It's the claim that they're benefiting from disappointment at the MBP 'especially among professionals' bit that makes this seem particularly bogus. The 'professionals' who are fussing about the new MBP are not going to then choose to buy a Surface with less power, memory and disk space than a MBP. Based on the gnashing-of-teeth here and on other message boards about the MBP, those people (the ones who aren't just paid trolls) are going to be buying high-end notebooks with all the extra bells and whistles they can get.
Nobody is going to complain that the aluminum body on a Ford F-150 isn't strong enough for their work and then turn around and buy a Toyota Prius instead.
Apple needs to start being more careful. While I doubt Microsoft's sales numbers have globally meaningful impact on Apple, the differentiation of the Mac line is disappearing when compared to a host of different options. While I wouldn't lump chromebooks into the equation, there are a number of very good competitors out there and Apple doesn't seem to care about anything but making their products "sleeker." I am a year late in replacing my iMac, and 6 months on my MacBook Air because there aren't really any compelling reasons to do so.
When you add in MS Remote Desktop and using a Terminal Services server rather than relying on Parallels/VMware Workstation, it is very easy for the market to dry up for Apple.
That said, I really want to keep the unix backend on my computers...
I agree that Microsoft's announcement screams of number games, but in the real world I have seen a surprising interest in the Surface convertibles. This is despite the very high price and the abortion that is Windows 10 Pro. There are a lot of executives, salespeople, and other high-end professionals that are comfortable with Windows and don't want to be bothered learning a new OS. I think that the vast majority also don't realize that Office 2016 has pretty close to feature parity on the Mac now (although the lack of support for Outlook plugins on MacOS is a big deal for some).
So yes, shenanigans on the numbers, but the interest in the platform is very real.
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.
The Surface tries to be a tablet and a laptop and fails at both. Apple figured out that the same OS doesn't do well for both tasks so they put iOS on the iPad instead of OS X.
I highly doubt Macbook user would convert to Windows including surface.
If it was a just a choice between those two specific products then I would agree.
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.
No it isn't. That's just "concern". I'm a pro, happy with my MBP, and have such a speedy imac 27" I don't even need the MP. I am not alone.
In fact, I've found most people expressing such "concern" aren't pros or don't even use a MP. They just want to express their deeply held "concern".
I am not a big fan of the new macbook and MBP line up, but apparently they are selling well.
The macbook has a nice format but is too gimp for me The macbook pro are nice macbook air upgrades, but very expensive There are no "pro" version anymore.
Funny how people here were more forgiving when Apple refused to disclose Apple Watch numbers.
We already know that the Apple Watch dominates the smartwatch market. Didn't really need numbers for that in the first place. It was totally expected.
But four years on and the Surface barely has any traction. When you hear those long-suffering MS fans (of what, exactly, no one can fathom) claim "it's just a reference device to inspire OEMs!" you know it's a dud.
One fact is that MS released project 'bash' (yes its actually called like that, like pressing Start to Exit) to have an Ubuntu Linux subsystem (that's binary compatible, at least on Intel systems) to prevent web developers to leave Windows in droves ...
I highly doubt Macbook user would convert to Windows including surface.
If it was a just a choice between those two specific products then I would agree.
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.
While I agree that Apple deserves some criticism, these Microsoft machines don't seem to be the answer. There's no model with a 15" screen. I initially thought that entry level was lower priced (i5, 128GB, 8GB memory = $1500, on sale for $1200) than a MBP, but it's not, because the 13" MBP without the touchbar but with 256GB is $1500. The 13.5" Surface Book i7 topped out with 1TB of storage and 16GB of memory is $3300!!!! The 13" MBP with touch-bar is $2600 with 1TB and 16GB. Having said that, the capability to use the machine both as a laptop and as a pad will be appealing to some people and their hard-hitting TV advertising is probably quite effective as it shows creative people claiming the superiority of the Surface. I've been really angry at Apple for their current pricing on the new MBP's, but after seeing these Microsoft machines, it's really not out of line. (Still don't want to spend that much though).
If people are trading in Macs for the Surface Pro, they must be very old models. And I've seen some reviews with reports of crashing and overheating. If Microsoft's machines were inexpensive, they'd have a strong case, but at current pricing, I can't imagine they have a lot of takers.
And as far as "pro" is concerned, while some of these models do have more ports than the new MBP's do, I don't see how they're any more "pro".
Funny how people here were more forgiving when Apple refused to disclose Apple Watch numbers.
Apple wasn't making comparative claims about Apple Watch vs other brands or devices, and then failing to provide the specific numbers to back it up. They have been making claims about it selling well, without providing the numbers to back it up. You can choose to believe them or not, but their claim has no impact on any competitors. no harm, no foul.
Funny how people here were more forgiving when Apple refused to disclose Apple Watch numbers.
Apple wasn't making comparative claims about Apple Watch vs other brands or devices, and then failing to provide the specific numbers to back it up. They have been making claims about it selling well, without providing the numbers to back it up. You can choose to believe them or not, but their claim has no impact on any competitors. no harm, no foul.
But Apple has made claims about Android switcher's to iOS without anything to back it up.
... So Macbook Pro ESC, ok now I looked at price core i5, 8gb ram 256GB for $1500 Nope. kind of bummed. Start looking at PC's. Lots of options but I settled on a Surface Pro 4. Retina screen, core i7, 16gb, 256gb (also picked up a $35 128GB SDXC card to store photos) $1499 +$110 for keyboard cover. Comes with the Pen no extra cost.
So you paid over $100 more for the Windows device because the MacBook Pro was too expensive? The advantages you list are i5 versus i7 (which amounts to a trivial (5%) real world difference in laptops) and 8 versus 16 gig of RAM (which may or may not be noticeable for your usage patterns). Oh and a pen. Personally, I would have stuck with macOS (and been happy to save money in the process).
The graphics performance of the iris 540 in the i7 is way better than Iris 520 that's on the i5 surface pro (MacBook pro has the 540 too), I'm getting 16gb over the base MacBook pro and It has a SD slot that can be used to store photos on a fast micoSDXC leaving more room for apps on 256 SSD. Screen is 2736 x 1824, 267 ppi, its lighter even with the touch cover. Also the keyboard feels better on the surface pro (This is subject to the user but I'm not the only one who thinks so) Yes the pen is good for note taking and annotation and yes a touch screen on a Laptop is great! It that worth $100 more YES.
I've tried the new Surface from Microsoft. It's very good. It's not perfect, but it's very good. The concept of ditching a separate tablet OS, for a nearly full fledged tablet PC is enticing. Microsoft is betting everything on this, and when the OS finally gets to the point where it sort of works well enough in both tablet and keyboard form factor, the tablet only iOS ideal seem kinda dated. The form factor as a tablet is surprisingly big and light as well. Microsoft did well. That huge Surface Studio is also something EVERY GRAPHIC ARTIST IN THE WORLD has been hoping for Apple to do... for like... ages. But they have not gone there. It seems so obvious. So yeah, Microsoft is doing great there too.
The iPad Pro still has a significantly better pencil. Like, really two different worlds. I find the overall iOS experience much more elegant. More pleasant. But who cares about elegant when you just wanna work and make some storyboards, animation, typing, video editing, connect a hard drive with 300GB of footage, edit and colour grade it, multitask, produce some music, connect to an stage mixer etc. Not wait and hope for your professional production suite eventually, maybe, maybe not will come to iPad. It just needs to work.
I get Microsoft. And to be honest. I find Apple perhaps living a bit too much in their own bubble to really move forward on the computing platform. I love the iPad Pro, but since someone stole it from me I'm not sure I'm gonna get a new one. If they introduce true USB-C speed native extended screen tablet Mac connection maybe. Because it's as an extention to my professional work the iPad works the best.
Surface users, you're welcome... Apple offers many solutions to Windows users, such as iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Apple Watch, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music... Thanks to iOS ecosystem, you will be more productive with your Surface than ever...
Comments
Nobody is going to complain that the aluminum body on a Ford F-150 isn't strong enough for their work and then turn around and buy a Toyota Prius instead.
When you add in MS Remote Desktop and using a Terminal Services server rather than relying on Parallels/VMware Workstation, it is very easy for the market to dry up for Apple.
That said, I really want to keep the unix backend on my computers...
Lousy laptop, lousy tablet. Take your pick.
So yes, shenanigans on the numbers, but the interest in the platform is very real.
In fact, I've found most people expressing such "concern" aren't pros or don't even use a MP. They just want to express their deeply held "concern".
Also: why did Apple Insider take away our ability to downvote posts? There are people that deserve to see how disliked their posts are...
The macbook has a nice format but is too gimp for me
The macbook pro are nice macbook air upgrades, but very expensive
There are no "pro" version anymore.
But four years on and the Surface barely has any traction. When you hear those long-suffering MS fans (of what, exactly, no one can fathom) claim "it's just a reference device to inspire OEMs!" you know it's a dud.
If people are trading in Macs for the Surface Pro, they must be very old models. And I've seen some reviews with reports of crashing and overheating. If Microsoft's machines were inexpensive, they'd have a strong case, but at current pricing, I can't imagine they have a lot of takers.
And as far as "pro" is concerned, while some of these models do have more ports than the new MBP's do, I don't see how they're any more "pro".
But to each is own.
The form factor as a tablet is surprisingly big and light as well.
Microsoft did well. That huge Surface Studio is also something EVERY GRAPHIC ARTIST IN THE WORLD has been hoping for Apple to do... for like... ages. But they have not gone there. It seems so obvious. So yeah, Microsoft is doing great there too.
The iPad Pro still has a significantly better pencil. Like, really two different worlds. I find the overall iOS experience much more elegant. More pleasant. But who cares about elegant when you just wanna work and make some storyboards, animation, typing, video editing, connect a hard drive with 300GB of footage, edit and colour grade it, multitask, produce some music, connect to an stage mixer etc. Not wait and hope for your professional production suite eventually, maybe, maybe not will come to iPad. It just needs to work.
I get Microsoft. And to be honest. I find Apple perhaps living a bit too much in their own bubble to really move forward on the computing platform. I love the iPad Pro, but since someone stole it from me I'm not sure I'm gonna get a new one. If they introduce true USB-C speed native extended screen tablet Mac connection maybe. Because it's as an extention to my professional work the iPad works the best.
Surface users, you're welcome... Apple offers many solutions to Windows users, such as iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, Apple Watch, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Music... Thanks to iOS ecosystem, you will be more productive with your Surface than ever...