Not for half the price, but if you're willing to spend just as much on a PC as the MacBook, you can definitely get the same specs and quality. None of those aspects you listed are unique to Apple anymore, from the machined aluminum chassis to magnetic power connectors or superior battery tech (the Sony Vaio Pro 13 gets significantly more minutes-per-watt-hour than a new MBA for example). The quality definitely isn't there if you don't spend the money, though. Most PCs on the shelf in stores are junk.
>Not for half the price, but if you're willing to spend just as much on a PC as the MacBook, you can definitely get the same specs and quality.
The Vaio Pro 13 is an exception though.
For most PC laptops, even if you configure them the same price as the Mac laptop, you still don't get a lot of stuff that makes the Mac better. E.g you get some stuff there but in a not-so-good implementation (like most high-end PC touchpads) and others lacking (like battery life).
For raw power though (if that's what counts for you, like if you do scientific calculations and such) you can get a PC with better CPU/GPU for similar money as the Mac would have. Though in most cases, the machines you get for that are no laptopy-enough anymore, coming closer to 3-4 kg and bulky.
But then there's always OS X, and the pain of using Windows. I always had to have Cygwin when I used Windows laptops, as I had to have a UNIX shell available.
At the same prices as the MacBooks, you actually get way better specs and extremely solid build as well. And let's not forget the Macbooks come with drawbacks, such as non-replacable batteries and stuff like that. And I don't like their trackpad either, but that's a matter of taste.
OK, I'm sure you will nitpick about what I'm going to say, but the following are pretty decent alternatives: ASUS Zenbook UX301, Dell XPS 15, HP Spectre 13t-3000 Ultrabook, Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus, Toshiba Kirabook.
They are all not perfect, but credible alternatives. Feel free to discuss.
ASUS Zenbook UX301: $1,999 (Amazon.com)
Apple MacBook Pro 13: $1,799 (Apple.com list)
Both with the Intel Core i7 2.8GHz / 3.3GHz TurboBoost, 8GB RAM, 256GB flash storage, etc.
The main difference is that the Mac display is 2560x1600 and the ASUS is 2560x1440 and the ASUS has a touchscreen.
This is a realistic competitor – I can't speak to build quality never having touched one but this is hardly the “way better specs” you've been claiming.
The same holds true for the Dell XPS 15. Comparing the only Dell XPS 15 which uses SSD primary storage[2] to the MacBook Pro 15" leaves us at $2,349 vs. $2,499. Again, I can't speak to build quality but unless you find a touchscreen a killer feature versus Apple's modern trackpad this boils down to how you feel about Windows 8 versus OS X or whether you've had a bad experience with one of the two vendors.
You've proven that your earlier “double the price of every other PC laptop out there with the same specs” claim was simply untrue.
