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Beloved Apple developer writes an absolutely scathing review of Apple’s newest MacBook

Published May 20th, 2015 2:56PM EDT
Apple 2015 MacBook Review Marco Arment
Image: Apple

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Instapaper Marco Arment is a very influential iOS and Mac developer who has long sung the praises of many Apple products. However, he’s also not afraid to let Apple absolutely have it when he thinks they’ve delivered a subpar effort and that’s exactly what he thinks they’ve done with the new 2015 MacBook. In a scathing review published on his blog, Arment rips into Apple for the design choices it made with the new laptop and he even expresses concern about whether the company has run out of ideas for improving its computers other than making them thinner.

RELATED: Hugely influential iOS developer: ‘I don’t think anyone will look back fondly on the iPhone 6′

So, what does Arment not like about the new MacBook? A lot of things, including:

  • The keyboard: “The MacBook’s keyboard is not good.”
  • The trackpad: “It is also not good.”
  • The processing power: “This is not a fast machine.”
  • The overall usability: “I just hate using it.”

Long story short, he doesn’t think it’s a good device, especially for the money Apple’s charging. And this is coming from someone who shelled out big bucks back in 2012 to get the first Retina MacBook Pro, which he considers one of the best computers he’s ever bought.

From a big-picture perspective, Arment worries about what the new MacBook says about the direction Apple is headed.

“Apple’s priorities have changed,” he declares. “Rather than make really great products that are mostly thin, they now make really thin products that are mostly great. This concerns me more than you probably think it should. Not only does it represent compromised standards in areas I believe are important, but it suggests that they don’t have many better ideas to advance the products beyond making them thinner, and they’re willing to sacrifice anything to keep that going.”

Read his whole essay by clicking here.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.