MacBooks Best Laptops, Says Consumer Reports
MacBooks are the best laptops, according to Consumer Reports' testing.
Say what you want about Apple products, but they certainly have their fans. Consumer Reports, a generally objective consumer-centric product review North American magazine, is in love with the current generations of MacBooks.
Apple MacBooks top spot in each of Consumer Reports’ three laptop categories of 13-inch, 14- to 15-inch and 17- to 18-inch.
13-inch MacBooks ruled the category, with the unibody MacBook, the MacBook Air and the polycarbonate MacBook White taking the top three spots. The PCs that make up the bottom half of the list are the HP Pavilion dv3-1075us, Dell Studio XPS 13, and the Gateway UC7807u.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro topped the 14- to 16-inch laptop category, scoring a 75 out of 100. The next closest offering in the category was the Toshiba Satellite M305-S4910 with a 64 out of 100. Of course, the so-called “Apple tax” was in full force with the MacBook Pro costing $2000 and the Toshiba running $700.
The 17- to 18-inch category belonged to the 17-inch MacBook Pro with the highest score of 80 out of 100. Second place went to the Dell Studio 17 with 64 out of 100. The Apple tax strikes even harder here with the MacBook Pro 17 costing $2800 and the Dell Studio 17 at only $750.
It’s no surprise that Apple products cost a premium over comparable PC products, but the MacBooks that topped the charts (and price points) also came with stronger specifications than its closest competitors in screen resolution, GPU, bundled software, just to name a few. In fact, Apple boasted about its own inherent ‘value’ in its products in a recent news story, though it’ll be hard to argue with a price difference of more than $1,000.
The message from Consumer Reports (subscription required for full ratings) is clear though – Apple hit a home run with its latest generation of MacBooks, but owning one over a PC will cost you.
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Oh boy i smell a flame war i better hide
why don't they compare $2000 PC to $2000 Macs? $2800 vs $750, really?
CR = BS
Lol yeah that is odd 13 inch and lower makes sence only a small price diff but the best is a $2000 laptop then the next best is at 700 lol that just looks bad.
I own both Mac and PC laptops and desktops. Users that rated the products made an overall estimation which includes both hardware and operating system. I think that the satisfaction rate is mainly due to OS X and not hardware oriented. If the later was true then Macbook white would be very low (manufacturing quality and lcd quality are at least subpar) but OS X feels responsive and does not contain preinstalled laptop bloatware.
I would comment this report as misleading in a way.
Apple's jewel is OS X and they are just capitalizing on that ace to boost hardware sales
...and yet mac still takes dead last on price vs performance
So a small group of 'experts' at CR determine without bias the best with regards to design, usability, etc? I'm sceptical...
Hey I have a 13 inch.
I love my Macbook Unibody and I absolutely hate all OEM desktops, I always build my systems.
As for PC laptops, the only brand I go with is ASUS since it's a meld between hardware quality and Windows. However, the Macbook Unibody is the icing with the LED backlit screen and the multitouch trackpad, it makes it very worth it since the multitouch trackpad is nowhere to be found on other laptops and makes work so much more efficient.
Apple fixed manufacturing issues with the unibody Macbook. Heck, the only reason why I got the unibody Macbook was because Apple replaced my old white Macbook for free due to constant defects.
i really don't see how much better os x is my sister labtop.
it doesn't run faster because you can just get better hardware from a pc.
it doesn't run games.
it cost so much more.
so why is it being rated so much better
i like my macbook pro 15 inch about 20x more then my dell xps 15
Macs are nice but they should have pitted the Mac against a laptop in the same price range....
Apple doesn't skimp on their products, which is part of the reason they are so much more expensive.
I was considering a small iFruitBook for my travel machine, since I wasn't expecting to do much with it but surf the net and view photos. Then I decided I needed to run our CAD software on it so I got serious and bought a Dell Latitude instead.
I'm not sure the people at consumer reports are smart enough to know what it means to be objective. What they write sounds good, until you find an article they wrote about products that you really know about and then you discover that maybe they don't know much after all.
The consumer report makes these reports based on the 'average consumers', who have been proven time and time again completely illiterate in terms of technology awareness.
This is the idiots guide to the best laptop.
OMG!!! I think that while the Consumer Report was being made we all hardware enthusiasts where at home busy reading tom's hardware!!
For me (and people who read and are well informed about hardware) is crystal clear that mac is just a "cool"(yeah right!) and overpriced option...
People still read magazines to get information?
There's something called the internet nowadays...
Damn.......... people get stupider with each friggin' generation.
I mean how the.... just wow. I think I might go emo now... (not really)
I love my Macbook Unibody and I absolutely hate all OEM desktops, I always build my systems.As for PC laptops, the only brand I go with is ASUS since it's a meld between hardware quality and Windows. However, the Macbook Unibody is the icing with the LED backlit screen and the multitouch trackpad, it makes it very worth it since the multitouch trackpad is nowhere to be found on other laptops and makes work so much more efficient.Apple fixed manufacturing issues with the unibody Macbook. Heck, the only reason why I got the unibody Macbook was because Apple replaced my old white Macbook for free due to constant defects.
Constant defects? I though macs were the uber bestest thing evar? LOL.
I own both Mac and PC laptops and desktops. Users that rated the products made an overall estimation which includes both hardware and operating system. I think that the satisfaction rate is mainly due to OS X and not hardware oriented. If the later was true then Macbook white would be very low (manufacturing quality and lcd quality are at least subpar) but OS X feels responsive and does not contain preinstalled laptop bloatware. I would comment this report as misleading in a way.Apple's jewel is OS X and they are just capitalizing on that ace to boost hardware sales
Good try. OS X is UNIX. Let me know when Apple makes their own OS...oh wait they tried, it was called OS 9 and it blew goats...thats why they went to UNIX.
But really good try though.
I don't think I've ever found a Consumer Reports report actually useful as a consumer. I've checked them a few times and I have yet to find anything that helps me actually make a purpose. (cars, TVs, a few other minor thigns)
As for this particular incident, its clear that price was a very low factor in their rating system. The fact that a supposedly similiar system that is rated only slightly worse but costs half as much I think says a lot too.
Like who would buy a car, even if it got a perfect 100 score, if it was 60-80k compared to the 20-40k of its primary competitors.
I have an Apple powerbook laptop as well as a custom-built pc gaming rig. One has an i7, the other, a G4. If I were to buy another laptop it would be a mac, even at the sub £1000 price point i'd still rather have a mac. Desktop - pc wins hands down, far better hardware.
Despite the raging fanboism Apple do make better laptops. If you're after a gaming monster then build yourself a pc, don't buy one. If your using a laptop to 'game' on then your either a few screws loose, or you have way too much cash to throw around.
I have an Apple powerbook laptop as well as a custom-built pc gaming rig. One has an i7, the other, a G4. If I were to buy another laptop it would be a mac, even at the sub £1000 price point i'd still rather have a mac. Desktop - pc wins hands down, far better hardware. Despite the raging fanboism Apple do make better laptops. If you're after a gaming monster then build yourself a pc, don't buy one. If your using a laptop to 'game' on then your either a few screws loose, or you have way too much cash to throw around.
You qualify for the "dumb" award. So you just admitted you would buy something with less power, for 1000$ more. Just because?
.... epic fail
Whatever. Compare premium, pretty laptops, against premium, pretty laptops.
Its fair to compare a SAMSUNG X360 against a Macbook air, but would be ridiculous to pit the Air against a 700 dollar HP.
Look at the comparisions... in the 14-16" models tested, we're comparing a 700 dollar Toshiba against a 2000 dollar macbook. Consumer reports doesn't compare a 40k Infinity against a 20k Hyundai, because if they did this with Cars, people would laugh at them...
But, you know what?
HA HA HA. Fucking morons.
Oh and how does apple make better laptops if it has less power?! even more fail.
Whatever. Compare premium, pretty laptops, against premium, pretty laptops.Its fair to compare a SAMSUNG X360 against a Macbook air, but would be ridiculous to pit the Air against a 700 dollar HP.Look at the comparisions... in the 14-16" models tested, we're comparing a 700 dollar Toshiba against a 2000 dollar macbook. Consumer reports doesn't compare a 40k Infinity against a 20k Hyundai, because if they did this with Cars, people would laugh at them...But, you know what?HA HA HA. Fucking morons.
Yeah, I know right, it's okay to do a price watch on a car, but if you do it on a computer it fails.
That's what they call ELITISM. It applies to computers as well.
Grow brains people.
hmmm... i'm a dev, work with devs, and most of my friends are devs (most of us with well over 10 yrs experience). I read about hardware (and am a pretty devout elctronics DIY-er, so I *make* hw too, though not computers...), they read about hardware. We all make our livings coding (or architecting, spec-ing, etc). We almost universally use macs (and most of us have multiples). So the argument that only simpletons, idiots, or the uninformed prefer macs just doesn't fly. (of course, we're all out of short pants and use our machines to support our families instead of play shootemups... so I doubt most here could relate).
So the argument that only simpletons, idiots, or the uninformed prefer macs just doesn't fly. (of course, we're all out of short pants and use our machines to support our families instead of play shootemups... so I doubt most here could relate).
Support your families by buying a computer that costs $1000 dollars less and does the EXACT SAME THING.
And then with the $1000 buy your family food. Or go on vacation. Or put it into the college fund.
If we were given 1000 dollars then I bet we would get every penny out of it, why should it be different with computers?!
You qualify for the "dumb" award. So you just admitted you would buy something with less power, for 1000$ more. Just because?.... epic fail
I dont think power is a term that can be attributed to any laptop, windows or osx based. If 'power' is all you shop for when buying a pc, then go grab yourself an i7, because they rock.
Now in my opinion a laptop isn't better purely because of processing power. There are many other factors to include: weight, looks, battery life, os and build quality to name a few. This is where Apple comes out on top. Sure they may not be as powerful as Alienware's latest £2500 laptop, but then Alienware's £2500 laptop isn't as powerful as a £1000 pc. Everything is reletive. I dont think there is any point in buying a powerful laptop because for the same price you could have a desktop as well as a half-decent laptop, much like i do. I have both Apple and Windows products and see the flaws and merits of both.
So let me get this right - Consumer Reports is comparing $2000+ macs with PC hardware half that price, and telling us that the macs are better? A pimped-out dv3t at $1400 will smoke any 13" mac for features and performance.
These "experts" may be wooed by slim and light, but it is apparent they represent the ignorant class for whom cerebral matter has been compensated by thick wallets. Gotta love the opinion of the rich and stupid!
hmmm... i'm a dev, work with devs, and most of my friends are devs (most of us with well over 10 yrs experience). I read about hardware (and am a pretty devout elctronics DIY-er, so I *make* hw too, though not computers...), they read about hardware. We all make our livings coding (or architecting, spec-ing, etc). We almost universally use macs (and most of us have multiples). So the argument that only simpletons, idiots, or the uninformed prefer macs just doesn't fly. (of course, we're all out of short pants and use our machines to support our families instead of play shootemups... so I doubt most here could relate).
lol you want to compare how many developers worldwide use PC's to how many developers use macs? and so you think we don't support our families because we use pc's and play games? well sure then,use you hard earned money to buy a 3000 dollars mac that comes with 1000 dollar hardware and see how such investment benefits your family....you are a moron.
Good try. OS X is UNIX. Let me know when Apple makes their own OS...oh wait they tried, it was called OS 9 and it blew goats...thats why they went to UNIX. But really good try though.
I am not a fanboy of Apple, I know that BSD and UNIX works under the hood, and this is a pro for me. I even use some generic Unix commands in the console (terminal if you prefer) from time to time.
I guess you never used a Mac before, and you sound just like me 2 years ago (except the fact that even back then I was aware of my ignorance of OS X user experience, I hope they didn't have OS 9 back then). They didn't design a OS from scratch they just built a customized version of a successful and efficient core, it is like a non-free corporate distro.
It is very efficient for work like it should be, it has strict application developing guidelines and has brought some professional commercial applications (Adobe, Office, Endnote and many others) to a stable environment. I have also built an efix computer and 9/10 boot times I choose OS X over Windows, it is simply a satisfying experience.
Of course it is far from perfect and I despise the lack of hardware support and the closed architecture but it is my current thoughtful choice for the things I do daily.