I've been around a lot of modern MacBooks both in my company and I've also owned a bunch, none of them stunk.
I think this is a rare issue. At least it is lower than 1/20, if not much much lower.
The tech industry might actually be worse than it was 20 years ago.
I also fully acknowledge that change starts with me, unfortunately those changes don't pay the bills.
Apparently it's a meme and Zoomers are huffing their Steam Deck exhaust. Hmm.
From the descriptions I've read the smell is similar or identical.
Maybe they use the same magic ooze.
Ethyl acetate is used to wash flux off PCBs.
It's also used as an artificial flavoring in British "pear drops" which is probably why some people say it smells like pineapple.
It is a sweet odor, but chemically irritating. It cannot be good to breathe.
I'm shocked no one has identified the source of the odor yet. Is it thermal paste? Flux/solder paste? Turtle jizz?
The comparison itself seems moot, comparing a consumer-grade consumable device built out of a phone, to a more sustainable, modular, upgrade-able device.