I love your channel and style — have been a subscriber for years — but increasingly I wish tech reviewers lived in the same world as the rest of us.
Yes, the XPS laptops are amazing and they’re the kind of device we’d love to get our hands on. However, that’s not realistic for most of us… whether home users, freelancers or even business users, where the focus of cash-strapped IT procurement is on cost and longevity. A lot of these high-end laptops are getting into the realm car buying territory, as enjoyed by young families all over, by which I mean the second-hand Focus, Zafira or Qashqai.
Too many reviewers seem to be caught in their own tech bubble or echo chamber, and fail to address a use cases beyond their own. The ability to run Final Cut Pro is obviously going to be important if you’re running a YouTube channel, and therefore it’s natural that you will focus on high-spec devices. But what of broader use cases? The family with two kids at home, who both need a laptop capable of running Office 365 and Teams. The freelancer who needs to code, edit photos or publish. The business user who needs a reliable device for office work.
Most of these users need an affordable device that is good enough for their particular use case, that will last at least 5 years, if not a decade. Reviewers need to reconnect with their viewers and address more realistic everyday concerns. Put your expertise to good use in helping ordinary folk get the tech they actually need.
Yours etc.
Last modified: 21 September 2024
Very very true. I’ve started recommending chromebooks and ipads over and above laptops because for most people these devices will get the job done (and can be more robust). Then I recommend the old thinkpad line of laptops refurbished. Very rarely do I recommend a new laptop.
A man after my own heart. The kids are both running nearly decade-old devices running Linux at the moment. One will probably need to be replaced with a Chromebook in the next year, or perhaps an old Thinkpad as you suggest.