Apple’s Thinnest Laptop Requires Someone Else To Hold It
The new machine weighs almost nothing, provided an employee remains behind it for the duration of ownership.
Apple has revealed a laptop so thin that it must be held upright by a second person, giving customers the lightest computing experience the company has ever made someone else’s problem.
During a demonstration, industrial designer Felix Arroyo rested one finger behind the display while a colleague edited a photograph. Arroyo remained there through the export, the applause, and a brief discussion about lunch. A replacement designer stepped in when his wrist began to shake.
The support person is sold separately. Customers can choose a friend, a spouse, or an Apple-approved structural companion starting at $29 an hour. The companion cannot see the screen unless they purchase a privacy upgrade.
“A hinge adds material,” Arroyo explained. “We looked at everything that wasn’t essential to the customer’s relationship with the product. The hinge was doing a job somebody’s boyfriend could do.”
Reviewers praised the courage required to remove a component that had been holding laptops open for decades. One early review deducted half a point because the reviewer’s wife needed to leave for a dentist appointment, causing the computer to fold shut during a benchmark.
Apple says a desk stand would compromise the silhouette. Instead, customers who prefer to work alone can book a Genius Bar appointment and complete their spreadsheet while an employee supports the lid. Appointments last 15 minutes, including the introduction.
The redesigned machine also removes the weight of a functioning relationship from the specification sheet. Apple measures the laptop alone, without the companion, their lunch, or the chair they will eventually ask for. In response to questions about whether two people can realistically travel lighter than one person with a normal computer, Arroyo asked reporters to pick the laptop up again.
It is, to be fair, very light. You can barely feel the thing that no longer does its job.
Setup begins with a short pairing process. The owner opens the lid while the second person confirms they are willing to stand there. Apple recommends using someone already in the household, although a person hired through the companion marketplace can be added with a six-digit code. If the companion refuses the code, the customer will be asked to review what they said during breakfast.
The company has demonstrated a professional configuration for video editors, using one person behind each of two external displays. The workers wear matching black shirts and can be synchronized through a shared calendar. Editors who need accurate color are advised to ask their companions to stop leaning forward to see what the fuss is about. A companion who recognizes the client has to sign a separate agreement.
Customer Elena Rios, a freelance illustrator in Portland, said the device had changed her workflow. Her husband holds the screen while she draws, which means he can no longer ask whether she’s nearly finished from another room. He now asks directly into her ear. Rios has been using the noise-canceling headphones she bought to solve the previous version of this problem.
“The old laptop just sat there,” Rios said. “This one tells me its shoulder hurts. I suppose that’s more interactive. He also wants to know whether we can watch something he picks after I send the file. I never had to negotiate with the hinge.”
AppleCare will cover accidental falls caused by an approved companion sneezing, provided the owner submits the required health declaration. Falls resulting from arguments are classified as environmental damage. The company says it cannot determine fault in a disagreement about dishwasher loading and has suggested buying a second laptop so both parties can work independently with other people.
Accessibility options include support for a trained service companion, a longer cable that lets the companion sit down, and a voice command asking someone to come back. The command works with Siri, which will announce the request to every compatible speaker in the home. Users are advised to select a neutral tone before asking for the third time.
A more substantial hinge is reportedly available inside Apple’s repair centers, where technicians use it to hold the device open while diagnosing customers’ complaints. The part cannot be sold to the public because it would fundamentally alter the experience. Arroyo says the next generation could be thinner still. Engineers are investigating whether the second person really needs to be paid every week.
The laptop ships in a box with a molded recess for a hand. Owners have been advised to keep the packaging until they establish whether the person holding their computer is happy in the relationship.
