The intended audience doesn't consider the Dell anywhere near comparable.
Personally I would love to have a Linux laptop with the same design and build quality as the MacBooks, and I'm pretty sure plenty of fashion conscious folks would like something more exclusive now that Macs are everywhere.
The fact that the XPS 13 is the only machine that comes anywhere close is kinda sad.
I sense some resentment. The thing about Apple (I have no bias) is that you don't have to worry about competition. Even if there is a machine that approaches the performance and specs of a Mac, the thing Apple fans don't have to worry about is which machine to get because even the worst Apple device is miles ahead of the non Apple alternatives.
The thing about Apple is that you don't have to worry about it, you can focus on the task and purpose of the tool rather than the hardware or it's specs.
Given Apple's nature of maximizing profits of their product line, there's still room for the next major update of MBP line to include the same kinds of edge-less screen, and people will collectively loose their minds over it. Are people going to be satisfied with just another incremental upgrade of specs and inclusion of the same technologies as the Mac? I think they will have to put some bling in their flagship devices.
> the thing Apple fans don't have to worry about is which machine to get because even the worst Apple device is miles ahead of the non Apple alternatives
This is very subjective to define. It's true, if you like apple, and all you are going to choose is stuff from apple, then you don't have to worry about examining choices in depth because there aren't very many. But quality is a subjective thing.
I personally find almost every computer that exists today horrifically boring, compared to when I was growing up. The jump from no computer to computer has been much more exciting than each iteration of slightly better computer. That's really what I call 'miles ahead'.
Smartphones with unlimited data were slightly revolutionary for me, in a "I can listen to music and walk anywhere I want without getting lost" kind of thing, but honestly, I haven't felt anything close to the feelings I used to feel as a kid. Trying to figure out how the entire internet is structured and comparing that to a giant computer is slightly more exciting. Comparing data models to the human brain is slightly exciting. But miles ahead sounds like we're making leaps when we aren't. And you can go ahead and argue that every leap is made up of tiny steps, but when you fade in and out of technology enough, even then, some things really feel like leaps, and other things really feel like steps. And I think that's subjective, so I'm biased, but I find it very hard to have opinions without bias, if not impossible.
The notion that Apple is "miles ahead" seems cute to me as I read these comments on my hybrid touchscreen which runs a full general purpose OS on a battery that lasts me well over 10 hours and still fits in my pocket. It's so nice to be able to run full Chrome with Adblock and other extensions on a touch device which also allows me to write a quick VBA function in Excel, run reports using legacy native business tools or spin up a small Linux VM.
Apple simply doesn't offer a device that can compete with this, so not only are they not miles ahead, I can't even see them in my rear-view.
I love the dell venue 8 pro (5000), but I really wish dell would stop fucking around and go all out with it. Give us a proper display output, let us charge and dock at the same time, give us a 4GB option, get USB 3.1 with type-C connector on it, put some properly fast storage on it, give us the beautiful OLED 'infinity' display that you're offering on your android tablet for the windows version too. THAT would be a device worth raving about. The CPU, the battery life, all the technology is there.
Instead what Dell do is release a 3000 model, with no digitizer and 1GB of ram. I have to assume that Dell are far too afraid of cannibalising their mid-range laptops to produce something truly great in the small tablet space, a very foolish and short-sighted position I think.
I don't think you get to trumpet 'fits in your pocket' if it's 8 inches. I don't doubt that in principle, you could persuade one to fit in your pocket (unless you're female) but I don't think it fits most peoples definitions of that.
Sorry to disappoint you, but it absolutely does fit in my pants pockets and all of my jackets pockets.
UPDATE: Here's an image gallery that I just made showing it in the jacket I'm wearing today, in the pants I'm wearing today and again in a pair of pants that I grabbed out my laundry pile - http://imgur.com/a/hFeDo
Not only does it fit in my pockets, but there's room to spare. Maybe it won't fit in some skinny jeans, but I don't wear tight pants because I'd rather be comfortable. In any case, whether it fits in your pocket or not isn't the point - it is true that Apple doesn't offer a highly portable device that runs a full OS for over 10 hours
> Even if there is a machine that approaches the performance and specs of a Mac, the thing Apple fans don't have to worry about is which machine to get because even the worst Apple device is miles ahead of the non Apple alternatives.
I love my retina MBP but that statement is pretty biased. There are plenty of PCs more powerful than any mac, often for less money. Even Windows 10 isn't so bad, i think that OSX Yosemite is pretty flawed as well.
Apple is still superior when it comes to the whole package, most importantly trackpad, battery life and overall experience, but if you don't fall exactly into Apples demographic you are pretty much out of luck.
Personally I would love to have a Linux laptop with the same design and build quality as the MacBooks, and I'm pretty sure plenty of fashion conscious folks would like something more exclusive now that Macs are everywhere.
The fact that the XPS 13 is the only machine that comes anywhere close is kinda sad.