I've had several MBP 15 inchers and just bought an X1 Carbon, Gen 7. I knew I was going to run linux on it.
The X1 is probably less hardware, but it's also less goop. Touchbar? The whole experience is quieter, more minimalist, and in some important ways more refined. I would say the main reason to get a mac is the OS, if that's what you want. For me, though, Mac OS is same story w/r/t to goop. Much worse, actually. With Mac OS I increasingly felt like Apple had forgotten that it was my computer. That I owned it and they didn't get to say what I did with it and when I did it. I was an interloper lucky enough to be a user of _their_ system.
The carbon is also suuuper light and has great battery life if you get the dumbed-down screen (which I have and which is great, imo). So far, I'm very happy with it.
The X1 is probably less hardware, but it's also less goop. Touchbar? The whole experience is quieter, more minimalist, and in some important ways more refined. I would say the main reason to get a mac is the OS, if that's what you want. For me, though, Mac OS is same story w/r/t to goop. Much worse, actually. With Mac OS I increasingly felt like Apple had forgotten that it was my computer. That I owned it and they didn't get to say what I did with it and when I did it. I was an interloper lucky enough to be a user of _their_ system.
The carbon is also suuuper light and has great battery life if you get the dumbed-down screen (which I have and which is great, imo). So far, I'm very happy with it.