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chvid parent
I don't think there is a single thing you can point to. But overall Apple's hardware/software is highly optimized, closely knit, and each component is in general the best the industry has to offer. It is sold cheap as they make money on volume and an optimized supply chain.

Framework does not have the volume, it is optimized for modularity, and the software is not as optimized for the hardware.

As a general purpose computer Apple is impossible to beat and it will take a paradigm shift for that for to change (completely new platform - similar to the introduction of the smart phone). Framework has its place as a specialized device for people who enjoy flexible hardware and custom operating systems.

john01dav
> It is sold cheap as they make money on volume and an optimized supply chain.

What about all the money that they make from abusive practices like refusing to integrate with competitors' products thus forcing you to buy their ecosystem, phoning home to run any app, high app store fees even on Mac OS, and their massive anti repair shenanigans?

chvid OP
Macs today are not designed to be easily repairably but instead to be lighter and otherwise better integrated - I believe that is consequence of consumer preferences and not shady business practices.

As for the services - it is a bit off topic as I believe Apple makes a profit on their macs alone ignoring their services business. But in general I have less of a problem with a subscription / fee-driven services business compared to an advertisement-based one. And as for the fee / alternative payment controversy (epic vs apple etc.) this is something that is relevant if you are a big brand that can actually market on your own / build an alternative shop infrastructure. For small time developers the marketing and payment infrastructure the apple app store offers is a bargain.

omnimus
Macbooks are one of the heaviest laptops you can buy. I think they are doing it for the premium feel - it is extremely sturdy. I recently got some random lenovo YOGA for linux to go along side my macbook and it weighs less, is as thin and even has dedicated gpu - while having 2 user replaceable M.2 slots. It is also very sturdy but not as sturdy Macbooks.

What i am saying is that Apple could for sure fit replaceable drives without any change hit to size or weight. But their Mac strategy is price based on disk size and make repairs expensive so you buy new machine. I don't complain it is the reason why cheapest Macbook Air is the best laptop deal.

But let's stop this marketing story that it's their engineering genius not their market strategy.

weighterjsk
>Macbooks are one of the heaviest laptops you can buy.

I don't think this is even close to true. My last laptop from 2020 weighed at ~2.6kg and it's 2025 counterpart is still at 2.1kg, while my work m1 mac is at 1.3kg

>. I think they are doing it for the premium feel - it is extremely sturdy

It's not merely a feel; I've succesfully thrown it to the pavement more than once from ~1.5 meters and it's continued working well, whereas none of my previous laptops have gotten away scot free before from even one drop

Apple does practice very hard repairability which I agree should be made much more accessible.

aurareturn 

  Macbooks are one of the heaviest laptops you can buy. I think they are doing it for the premium feel - it is extremely sturdy.
Yes, because of the metal enclosure while nearly all Windows laptop makers use plastic. Macs are usually the thinnest laptops in their class though.
queenkjuul
My Asus is all metal, thinner, and lighter than my same-screen-size MacBook

It's also not as robust. But it's definitely thinner and lighter.

chvid OP
I am pretty sure it is a consequence of consumer preference. I can see it from my own behaviour - I am a power user of all things computing and it has been decades since I upgraded a harddisk.
prewett
Regarding storage, part of the advantage of their soldered storage is higher access speeds. Combined with the fact that, as you note, people rarely need to upgrade their storage, might as well use the faster storage. This is probably particularly a benefit for the 8 GB machines, which I assume use swap regularly.
JustExAWS
Exactly what competitors products on the Mac don’t they integrate with? And no serious app distributes through the Mac App Store.

Both the Mac and the iPhone support standard Bluetooth protocols and USB protocols.

larodi
When one controls the OS and much of the delivery chain, it is not unthinkable to decide to through some billions of $$$ to create a chop optimized to serve exactly your needs.

So this is precisely what Apple did, and we can argue it was long time in the making. The funny part is that nobody expected x86 to make way for ARM chips, but perhaps this was a corporate bias stemming from Intel marketing, which they are arguably very good at.

alt227
> As a general purpose computer Apple is impossible to beat

Only if all you care about is having a laptop with really fast single core performance. Anything that requires real grunt needs a workstation or server which Apple silicon connot provide.

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