Your points are completely valid, I get your frustration. But you are comparing against previous generations of MacBooks. I would like to know your thoughts when comparing against e.g. a top tier ThinkPad running Windows or Linux.
Wasn't Java problem a a branding issue? Java got a bad reputation of being slow and not looking native. Java apps looked like Java apps. Also, they were so slow that could actually tell when the garbage collector was working. by the time Java got fast it was too late. Even now, .Net guys that didn't bother getting to know Java after its first decade, usually say Java is slow. Something similar happens now with people who hasn't used JavaScript in 15 years saying it's not a real language, etc., etc.