Lenovo X1 Carbon (3rd Gen) vs MacBook Pro 15

[aa8y]

Hi,

I am joining a company where I have a choice between getting a Lenovo and Apple laptop. They generally offer their employees a 15 inch MacBook Pro be default. However I've never used a MacBook and though I've heard good things about them. Also, I prefer anti-glare screens which MacBooks don't come with (I know we can use some sort of screen guard to make it anti-glare, but then it ruins the colors). They both have pretty decent battery lives. And I don't care about a touch screen (because they generally come with glossy screens). I use Ubuntu Gnome myself and I think they'll have me use RHEL which I can live with. I know MacBooks are well-built but so are ThinkPads. And while I don't care much about the eye candy MacBooks offer, it's definitely a good thing to have.

I know there are people who swear by Apple and some by Lenovo. But my question is geared towards people who have used both. I know OS X is based on some variant of Unix, but is it as similar as Linux? Also, I know OS X is quite stable but so is RHEL and Ubuntu Gnome is also pretty much stable. So, yeah, what are your opinions?

 

[Emulex]

Apple you can have your device repaired at the mall on sunday. How is Lenovo's same day support?

Honestly since Lenovo went ghetto with their cheap units below the old thinkpad line-up i've had nothing but trouble with their lower end laptops.

Apple on the other hand, they hold up, and OSX is pretty nifty and you can run linux,windows/freebsd in a VM pretty easily. And Retina screen is bitchen!

 

[corkyg]

Another point to consider is what your co-workers are using. Teamwork is often enhanced through common interchanges.

 

[sze5003]

Apple you can have your device repaired at the mall on sunday. How is Lenovo's same day support?

Honestly since Lenovo went ghetto with their cheap units below the old thinkpad line-up i've had nothing but trouble with their lower end laptops.

Apple on the other hand, they hold up, and OSX is pretty nifty and you can run linux,windows/freebsd in a VM pretty easily. And Retina screen is bitchen!

The company would probably have another one for him it would not be his responsibility, I think.

But that is something to think about. As long as you aren't paying for it why not try both.

 

[gmaster456]

Apple you can have your device repaired at the mall on sunday. How is Lenovo's same day support?

Honestly since Lenovo went ghetto with their cheap units below the old thinkpad line-up i've had nothing but trouble with their lower end laptops.

Apple on the other hand, they hold up, and OSX is pretty nifty and you can run linux,windows/freebsd in a VM pretty easily. And Retina screen is bitchen!

Low end laptops vs. Macs are apples vs. oranges.

Compare $1200 PC to a $1200 Mac and the gap closes.

 

[corkyg]

The Lenovo X1 Carbon is far from low end. It equates roughly with Mac Book Air.

 

[It's Not Lupus]

I think the Lenovo laptops come with free malware installed.

 

[sze5003]

I think the Lenovo laptops come with free malware installed.

Superfish, which has instructions on lenovo site on how to remove. Also most places will format the laptop and reinstall the OS anyway with any company required software/applications.

A fresh windows or Linux install will cure that anyway.

 

[aa8y]

As long as you aren't paying for it why not try both.

I highly doubt if they'll get me both. That's a bit too much to expect

 

[sze5003]

I highly doubt if they'll get me both. That's a bit too much to expect

Yea but maybe if you didn't like one you could switch it out for the other.

 

[amyklai]

The Lenovo X1 Carbon is far from low end. It equates roughly with Mac Book Air.

It's high-end business Ultrabook. Rather like a MacBook Air with a Retina Screen, a docking port and some other stuff.

For me the main decision points betrween these two machines would be:
- do you want more power (RMBP) or more portability (X1C) ?
- do you need more than 8 GB RAM (--> RMBP)
- do you prefer a great Trackpoint and a good Trackpad (X1C) or a great Tracpad (RMBP) ?
- do you prefer OSX (RMBP) or Windows (X1C)
- is fast charging important (--> X1C)
- do you want to use a docking station (--> X1C)

 

[Chapbass]

It's high-end business Ultrabook. Rather like a MacBook Air with a Retina Screen, a docking port and some other stuff.

For me the main decision points betrween these two machines would be:
- do you want more power (RMBP) or more portability (X1C) ?
- do you need more than 8 GB RAM (--> RMBP)
- do you prefer a great Trackpoint and a good Trackpad (X1C) or a great Tracpad (RMBP) ?
- do you prefer OSX (RMBP) or Windows (X1C)
- is fast charging important (--> X1C)
- do you want to use a docking station (--> X1C)

This is a good summary. Our company has the same two machines (mbp and x1c). I use the x1c myself (im on it right now) and love it. My only complaint is i wish the proc was a little faster and it had a little more memory...other than that, the aesthetics, portability, battery life, etc are all excellent.