In last days I was deeply checking Macbook Air M4 Sky Blue version. You can find many reviews in the Internet, unfortunately they don’t say everything.

First some facts: Apple created very nice looking device with weight 1,24kg. It works without any sound (passive cooling), has got very nice keyboard and perfect touch-pad and offers quite stable 15h / 18h on the 53,8Wh battery (web browsing / video watching).

Let’s look on the notebookcheck.net review:

1. 0,15W (off) is better than practically all Windows laptops (typically 0,3W or more)
2. 0,27W (standby) is much better too (Windows machines without external graphic need typically 0,6-0,8W)
3. 1,9 – 8,8W (idle) gives mixed feeling (Windows machines can achieve even 1,3 – 4W here)

It looks, that Air has got much better efficiency or optimization, but… screen is power hungry and is eating “amazing” effect. Not only this can be problem:

1. screen doesn’t have PWM (good), but seems to use various levels of dithering (it’s simulating more colors by fast disabling and enabling subpixels)
2. you cannot buy matt version from Apple (they have nanostructural glass in Macbook Pro, but MBP is using PWM)
3. MacOS has quite strange scaling and normally in the end you have much lower resolution than physically possible

Many people don’t see any problem, but some have to use 3rd party apps like StillColor or matt foil. It doesn’t always work (like for me).

This leads to some questions: what battery times could we see with Low Power low resolution screen? Why can’t we have laptop, which is *really* using all available today technologies for working long without charging?

I’m giving many times my Clevo example, which gave me few years ago 36h: 1kg, 73Wh battery, matt black case, Linux, Low Power Full HD screen and Intel 11gen.

I would like to see at least the same level with Apple Silicon or Lunar Lake.

Current laptops can be very uncomplicated:

1. screen (low power or with all bells and whistles)
2. keyboard
3. touch-pad
4. System on Chip with CPU, RAM, sound card, eventually TPM and controllers
5. disk (can be in Apple form without controller like in Mac Mini)
6. battery (makes sense to split it and sell configurations with one or many cells)
7. Wi-fi
8. (eventually) camera, card and fingerprint reader, microphone, light sensor, etc.
9. speakers

It must be functional:

1. black or silver case without funny LEDs (I don’t need to see indicator, if laptop is enabled)
2. no holes on the bottom
3. minimum one USB-C on the left and right (can be used for charging) added on the small extra board connected with main board with elastic connector
4. lid with 180 degrees angle
5. no fan using power from battery (probably we need vapor chamber like in phones)
6. no RTC battery
7. (optional) support for Framework modules
8. must give info about battery wearing or cycles (like in Apple)
9. disk can be taken out without anything (data security, which could help for example in having one disk for private things and one for corporate work)
10. if possible, all main settings (power limits, etc.) can be done from BIOS and saved for example on SSD – I want to avoid installing extra software coming from strange sources
11. small protection against dust and water

Everything in this device must be done for energy saving:

1. when you close lid, keyboard and touch-pad should be 100% disabled and don’t take take even 1mW from battery
2. when user wants to resume from standby, it can be done just with power button (no battery usage from keyboard and touch-pad)
3. when sound is off, sound card is 100% disabled
4. it’s possible to control how fast SSD is suspended
5. TPM, camera, card reader, wifi can be 100% disabled from BIOS (can’t take even 1mW from battery then)
6. everything on main board can enter S0iX
7. when device is OFF, only RTC can take power from battery (no more 0,15W please)

We don’t know, what Apple will provide in so called “cheap Macbook” with A chip – will it have smaller battery? Or screen like in Macbook Air M1? With dithering? PWM?

Company has got big chance, but will disappoint us or not? It this moment I don’t have big hope, but… maybe… (please note, that I’m not saying anything about Mac OS, which gives me mixed feelings, but in the end works)

I don’t want in the end Windows and Windows device – they are or were crappy for years (only “good enough”) and included a lot of garbage (for example Intel ME, non-working S0iX and x86 debugging modes)

PS. in my personal rating:

1. (excluding screens/display issues and repairability) Macbooks are on the first place
2. Dell has got only some good reviews (+ tried to be too much Apple) – see video
3. HP seems to be still acceptable
4. Lenovo could be interesting, but it comes from China (this can be the most important sometimes) + lives partially in the past (seems to duplicate input devices, etc.)
5. Clevo – I could buy their device especially after fixes, but it’s not possible anymore (geopolitical situation?)
6. others (Asus, Acer, MSI, Medion, TongFang, etc.) – no, thank you

When we speak about hardware platforms:

1. Apple Silicon or Snapdragon (ARM)
2. X86 (in laptops Lunar Lake, in desktops AMD)

And my software platform list:

1. Linux (but without Gnome) / MacOS
2. Android / iOS / iPadOS
3. Windows