*Looks at a 5y old G14 that gives a modern m4 Air a run for its money.

Yeah, Imma call BS on that. Apple has a handful of product lines that share vertically integrated components that allows them the economies of scale to integrate great things like their glass trackpad in cheaper models like the air. That said, there are several premium laptops at the same price tags than Apple that are arguably a better choice than the Apple offerings, the aforementioned G14 among them, especially if one takes linux compatibility seriously.