Apple's MacBook 2015: What Were They Thinking?

Apple hoped to make a splash in the laptop market this year with the introduction of the new MacBook. Not Air or Pro, just "Macbook." Unfortunately for Apple, they cut all the wrong corners in order to make it seem better than it actually is. This makes sense for Apple's core audience, as most Apple users don't care about the specifications of what they're buying. All they know is that it's made by Apple, has Apple software, and it works.

I'll start off with what they compromised in order to get a thinner design. Apple chose to use an Intel Core M CPU, which is basically a tablet CPU. It has low power consumption, meaning longer battery life, but it has bad performance. The same can be said about its graphics card, again sacrificing performance for battery life and thinness. Other bad specifications is a 480p webcam, which is completely undesired in a modern laptop in the age of FaceTime and Skype.

But one of the absolute worst decisions with Apple's new MacBook is the choice to only include one port. That's right. One. For charging, data transfer, everything. If you want to charge your MacBook and use a USB drive at the same time, you're going to need a large, clunky adapter to do both. No CD drive is understandable to save space, but there is no excuse for not including at least one more port on the opposite side. On the bright side, Apple chose to use USB 3.1, a new industry standard which offers for faster data transfer. If only Apple would have added more than one.

Apple sacrificed performance and usability in the hopes that its new MacBook's thinness and style will convince its users to buy it. They're probably right. All these issues could be forgiven, if the new MacBook didn't cost as much as a MacBook Pro, which has much better specs for the exact same price. So if you are thinking about getting a MacBook, do yourself a favor and buy the MacBook Pro. It may not be quite as thin, or quite as stylish, but it'll last much longer and do your tasks much more efficiently.

Image source: Twitter @MKBHD