Apple’s fancy new Mac book is £170

The Gospel According to Steve Jobs?

Pretty much. Designed by Apple in California is a suitably minimalist trip down memory lane, with 450 photographs of Apple’s wares from the Steve Jobs era and beyond, starting with 1998’s iconic colourful iMac and ending with the iPad Pro’s Pencil. It’s not so much designed to be read, more left on the coffee table and noticed.

Yeah, I’ve noticed it comes in two sizes. What’s the difference?

Well spotted. In traditional Apple style there are two size to choose from but, unlike an iPhone, what’s inside is exactly the same no matter which one you choose. The small edition (10.20×12.75in) is £169 and the large one (13×16.25in) will set you back £249.

It’s printed on “specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges, using eight colour separations and low-ghost ink.” Can you think of a more Apple way to describe a book than that?

Rumours of an audiobook version, with Jony Ive describing each picture in his familiar dulcet tones, remain unconfirmed.

£170 for a glorified catalogue? The Android lot are going to have a field day with this

Yeah, but you can’t imagine Samsung or Dell doing one, can you? Whether this is a stick to beat Apple with, or another example of what sets the company apart from the others, will depend on your allegiance. Although even the most hardcore Apple acolyte might struggle to justify actually buying one.

Perhaps it includes pictures of “brave” product designers removing headphone ports in the line of duty…

According to the blurb it will offer a peek behind the curtain at “the materials and techniques used by Apple’s design team over two decades of innovation,” which sounds like catnip to design nerds keen to get a glimpse of what goes on in those super-secret labs at Infinite Loop.

Of course plenty of people will think it’s the smuggest, most self-congratulatory rip-off they’ve ever encountered, but considering it’s dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, we’d rather call it a suitably polished (and suitably expensive) tribute to one of tech’s true greats.