Pixel vs MacBook vs Pi

When I read about the specs of the new MacBook, I was quite shocked. In order to make it maybe a bit simpler for people to decide whether or not a certain price for a certain product is reasonable, I thought I might help a little bit with decision making by coming up with some comparison. So, here it is. The comparison of the Google Chromebook Pixel, the Apple MacBook and the Raspberry Pi. Uh, Raspberry Pi? Yes.

Comparison of the technical specifications of Apple MacBook 2015, Google Chromebook Pixel 2015 and Raspberry Pi 2
Device Apple MacBook Google Chromebook Pixel Raspberry Pi 2
Model Basic Top Basic Top Basic Top
Case Width 280.5 mm 297.7 mm n/a
Depth 196.50 mm 224.55 mm
Height 13.1 mm 15.3 mm
Weight 0.92 kg 1.5 kg
CPU Model Intel Core ARM
M i5 i7 Cortex-A7
Bits 64 32
Cores 2 4
Clock (MHz) 1100 1300 2200 2400 900
RAM Size (GiB) 8 16 1
Clock 1600 MHz ? ?
GPU Intel HD Graphics Broadcom VideoCore IV
5300 5500
Flash Storage (GB) 256 512 32 64 16 128
Battery Capacity ? n/a
Runtime Up to 10 hours Up to 12 hours
Max Cons. ? 700 ma
Display Size 12" 12.85" n/a
Touch no Multi-touch
Resolution 2304 × 1440 2560 × 1700
ppi 226 239
aspect ratio 16:10 3:2
supported
scaled
resolutions		 1440 × 900
1280 × 800
1024 × 640		 ?
HDMI Ports via USB Type-C (Adapter sold separately) 1
Max Resolution 3840 × 2160 3840 × 2160 (?) 1920 × 1200
Camera Format 480p 720p 1080p
H.264 unknown yes
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 no Bluetooth 4.0
Network Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac no 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Ethernet n/a RJ-45 100 MBit/s
USB 2.0 Ports n/a 4 2
3.0 Ports n/a 2 n/a
USB-C Ports 1 2 n/a
Card Reader n/a SD n/a
Native Operating System Mac OS X Yosemite Google Chrome OS Misc
Price $1299 $1599 $999 $1299 ca. $60 ca. $100

Conclusion

Apple MacBook

Compared with what you get, Apple seems totally overpriced. And I’m not talking of the overpriced as usual. The MacBook is a stupid rip-off. 480p camera? Intel Core M CPU? Only one USB port? Apple, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

The lack of 1920 × 1080 as a scaled resolution also is a no-go. These days 1920 × 1080 is the perfect resolution for creating screen casts. And according to the specs, the MacBook simply doesn’t support it.

Google Chromebook Pixel (2015)

The Google Chromebook Pixel makes a solid, decent impression. The only flaw is the poor camera: A 720p camera is not appropriate for a mid-range device in 2015.

Raspberry Pi 2

Of course, the comparison is strange. But it opens your eyes about where the money goes. Are the Intel CPU/GPU, the RAM, the case, the display really worth that much? Are they needed? The performance attributes of the Raspberry Pi 2 are that of a netbook - but so are those of the Apple MacBook.

Sources of information

Apple MacBook
Apple MacBook Tech Specs (Apple)
Google Chromebook Pixel
Google Chromebook Pixel Tech specs (Google)
Raspberry Pi
Raspberri Pi (Wikipedia)

Updates

2015-03-30

Written on March 15, 2015