Apple’s design team takes another nosedive into stupidity today.
What were once some of the nicest notebooks on the market have been neutered yet again as Apple has eliminated removable batteries from the macbook line. Another fun change is exchanging the express slot (on most models) for an SD card slot rather than just adding the SD slot like almost every other notebook out there.
I’ve seen quotes from WWDC saying that the battery is good for 1000 charges or 5 years for most people according to them (I don’t know about all of you but my laptop would certainly charge 1000 times faster than 5 years.) There’s also no discussion of diminished charge levels after a while. Anyone who travels a ton and relies on having a spare battery for long flights or long days will tell you they won’t be buying a macbook next time around. It’s all well and good for those who can afford the swank flights with the individual airplane plugs etc… (Though some flights now require you to buy the airline’s particular adapter, ask Neil Gaiman :p ) but most of us still ride coach on the best deal we can get for our particular dates.
What’s happened to Apple’s industrial design group? As a designer I’d always argue that Apple tends to stray way too far into form over function in their hardware but this is getting ridiculous…
edit: Though at least they’re getting cheaper… especially the air. I still maintain that it’s a waste of money for a not amazing machine, but good god they’re even prettier at that price.