> compromises the average user buying a $599 laptop isn't going to notice everyday

Oh my god yes. I've read way too much discussions that completely overlook this aspect.

So many people get so fixated on meaningless labels such as "smartphone CPU" (meaning it's bad) and things to pick on like "ew no HDMI or Ethernet" as if it was a life-saving thought terminator that preserves the world view in which absolutely nothing under the Apple brand can be in any way good.