I really loved my previous Mac laptops (still use my 2014 Air) because I got functioning hibernate on lid close (still magical even now), the screen dimmed to ambient light levels, I got a nice sweet spot of Unix and GUI software, they had MagSafe, their track pads are consistently great.
My daily driver is a Dell XPS running Pop and frankly it’s simply not as good.
I’d suggest that it’s not what “everybody wants”, but that people love their Macs and talk about it. And manufacturers are simply trying to copy what they can. Which is only the outside.
That may be part of it, but that "MacBook" look is not particularly bad either. Now as to how much it should have evolved over time vs how much it actually has... that's a different story.
I don't disagree. Certainly the 90s look of black matte plastic with separate hinges and huge bezels around the display looks cheap and low-quality and if I'm honest it's one of the reasons I don't own a System76 machine.
My daily driver is a Dell XPS running Pop and frankly it’s simply not as good.
I’d suggest that it’s not what “everybody wants”, but that people love their Macs and talk about it. And manufacturers are simply trying to copy what they can. Which is only the outside.