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PC makers mock Apple’s new MacBook

PC makers mock Apple’s new MacBook

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Mac vs. PC is always fun. It's a never-ending war of words between Apple fans and Microsoft fans, mixed with tech spec comparisons of GHz, nits, and RAM speed. While Apple was busy unveiling a new 12-inch MacBook without any full-sized USB ports, PC makers took the opportunity to mock the future they'll inevitably adopt.

Lenovo was first out the gate by calling the new MacBook "so last year," the ultimate insult to any fashion-conscious laptop buyers. Lenovo also went for a comparison picture showing how its Yoga 3 Pro is 12.8mm thin compared to the 13.1mm thinness of the MacBook, all while conveniently overlooking the fact its laptop is 0.62 pounds heavier than Apple’s latest. The comparison picture also makes the MacBook look rather thick. Regardless, the Yoga 3 Pro does have two USB ports and a higher-resolution display, and Lenovo was quick to point that out.

Dell followed Lenovo in its response to the Macbook with a tweet dismissing its Retina display. Dell claims its XPS 13 has 2 million more pixels than the MacBook, but weight and thickness didn’t even feature in Dell’s comparison. While Dell’s XPS 13 is heavier and thicker than the MacBook, you do get two USB ports, a mini DisplayPort, and a SD card reader. No $79 dongles required.

The final entry in the PC market response is Asus with its ZenBook UX305. At just 12.3mm thin it certainly beats the MacBook thickness, and even has an impressive three USB ports, micro HDMI, and SD card reader. It’s still slightly heavier than the MacBook, and Asus forgot to mention it only has a 1920 x 1080 13-inch display on the base model.

If there’s anything these comparisons teach us it’s that PC makers will compare only their very best stats and ignore the rest. That’s surprisingly similar to Apple’s own stats manipulation during its keynotes, but it’s also a reminder that the PC market doesn’t have an answer to the new 12-inch MacBook just yet — a good combination of weight, thickness, trackpad, and high-resolution display. Some have matched or got close to the MacBook Air, while failing on the quality of trackpads and battery life.

The PC competition might have managed to keep an array of ports on impressively small machines, but Apple is signalling the future of laptop connectivity with its aggressive use of the small, reversible USB Type-C. That’s no excuse for just one port on the new MacBook, a 480p camera, 29W charger, and one of the lowest Core M processors in the range, but it’s just the beginning. After all, the original MacBook Air only had one USB port, and look where it is today: copied by some PC makers, envied by all.

Verge Video: Everything you need to know about the new MacBook