to either mail-in their busted laptops or stop by an Apple Store and they aren't necessarily in every city and on every corner, obviously. Their laptop hardware is simply not designed to be field serviceable on any level and that's what - at least for me - defines "business class" hardware over consumer. Yes consumer laptops can be repaired in the field if absolutely necessary but most business class hardware can be opened up with like a screw or two, some HP Elitebooks don't even require that either: just take out the battery and slide a clip to one side and the bottom panel comes off, voila.

Doing field repair on a MacBook, nope, not even if I'm paid. :p
 
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BiH115 said:
Would be open to at least trying it, I've read good things, I've just been burned so badly in the past by HP products that I'm a little hesitant.
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I would never touch any other HP product line, but the Elitebook is my go-to, and has been for many years. Warranty support has been exceptional as well. I typically buy them fresh off lease with 2 years of support remaining for less than half of initial cost, add another year or two to warranty, sell when it expires.
 
Decided to go with an XPS13. If you see a good deal let me know.

Looking for a Dell XPS 13. Newest model.

Want: 256+ SSD, Multi-touch

Preferred specs: i7, 16gb and fingerprint.
 
Etherton said:
Decided to go with an XPS13. If you see a good deal let me know.

Looking for a Dell XPS 13. Newest model.

Want: 256+ SSD, Multi-touch

Preferred specs: i7, 16gb and fingerprint.
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Your best bet is eBay, or hit up craigslist. I wouldn't pay retail. Could get Dell.com to price match it as well if you happen to find it cheaper somewhere (open up a chat).
 
What makes the Xps so expensive? Is the build quality that top notch? What else?
 
iRUSH said:
What makes the Xps so expensive? Is the build quality that top notch? What else?
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Build quality
4K touch screen
Specs

The XPS series is every bit as well built as the latest MBP and costs less for similarly equipped machines.
 
^^. Thanks for the input fellas! I'm getting my feet wet with laptops lately and my curiosity is going wild.
 
iRUSH said:
What makes the Xps so expensive? Is the build quality that top notch? What else?
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Build quality is head and shoulders above the rest. I suppose the Asus zenbook is a close second. Specs. touchscreen on the thinnest bezel display. optional 4k. upgradable M2 ssd and the best windows trackpad. type C and A ports. killer wifi (borrowed from alienware), and of course... dbrand has skins for it XD
 
TFchris said:
Build quality is head and shoulders above the rest. I suppose the Asus zenbook is a close second. Specs. touchscreen on the thinnest bezel display. optional 4k. upgradable M2 ssd and the best windows trackpad. type C and A ports. killer wifi (borrowed from alienware), and of course... dbrand has skins for it XD
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Beyond the build quality I also want to add that the screen is also a huge selling point since with the case of the XPS 13 they were able to fit a 13" screen into a 12" wide notebook. It truly is a beautiful screen and you feel like you get a LOT of screen real-estate for the form-factor.
 
Etherton said:
Are there any comparable size, build quality and battery life Windows 10 based laptops out there to the 2015/16 Macbooks? Loved the Macbook but OSX, meh... Other than the Dell XPS13.
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Are you suggesting Win10 is BETTER than OSX? OMG.
 
B00nie said:
Are you suggesting Win10 is BETTER than OSX? OMG.
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Maybe not better, but it all depends on your environment. I went back to a Windows laptop when I accepted that I just don't do anything in OSX. Kinda absurd to keep buying MBPs when all I do is run Windows in VM on them. It helped tremendously that we're finally seeing Windows laptops that rival the MBP's build quality.
 
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