> I don't get the attraction of luxury laptop lines at this point.
I'd love a luxury laptop: a machine I could upgrade and maintain with minimum hassle, a machine with a properly designed cooling system that would last years without breaking down.
Apple doesn't make those anymore. It makes machines with parts glued together, and drives soldered to the board, whose GPUs overheat and die after a few months.
Venturing into car analogy territory, luxury cars are notorious for needing a lot of (expensive) maintenance and not having user-accessible repairs.
You want either a daily driver car or a ricer.
(I don't disagree - Apple used to manage to make computers that were a rare a meld of all kinds - the eminently upgradeable PowerMac G4 with the hinged door! - but not any longer)
My metaphor is leaking! My point is that I would be quite happy to buy a $3000 machine if it were stelar quality, and I could rely on it for the next five years. Some people will always pay top dollar for pro gear. If you use and rely on a piece of equipment enough, it's worth it.
Apple doesn't make those anymore. It makes machines with parts glued together, and drives soldered to the board, whose GPUs overheat and die after a few months.