The cheapest Dell Inspiron doesn't even hold a candle to the MacBook Air. They're not competing in the same class...

That's true, for sure. But I was answering to "Why would anyone (who is not forced) buy an Intel PC laptop when these are available and priced as competitive as they are?". The answer is simple, everyone, who does not want to spend $999 will buy an Intel/AMD laptop. And $999 is quite a lot for someone who does not need a powerful workhorse. That Insiron is extremely underpowered, yet it'll launch web browser and office apps with some swapping here and there. Apple is not going to kill x86 laptop market with it, just like it won't kill smartphone market with their $400 SE phone when you can buy $100 android phone.

Another thing is that you can buy "gaming" laptop for $999. Something like i7-10750H with GTX 1650. And it's powerful enough to run almost any game on high to medium setting. Apple GPU is awesome compared to Intel GPU, but compared to dedicated Nvidia GPU - not so much. So if you need GPU for gaming, that's another area where Apple does not compete with their new laptops. At least for now.

Ultrabook with focus on portability and long battery life - Apple is awesome here.

> Ultrabook with focus on portability and long battery life - Apple is awesome here.

Exactly that, I think that's the ultimate reason to have a laptop and if not, it might make sense to re-think the setup. Why should I buy a 1500$ Intel/AMD mobile workhorse when the battery is empty after 2 hours? It usually makes more sense to have a server at home or VPS for that. Also a lot of native Apps like Steam have first-class support for that nowadays. For the rest Parsec might work.

It certainly does when the best one can hope to bring home as software engineer is around 1000 euros after taxes.

I fully get that the cheapest option might fit your budget and the MBA doesn't. And that's absolutely fine. Been there, done that. Heck, I wish my 1st laptop had cost $300 but in the end it was more around what the MBA cost today.

But it's not really an Apples to Apples comparison.

I am lucky for having gotten the opportunity to live and work in a country where buying an Apple device is not an issue, and there are plenty of them around the office, but I don't forget my roots nor the monetary possibilities of similar countries that I had the fortune to visit.

Well, buying an Apple laptop is not a necessity or some fundamental human right. It's a nicety for those who can afford it and appreciate the differences (and understand the tradeoffs).

In raw performance per buck you could always get a customer PC setup for cheaper, especially in desktop form.

In some countries, even a $300 laptop comes down to half a year's salaries...

Indeed, which gets back to the original OP point not standing.

> Why would anyone (who is not forced) buy an Intel PC laptop when these are available and priced as competitive as they are?

Apple devices are definitely not priced competitive outside first world countries.

It is an Apples to Dells comparison :)

That's for each buyer to consider, based on their budget and prospects.

Answer straight from the horse's mouth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAo8gnUCWzE

The recent keyboard fiasco would say otherwise.

You're free to buy the 50% plastic Dell Inspiron which comes with is probably underpowered for Windows 10 and comes with several free nagwares

You might be better served by wiping it and installing Linux though