Why Lenovo is the Best Laptop Brand and Apple Fell off a Cliff

[Guest]

The ThinkPad-maker topped Laptop Mag's Best and Worst Brand ratings--and for good reason.

Why Lenovo is the Best Laptop Brand and Apple Fell off a Cliff : Read more

 

[Kenneth Hans]

I'm surprised Lenovo made #1 anything. I've been thru a couple and hated them both. They had short battery life and they way they've moved some keys around on the keyboard drove me nuts. I'll never own another one.

 

[coolitic]

Why isn't this branded as "Op-Ed"?

 

[pensive69]

although i like the Lenovo product i must agree with Kenneth.
we have had repeated QC repair type issues with them and
i can't rate them highly on overall quality.
that said, the other topic i picked up on here was how
Apple seems to be trying for force customers into choices.
there is a reason people and companies buy fully featured
laptops and Apple isn't one of them.

 

[alternativeplans]

I used to love Think Pads, I bought my LAST one several years ago. While the Warranty had expired, I was contacting the support via phone, looking for where to get a diagnosis (preferred vendor). The guy was NASTY, and complained since the warranty was expired I should not be calling!

I have since moved from HP envy to ProBook, not without snafus, and 2 faulty motherboards. However, the Carepack Warranty and support is a lifesaver, and never a Nasty remark!

 

[NinjaNerd56]

Well, my work laptop IS a a StinkPad - it’s loaded well, runs Windows, and usually stays in a docking station on my desk.

My REAL work machine is an iPad Pro with a keyboard...that I’m typing on right now.

My usage ratio is about 80/20 in favor of the iPad. Now, I do not, and would not own a Mac laptop of any stripe. Overpriced and just useless for the 20% work I do in Windows with apps that don’t like being virtualized on OS/X. My co-workers have fat Macs that they are always fighting and cost more than the Lenovo machine I have.

Different strokes.

I will say the StinkPad has been mostly decent.

 

[Dosflores]

Apple certainly doesn't care about pro users anymore, but Macs still have a strong selling point: the tight integration of macOS and iOS. If you own an iPhone, Google is giving you even fewer reasons to switch to Android.

I've never owned an iPhone. I currently own a Galaxy S7, which is still on Android 7. Yeah, Android 8 was released eight months ago and the update for my phone still hasn't been published. As much as I like many Android features, I find it increasingly harder not to give in and buy an iPhone. And it's not because I'm after useless features like infinite displays, dual cameras, animojis or FaceID.

Apple is keen on filling Macs with useless features instead of creating good laptops. However, if you can't live without iOS, then macOS is the desktop OS that will increase your productivity the most. Sure, this doesn't apply to people who need lots of performance or typing at insane speeds. But, really, what percentage do those kinds of users represent out of the total of people who buys laptops to perform any kind of work?

 

[captaincharisma]

well deserved at least in the consumer market. i have a G510 ideapad that is 5+ years old and is still going strong

 

[Pedasc]

I really like a lot of the Lenovo designs however the one experience I had with their support was abysmal. I know that one anecdote isn't too damning but what I found odd was the way their online reporting system worked.

Once they receive an item the online system will give an estimated date. If they find another issue while in the repair they would report it and the system automatically adds six weeks for every issue they report. It won't take them that long but it makes the online reporting useless for all but the simplest of repairs so I had t call them to get an accurate estimate.

When I received it back the system was obviously unstable and showed issues right after I turned it on which makes me wonder. I've been living with it since and at least with some software updates and work-arounds it is usable.

I'm not sure if any of the others are better, I've heard stories about all of the big manufacturers, but my own personal experience will make me think twice about buying Lenovo again.

 

[g-unit1111]

I always laugh when I see those Apple commercials. But I also cringe when people think an iPad is a replacement for a PC. I mean in the technical sense it is, but an iPad cannot compete with the desktop or even laptop processing power found in today's PCs.

As far as Lenovo goes I had a Y series laptop for 5 years that was a great laptop until it got old and couldn't keep up with what I needed it to do.

 

[bhull302]

"Apple has shown utter disregard for its core audience."

This carries over to the desktop. The Mac Pro trashcan is 4 freaking years old. The next one isn't even due out until 2019. If you are a "pro" user, you are stuck on Ivy Bridge until at least next year.

 

[icepick314]

why is Lenovo so highly regarded?

how many times users must go through security issues before they decide to avoid Lenovo like a plague?

I wouldn't be surprised if Lenovo comes with backdoor sooner or later.

 

[g-unit1111]

"Apple has shown utter disregard for its core audience."

This carries over to the desktop. The Mac Pro trashcan is 4 freaking years old. The next one isn't even due out until 2019. If you are a "pro" user, you are stuck on Ivy Bridge until at least next year.

First off I think Ivy Bridge was what - '12 - '13? That makes it even worse! But the marketing on that PC-esque object is absolutely hilarious.

how many times users must go through security issues before they decide to avoid Lenovo like a plague?

What are you talking about? Could you elaborate on this further?

 

[brokenthorn]

I don't think the editor realizes that Apples vision of the future is to forgo traditional laptops altogether while still maintaining the same level of functionality and for that to happen, it needs a switch in CPU architecture from x86 to ARM and for software to switch as well. That's why I believe they are waiting so much to innovate.

 

[TJ Hooker]

My REAL work machine is an iPad Pro with a keyboard...that I’m typing on right now.

To be blunt, if your "real work machine is an iPad", you're not doing real work.

 

[captaincharisma]

My REAL work machine is an iPad Pro with a keyboard...that I’m typing on right now.

To be blunt, if your "real work machine is an iPad", you're not doing real work.

the fact that apple made a PRO version of the ipad and decided to use IOS instead of OSX/MACOS was an epic fail

 

[poochiepiano]

"Whipping out dongles" lmao

 

[g-unit1111]

the fact that apple made a PRO version of the ipad and decided to use IOS instead of OSX/MACOS was an epic fail

Totally agree here. If Apple wanted to compete with the Microsoft Surface - they should release a device that runs a real version of MacOS on it, not a cell phone operating system.

 

[lperreault21]

How is HP second.

And Dont get me started on Asus.

All of there products are just consumer grade crap.

IMO Dell / Lenovo are the only brands I would ever get.

 

[Anhrak]

I'll throw in my two cents that I am definetly NOT happy with Lenovo.

The laptop (y50-70) I had was suffering from a fabrication error with the connection between the Graphics card and the screen. This was a KNOWN ISSUE, and sent this to the repair center via my retailer. It came back after THREE WEEKS, and virtually nothing changed. I did it again as the issue became more persistent, and they STILL DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. On the third time I sent it for repair, I suddenly get the message Lenovo WON'T send my laptop back, because they couldn't repair it. I never got the chance to retrieve it in order to salvage any files I hadn't backed up yet, and they completely shut down communications between their retailer.

 

[artk2219]

I don't think the editor realizes that Apples vision of the future is to forgo traditional laptops altogether while still maintaining the same level of functionality and for that to happen, it needs a switch in CPU architecture from x86 to ARM and for software to switch as well. That's why I believe they are waiting so much to innovate.

While that may be the case, they're still alienating 20% of their users in that process. Sure they may want to build their own arm cores with their own in house graphics and not have to deal with anyone else other than a foundry, but there are still plenty of their die hard users who are being completely ignored in the mean time. I'm not one of those users because I think they've been a scum bag company for decades, but its just a crummy way for them to act, especially when they're sitting on literally hundreds of billions of dollars that they could do R&D work with. Then again it is apple and when was the last time they really cared about what anyone else thought other than themselves.

 

[Anhrak]

I don't think the editor realizes that Apples vision of the future is to forgo traditional laptops altogether while still maintaining the same level of functionality and for that to happen, it needs a switch in CPU architecture from x86 to ARM and for software to switch as well. That's why I believe they are waiting so much to innovate.

While that may be the case, they're still alienating 20% of their users in that process. Sure they may want to build their own arm cores with their own in house graphics and not have to deal with anyone else other than a foundry, but there are still plenty of their die hard users who are being completely ignored in the mean time. I'm not one of those users because I think they've been a scum bag company for decades, but its just a crummy way for them to act, especially when they're sitting on literally hundreds of billions of dollars that they could do R&D and design work with. Then again it is apple and when was the last time they really cared about what anyone else thought other than themselves.

I really don't know about that piece of info, I wasn't into manually building my own pc at that time so I don't know as such.

 

[jsomiller44]

Well if you want spyware built into your laptop, yes Lenovo is a good option. If you want a laptop that is rugged, easy to upgrade and comes with a minimal amount of bloatware pre-installed, get a Dell.

 

[truerock]

Anytime I start reading a PC review and the reviewer thinks obsolete technology support is a big bonus - I stop reading the article on the basis the writer is a living in the past. So, lauding the wonderfulness of having obsolete USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports just immediately lets me know I will find no useful information in the article.

 

[artk2219]

Anytime I start reading a PC review and the reviewer thinks obsolete technology support is a big bonus - I stop reading the article on the basis the writer is a living in the past. So, lauding the wonderfulness of having obsolete USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports just immediately lets me know I will find no useful information in the article.

Except USB-A isnt obsolete, its just a full size USB port, and the vast majority of all USB items produced in the past, and present, still use that port. So why would you want to have to carry an adapter for something that is still, and will still be widely used for the foreseeable future. Five years from now, if most things have gone to usb-c you can talk to me, but for now, nuh uh, it needs at least one sized USB port.