Apple's MacBook Pro vs. Microsoft's Surface Book 2
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Glideslope
macrumors G3
Well done Daniel. Camera location spot on. 
HiRez
macrumors 603
This is not only the key point, it's the only point. If you like Macs you most likely like them for macOS as much as for the hardware. Or you're so heavily invested in macOS apps that switching would be financially onerous. Anything that doesn't run macOS is a complete non-starter for many people. A Windows laptop could spit out hot bacon on toast and I still wouldn't use it.
maybe... the hardware is great & it has a big 15" screen with an awesome pen. but the hinge & it runs windows...
the mbp however has a uncomfortable touchbar & keyboard and no pad/pen support. osx is still the king tho...
the sad part of the story is that, if my 2011 mbp 17" gave up on me today, i'd probably buy a the same one refurbished... only thing against it is that the hardware is getting dated...
the mbp however has a uncomfortable touchbar & keyboard and no pad/pen support. osx is still the king tho...
the sad part of the story is that, if my 2011 mbp 17" gave up on me today, i'd probably buy a the same one refurbished... only thing against it is that the hardware is getting dated...
Surely someone has mentioned that the MacBook Pro has 4 TB 3 ports, that double as USB C ports. That is quite different from having 4 USB C ports. How many eGPUs can I hook up to the Surface Book again....? I would think an Apple site would know the difference. How many of you are working on this video and no one said, hey USBC and TB3 may look alike but they aren't the same! LOL! Come on.
Chopper9
macrumors regular
Pains me to say this, but...
The Surface Laptop is a better design than the Macbook Pro.
The Surface Studio is a better design than the iMac/iMac Pro.
I won't buy either because I've been using Macs since 1985 and I'm too entrenched.
But if I was new to market, I'd go Surface on both... they are just better geared and more flexible for the graphic design industry which I reside.
The Surface Laptop is a better design than the Macbook Pro.
The Surface Studio is a better design than the iMac/iMac Pro.
I won't buy either because I've been using Macs since 1985 and I'm too entrenched.
But if I was new to market, I'd go Surface on both... they are just better geared and more flexible for the graphic design industry which I reside.
sure, there are good apps that run only on macs, but the expensive/exclusive ones are quite rare... sure there's fcpx & xcode but not much else...
You heard the guy say he preferred the MacBook Pro keyboard.... I hear that a lot. Yes some people do not but I hear more people that like. This smells like another Apple Maps. Oh its so terrible, but somehow it has gotten me around the country since its beta.
Rocko99991
macrumors 68000
Bring back magsafe 2 and I will be happy.
macmyworld
macrumors 6502
Have the Surface at you office and Macs at home. It’s a push, mainly because I have the MacBook Pro keyboard and huge trackpad. Plus I have no use for the touch bar. Mac OS is much better than Windows 10, but Apple has taken a huge step backwards on their hardware. The keyboard is just crap- I have a can of compressed air to keep it working.
LOL It pains me to hear it. If you think that henge looks better than a MacBook Pro, then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
Whats a Surface Studio?
In terms of technical specifications, the 13' Surface Book 2 is LIGHT YEARS ahead of the god awful dual core + iGP 13' MacBook "Pro". On the other hand, Apple kinda wins in the 15' category, with a slightly faster quad core CPU than the Surface Book 2, but the Surface's GTX 1060 is a class above the relatively punny (and optional) Radeon Pro 560.
Most variants of the Surface Book are objectively faster than a comparable MacBook Pro, but they are fatter than the Macs when they are attached to the keyboard-battery-gpu base, and they are more power hungry (so much so that a plugged 15' model's battery will slowly drain when fully straining the GPU).
The rigid update cycle for the Apple lineup have caused them to launch product with hardware that would become basically obsolete a short time after their launch, unlike every other manufacturer.
Most variants of the Surface Book are objectively faster than a comparable MacBook Pro, but they are fatter than the Macs when they are attached to the keyboard-battery-gpu base, and they are more power hungry (so much so that a plugged 15' model's battery will slowly drain when fully straining the GPU).
The rigid update cycle for the Apple lineup have caused them to launch product with hardware that would become basically obsolete a short time after their launch, unlike every other manufacturer.
Kabeyun
macrumors 68040
Nope.
Jimmy Bubbles
macrumors 65816
Go ahead and build one then, since it's so easy.
Darmok N Jalad
macrumors 603
I gues
Interesting that you say that. The Surface Laptop's keyboard panel is glued down, so the device cannot be serviced in any way without destroying the machine. It also uses a touchscreen and has pen support, yet the screen doesn't even lay flat, much less rotate 270 degrees into a tent mode. It would make a good laptop, but the extra features are essentially useless due to design oversight.
Surface Studio has a great display, but it is completely marred by the laptop-grade internals and lack of SSD-only storage, which makes the entire machine slow. The iMacs at least use 65W or better CPUs and can be ordered with fast SSD storage. Surface Studio also hasn't been revised since it was introduced. Then there's a bit of an issue where you can't position the device appropriately on your desk. Too close and the screen tilt will land off your desk surface, and if you set it up to properly allow the tilt mode, the screen ends up too far away when you use it in "desktop mode." You basically have to slide it back and forth on your desk. Seems like a very compromising design to me. SS seemed like a novel idea, but since the launch hype died down, it's like the device has all but disappeared.
Interesting that you say that. The Surface Laptop's keyboard panel is glued down, so the device cannot be serviced in any way without destroying the machine. It also uses a touchscreen and has pen support, yet the screen doesn't even lay flat, much less rotate 270 degrees into a tent mode. It would make a good laptop, but the extra features are essentially useless due to design oversight.
Surface Studio has a great display, but it is completely marred by the laptop-grade internals and lack of SSD-only storage, which makes the entire machine slow. The iMacs at least use 65W or better CPUs and can be ordered with fast SSD storage. Surface Studio also hasn't been revised since it was introduced. Then there's a bit of an issue where you can't position the device appropriately on your desk. Too close and the screen tilt will land off your desk surface, and if you set it up to properly allow the tilt mode, the screen ends up too far away when you use it in "desktop mode." You basically have to slide it back and forth on your desk. Seems like a very compromising design to me. SS seemed like a novel idea, but since the launch hype died down, it's like the device has all but disappeared.
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rixax
macrumors member
How about a comparison to an alienware or razorblades 32 gig machines? MacBook Pro users want power and RAM! I like sync between calendars and email and even some collaborative work but a MacBook pro tat can play iOS games, share emojis and hand off to Pages from some fast thumbing on the subway, uh, nope.
I've been happily immersed in the Apple garden since 2006. My entire workflow was iOS and MacOS.
In December 2017 I bought a 15" Surface Book 2 and it was absolutely blown away by the experience. I had similar feelings switching back to PC that I had switching originally had switching to Mac in 2006, but once I was over that small hurdle it was great.
I rarely use my 2017 MBP anymore, and gave my iPad to my niece. Its not for everyone, but the Surface Book 2 is the best MacBook I've ever owned.
In December 2017 I bought a 15" Surface Book 2 and it was absolutely blown away by the experience. I had similar feelings switching back to PC that I had switching originally had switching to Mac in 2006, but once I was over that small hurdle it was great.
I rarely use my 2017 MBP anymore, and gave my iPad to my niece. Its not for everyone, but the Surface Book 2 is the best MacBook I've ever owned.
gugy
macrumors 68040
Sorry but there is no way I can ever go to Windows. I guess only if Apple dies or something crazy. I have been with the Mac for more than 25 years. It is hands down the best OS and the hardware way better. While we can suffer on the specs front and the lack of upgrades on the pro machines, still I will hang with Apple as long as they are alive.
dirt_farmer
macrumors regular
LOL now you're just trolling.
SB2 is massively, dramatically more powerful -- and dramatically more power efficient. It's a tablet. It has an artist-grade touchscreen. It has ports. It has a real keyboard. It checks the boxes that people wish the fruit company would check.
Elsewhere in the reality distortion field: The MBP that disappointed the world this time last year (as it did the year before) has a known-defective keyboard, ancient power-hogging low-performance chipset, none of the ports professionals use to do their jobs, and it doesn't do what people expect a portable device to do in 2018. On the positive (?) side, it has a gimmicky low res function-confused touch strip thing.
The two are not even comparable and you have to try incredibly hard to compare them in the way that you have.
SB2 is massively, dramatically more powerful -- and dramatically more power efficient. It's a tablet. It has an artist-grade touchscreen. It has ports. It has a real keyboard. It checks the boxes that people wish the fruit company would check.
Elsewhere in the reality distortion field: The MBP that disappointed the world this time last year (as it did the year before) has a known-defective keyboard, ancient power-hogging low-performance chipset, none of the ports professionals use to do their jobs, and it doesn't do what people expect a portable device to do in 2018. On the positive (?) side, it has a gimmicky low res function-confused touch strip thing.
The two are not even comparable and you have to try incredibly hard to compare them in the way that you have.
AtomicGrog
macrumors regular
Very Subjective but I accept your opinion (not that you need it...)...
Personally I think we're dealing with a apples/oranges scenario, M$ has carved out a space between a laptop and pad and rightfully exploiting it.
I prefer to keep them apart (a) I because I don't want to casually walking around a $3k pad (b) The surface looks is too much of compromise a as a laptop (I find form factor/size is unappealing) and (c) like many I dont want to use windows...
So that's a No from me.
shiseiryu1
macrumors 6502a
I agree that Apple needs to give creative people more love. Why can't the iMac or MacBook use the Apple Pencil at least, for example? Or instead of wasting billions of dollars on Beats, buy up Wacom and integrate their technology into Macs. Most people who use Wacom are probably on a Mac anyways. Come'on Apple!
shiseiryu1
macrumors 6502a
The Surface Studio is an awesome design. Stinks that when it came out the hardware was already old and in the year or more since they still haven't upgraded to 7th gen Intel or latest Nvidia. Would love to have an iMac that could utilize the apple Pencil. Or heck Apple just buy Wacom and use that tech.