Microsoft touts Surface success, claims more MacBook switchers than ever
Calling the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar a "disappointment," Microsoft claims that more users than ever are switching from Apple's MacBook lineup to its competing Surface lineup of hybrid laptop tablets.
In a new blog post, the Redmond, Wash., company claimed more people are switching from Macs to the Microsoft Surface than ever before. No actual sales figures were shared, however.
"Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro -- especially among professionals -- is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface," wrote Brian Hall, corporate vice president for Microsoft Devices Marketing.
The Windows maker claims that its Surface lineup --?including the Surface Book and Surface Studio --?is having its best holiday season ever.
For years, Apple boasted of taking market share away from the larger Windows platform, well before Microsoft stepped into the hardware business with its own lineup of tablets and laptops. Now, Apple mostly focuses on switchers from the Android platform to iPhone, reflecting the fact that the iPhone is its major revenue driver.
Microsoft expanded its Surface lineup in October with the new Surface Studio, an all-in-one desktop PC that takes on Apple's iMac with a unique adjustable touchscreen.
For its part, Apple claims that the new MacBook Pro is anything but a disappointment at launch. Last month, marketing chief Phil Schiller claimed that initial orders for the new Touch Bar-equipped models exceeded any other pro model that came before.
"We are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before," added Schiller. "So there certainly are a lot of people as excited as we are about it."
In a new blog post, the Redmond, Wash., company claimed more people are switching from Macs to the Microsoft Surface than ever before. No actual sales figures were shared, however.
"Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro -- especially among professionals -- is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface," wrote Brian Hall, corporate vice president for Microsoft Devices Marketing.
The Windows maker claims that its Surface lineup --?including the Surface Book and Surface Studio --?is having its best holiday season ever.
For years, Apple boasted of taking market share away from the larger Windows platform, well before Microsoft stepped into the hardware business with its own lineup of tablets and laptops. Now, Apple mostly focuses on switchers from the Android platform to iPhone, reflecting the fact that the iPhone is its major revenue driver.
Microsoft expanded its Surface lineup in October with the new Surface Studio, an all-in-one desktop PC that takes on Apple's iMac with a unique adjustable touchscreen.
For its part, Apple claims that the new MacBook Pro is anything but a disappointment at launch. Last month, marketing chief Phil Schiller claimed that initial orders for the new Touch Bar-equipped models exceeded any other pro model that came before.
"We are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before," added Schiller. "So there certainly are a lot of people as excited as we are about it."
Comments
Report sales numbers if you want us to believe any of it, Microsoft. All we actually know about these two products is: Apple has seen more launch orders for the new MBP than any other computer they've ever released, and Microsoft has written off the last 3 generations of Surface at a loss.
Not buying it. Literally or figuratively.
Agreed. It's not just about the hardware, but also the software. As a website developer, I could not see myself being nearly as productive on a Windows-based machine. In fact, I lived that test for several months years ago. Nothing compares to macOS when it comes to great development applications that work seamlessly together, not to mention the application-based switching (vs document-based switching on Windows) with Cmd-Tab (akin to Windows-Tab). Right now, I work on a team where everyone else is Windows-based and watching them work with their clunky software is painful, but they do get the job done, so I have respect for that. I'm just spoiled with a better OS.
And what are the sales numbers compared to what Apple does? I know that last one will be hard because Apple doesn't break down sales by Mac like they used to so either way we'd never know.
In the broader context, though, I think it's plausible that Microsoft might be doing more than just blowing smoke here.
There's a lot of dysfunction in Apple right now and that undermines the appeal of the ecosystem. For many Pro users who need a Pro desktop along with a Pro laptop, a change in platforms is becoming almost unavoidable.
A fool is born every minute, so this really isn't surprising. Anyone that's trading in a MacBook for the prices Microsoft is offering is an idiot. Resale value on those things is pretty darn great. I have a late-2013 rMBP that was fully spec'd out that's going for about $1,000. Not too bad for a 3 year old computer.
I'm still waiting on my 2016 MBP (which should tell you something right there about demand) and after trying one out at Best Buy and the Apple Store, I can tell you the Touch Bar isn't a gimmick or a fad. It works pretty dang awesome for a lot of things and many apps I use are updating with support for it. I want to use a laptop as a laptop and use a tablet as a tablet. Surface fails as a tablet in my opinion although Microsoft does have some nice hardware in the laptop category (at Apple prices of course)
The biggest problem with the Surface is it runs Windows.
Windows 10 is just indescribably bad (IMHO).
Disclaimer
I wrote my first paper on Operating Systems in 1975, written device drivers for at least 5 different OS's and lots of other OS releated stuff over the years.