JDB, I'm agreeing with you! The point being that Apple's specs are for a *closed* laptop and ignore the height of the feet. They do not tell us how high the keyboard and palm rest are, nor do they tell us how thick the front of the laptop is with it open and ready for typing.
The reason that the thickness of the front matters (when the laptop is open) is because it's a proxy for the height and the likelihood of the edge digging into one's palms. I should have, however, referred to the "front side" rather than "edge". Obviously, the edge or line at the top is the same across all laptops (almost like the old geometry statement that a line has no thickness). Although, a curved front would have no edge! Another critical factor is the depth of the palm rest.
I'm typing this right now on a 13" 2015 MBA and the front side of the laptop, i.e., where it tapers off, is vanishingly small and close to the table top. In contrast, the MacBook Pros of this past decade had much thicker front sides, and were higher off the table, meaning that its edge was more likely to dig into many people's palms or wrists.
In any case, let's see what user reports tell us, especially from those
with larger hands who found the MBPs uncomfortable and the MBAs (classic and M1) comfortable. However, the selection bias I mentioned before will remain an issue, so this will almost assuredly be a case where people will need to try it out for themselves!
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've discovered that I'm typically typing with the laptop in my lap, so that the height of the front side (and edge!) probably doesn't matter any more.
Now, about that notch... 😎
