In terms of build quality, it's a very subjective subject but I think the XPS, Surface Book, and Razor Blade all have superior build quality to modern MacBook Pros.

I'm a fan of the XPS in particular. The base models for the XPS are only a couple hundred cheaper USD less than a base MacBook Pro, but MacBooks dramatically increase in price for minor spec improvements so the XPS gives you much better performance value at the high end.

> So if said amazing laptop also supports a Linux with great interop, perfect trackpad function etc., like macOS does - I'll eat my own hat.

Last I checked, macOS runs on Darwin, not Linux. Do you mean you're installing Linux on a MacBook?

So it's not good enough for me to provide examples that support my claim. I have to find examples that also meet your own criteria.

If you want a high-end Linux book, I would suggest an XPS. They have a "Developer Edition" that ships with Ubuntu. It's cheaper than a MacBook, but not by a huge margin. I can't attest to the Linux experience on non-developer-edition models.

I said linux because I’m aware macOS isn’t ever going to be available on non-Apple hardware :-) my other criteria are simply about restating that a MacBook isn’t just its build quality but also the privacy conscious, secure and developer friendly macOS experience.

At any rate, I’m not here for an OS flame war, but power to you if you think that a Dell XPS running Ubuntu is:

a) comparably smooth to using a macbook and

b) is available at a “fraction” of the price.

In the meanwhile I’ll go back to my skeptical perch and wait for a true challenger to emerge (which seemingly may never happen based on history, sadly).

Trust me, I'm not advocating for Windows here. macOS has plenty of advantages, especially in terms of privacy. And I'm not even trying to argue that the MacBook is a bad purchase.

I just think much of the market has caught with Apple in terms of build quality - especially in light of recent issues surrounding the touch bar and keyboard - so I don't think the Fiat/Audi analogy was a good one for the modern laptop market.

Lenovo carbon series are probably the benchmark these days.