"Hey Siri" support and possibly wireless charging case alongside AirPower charging mat.
AirPods and AirPower: Everything We Know
HP Defends New Ultrabook Design Against Noted Similarities to Apple's MacBook Air
With the introduction of its new ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook today, HP is finding itself defending the lightweight notebook's design as observers have raised comparisons to Apple's MacBook Air. The issue was addressed directly in a Q&A session with HP design executive Stacy Wolff, with Engadget reporting on Wolff's response to a question speculating that Apple might try to sue over the design. Wolff argued:
Engadget followed up with Wolff after the session, and he offered some more thoughts on how there are only so many solutions to a given design problem and how HP's design differs from Apple's.
Responding to comments about the black "chiclet" keyboard on silver body being similar to Apple's implementation, Wolff notes that a simple color choice doesn't amount to copying and that HP's work with chiclet-style keyboards dates back to the mid-1980s.
HP is far from the first ultrabook manufacturer to be the subject of questions about potentially copying Apple's MacBook Air. Most notably, ASUS was one of the first company's to show off an ultrabook design in the middle of last year, with that design bearing an even more remarkable similarity to the MacBook Air. PC manufacturers have been rushing to bring ultrabooks to the market, now taking advantage of Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors in an effort to take on the MacBook Air in what is predicted to be the future of notebook computing.
I would go back to the TC1000 [Tablet PC] from about 10 years, and that's a tablet. I think if you look at the new Spectre XT, there are similarities in a way, not due to Apple but due to the way technologies developed. Apple may like to think that they own silver, but they don't. In no way did HP try to mimic Apple. In life there are a lot of similarities.
Engadget followed up with Wolff after the session, and he offered some more thoughts on how there are only so many solutions to a given design problem and how HP's design differs from Apple's.
The thing is that you have to design what's right, and that is that sometimes the wedge is the right solution, silver is the right solution. I see a lot of differences as much as the similarities. I think anybody that's close enough to the business sees that there are differences in the design. Ours is rubber-coated at the bottom. We use magnesium; they didn't do that -- they use CNC aluminum. We did a brush pattern on our product; they didn't. We did a different kind of keyboard execution. We did audio as a component; they didn't. So there are a lot of things I can list off that are differences; but if you want to look at a macro level, there are a lot of similarities to everything in the market that's an Ultrabook today. It is not because those guys did it first; it's just that's where the form factor is leading it.Wolff goes on to cite the "form follows function" argument in claiming that there are only so many ways internal components can fit into a notebook and that the wedge shape is a natural result of how those physical constraints manifest themselves in a usable product design.
Responding to comments about the black "chiclet" keyboard on silver body being similar to Apple's implementation, Wolff notes that a simple color choice doesn't amount to copying and that HP's work with chiclet-style keyboards dates back to the mid-1980s.
HP is far from the first ultrabook manufacturer to be the subject of questions about potentially copying Apple's MacBook Air. Most notably, ASUS was one of the first company's to show off an ultrabook design in the middle of last year, with that design bearing an even more remarkable similarity to the MacBook Air. PC manufacturers have been rushing to bring ultrabooks to the market, now taking advantage of Intel's new Ivy Bridge processors in an effort to take on the MacBook Air in what is predicted to be the future of notebook computing.
[ 320 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
89 months ago
The Spectre in particular isn't a complete ripoff, I've seen much worse. I don't remember if it's from HP or not, but it was so blatant. I think it was the ASUS?
The Spectre is different enough, I'd say. I don't think they copied much, if anything. Similar yes, copy... not really.
Aside from not being really into the aesthetic choices, it's not (too) ugly. I'd say good job HP.
I hope the Beats fad wears off soon.
The Spectre is different enough, I'd say. I don't think they copied much, if anything. Similar yes, copy... not really.
Aside from not being really into the aesthetic choices, it's not (too) ugly. I'd say good job HP.
I hope the Beats fad wears off soon.
89 months ago
If Steve Jobs taught us anything, it's that the future belongs to the innovators. Whether HP deliberately "copied" anything isn't the issue; their design doesn't bring much innovation to the table.
"Similarities" are seldom accidental. Had HP's design been genuinely innovative, it would have been on the market long ago. It wasn't. The reason is pretty simple: HP still leads by the bottom line. Apple leads with passion that isn't managed by the board or otherwise forced to conform to economic constraints.
"Similarities" are seldom accidental. Had HP's design been genuinely innovative, it would have been on the market long ago. It wasn't. The reason is pretty simple: HP still leads by the bottom line. Apple leads with passion that isn't managed by the board or otherwise forced to conform to economic constraints.
89 months ago
there are only so many solutions
It seems that Apple are good at finding solutions that have not been used before. Others not so much.
89 months ago
It's certainly different enough. It even uses two traditional hinges for the screen (very PC) - unlike the large clamshell that Apple uses for every laptop.
89 months ago
Oh look, the HP is up to date with technology since it has USB 3.0 and I'll bet money it has user-upgradable RAM and SSD instead of being soldered in like Apple insists on using. How long before somebody makes a Hackintosh out of one? Probably not very long at all.
89 months ago
Sorry, but justifying using the same design as the MBA by saying it is "due to the way technologies developed" just doesn't cut it. I bet if it had not been for the Air, this HP machine and many other ultrabooks would not have a wedge shaped design.
Apple weren't the first to use a thin, wedge shaped design. This Sony Vaio was available 4 years before the first MacBook Air was released. Also note the chiclet keyboard. ;)
89 months ago
Chiclet keyboards and wedge design
Oh, heck. My Spectravideo SV-318 had a chiclet keyboard and a wedge design back in 1983.
Oh, heck. My Spectravideo SV-318 had a chiclet keyboard and a wedge design back in 1983.
89 months ago
I`m not going into `the copied MBA or not` argument but a sentence like `there are lots similarities in life` to defend yourself sounds pretty weak to me coming from a company like HP.
89 months ago
I see no problem with this design, and I think he's right about the industry as a whole heading into certain directions when it comes to design. Granted, Apple deserves an overwhelmingly majority of the credit when it comes to design choices... but you can't simply copyright the use of aluminum in computers. It's a natural element that occurs in nature, it's not as if Apple invented it, like say Carbon Fiber.
I realize this HP doesn't use Aluminum and Apple didn't invent Carbon FIber... I'm merely making a point
If you ask me, I think the aluminum MacBook Pro design that was implemented in 2008 is far more attractive and exquisite from a design and engineering standpoint than the MacBook Air design. In my humble opinion, Apple should have dropped the wedge design of the Air and just waited until they could make the entire laptop as thin as the thinnest point on the current MacBook Air.
I realize this HP doesn't use Aluminum and Apple didn't invent Carbon FIber... I'm merely making a point
If you ask me, I think the aluminum MacBook Pro design that was implemented in 2008 is far more attractive and exquisite from a design and engineering standpoint than the MacBook Air design. In my humble opinion, Apple should have dropped the wedge design of the Air and just waited until they could make the entire laptop as thin as the thinnest point on the current MacBook Air.
89 months ago
Seems I didn't make things clear enough:
Latch: An apple innovation
Of dubious merit, most said it was crap, no longer on the market.
Wedge: A sony innovation
(I would say general idea, but taking apple's very loose meaning of the word innovation)
oh and wait, what's that little fella from 2006, it looks like something from hp, with a silver finish on top, a black keyboard, and a wedge shape:
The only "innovative" design in the air has been the most despised one by air users, the most panned one by critics, and the one eventually discontinued: The Latch.
Latch: An apple innovation
Of dubious merit, most said it was crap, no longer on the market.
Wedge: A sony innovation
(I would say general idea, but taking apple's very loose meaning of the word innovation)
oh and wait, what's that little fella from 2006, it looks like something from hp, with a silver finish on top, a black keyboard, and a wedge shape:
The only "innovative" design in the air has been the most despised one by air users, the most panned one by critics, and the one eventually discontinued: The Latch.
[ Read All Comments ]
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Luna Display adapter. The Luna Display is a handy little dongle that's designed to...
In late November, Apple launched a limited time promotion that offers up to $100 in additional credit when trading in an iPhone 6 through iPhone 8 towards the purchase of a new iPhone XS or...
Apple today filed its 2018 Conflict Minerals Report with the SEC as part of its commitment to supplier responsibility.
Apple said it remains "deeply committed" to upholding human...
Apple's Beats by Dre brand today unveiled a new NBA collection, with Beats Studio 3 Wireless Headphones available in six colorways representing the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers,...
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey today commented on the possibility of an edit button for tweets, suggesting Twitter is considering a feature that might let people go back and add clarifications or...
In the wake of Apple's decision to end its AirPort line of routers, many users continue to hunt for the best possible Wi-Fi networking solution. Ubiquiti Networks' AmpliFi routers have been...
Today is Valentine's Day, and as it happens on holidays, many online retailers are using the event to share Valentine-themed discounts and offers to their customers. In this post we've...
First released in 2016, Apple's AirPods are widely considered to be one of the company's best products in recent years, with AirPods offering great battery life, portability, simple charging,...
