Intel posted a new ad the other day that sort of dumbfounded me.
The ad was of supposed Apple fans getting blindly led into a room and presented a bunch of "exciting" features Intel laptops have — expandable RAM, strong gaming capabilities, dual touch screens, etc. — that MacBooks do not have, with the Apple fans getting seemingly blown away by these features every time.
It's absolutely ludicrous.
Intel intended this to be a piece about how innovative and forward-thinking they are compared to their rivals. In reality, this piece is Intel trying to convince you they're doing great now by reminding you how cool they were in 2008, like a washed-up high school quarterback at his ten-year reunion.
Intel, I invite you to sell decades old technology as innovation all you want, but just understand that while you're doing that, AMD and Apple are currently doing your one job better than you, and Amazon, Google, and Microsoft will be there shortly. Talking about the wonders of expandable RAM isn't going to move the needle when you've delayed your 7nm process to 2023 even while Apple is already shipping 5nm and moving on to 4nm.
You are correct, Intel — Macs do not have the listed features like dual touchscreens or strong gaming capabilities. But Mac users have been consciously making these trade-offs for years. Using this ad to remind Mac users of these trade-offs again doesn't make me think, "Why do Mac users make these sacrifices?" It makes me think, "Why does Intel really have nothing new to talk about?"
I'm rooting for you, Intel. Competition among chipmakers has always led to faster innovation, and if this chip shortage has taught us anything, it's that we need a stronger domestic chipmaking presence. But this ad is the equivalent of you popping a bottle of Costco champagne and drunkenly screaming "WE'RE STILL THE GOAT!" But you're not anymore. And that won't change until you stop packaging yesterday's technology as tomorrow's roadmap.
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