6 head-to-heads
Machine against machine.
Written around the things that stay true — soldered memory, ports, upgrade paths, what the OS locks you into — rather than this quarter's benchmark numbers.
- MacBook AirvsDell XPS 13MacBook Air vs Dell XPS 13Two thin premium 13-inch laptops with the same problem — neither lets you upgrade the memory. The tiebreakers are battery, ports and the OS.
- MacBook ProvsThinkPad X1 CarbonMacBook Pro vs ThinkPad X1 CarbonThe two default business laptops. One optimises for sustained performance and screen, the other for keyboard, serviceability and fleet management.
- Mac minivsMini PC (NUC-style)Mac mini vs a Windows mini PCThe one comparison where Apple is the value option at the entry point — until you need more memory than the base model has.
- MacBook ProvsGaming laptopMacBook vs a gaming laptopNot really a comparison so much as a choice between two different machines that happen to share a shape.
- Mac StudiovsCustom desktop PCMac Studio vs a custom-built PCA sealed appliance against a machine you assemble. Both are legitimate; they just fail in completely different ways.
- iMacvsAll-in-one PCiMac vs an all-in-one PCBoth trade upgradeability for a tidy desk. The iMac does it with a better screen; the PC does it with a touchscreen and more ports.