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Apple's MacBook Pro vs. Microsoft's Surface Book 2
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It is certainly three times the design than the MacBook Pro
Well, that's not the Surface Laptop.
A for effort though?
I have a choice between MBP and Thinkpad, and this cycle I chose to go with the X1 Carbon since touchbar MBP didn't appeal.
Don't think I'll be going back anytime soon, unless the Pro in MBP starts to have some meaning again.
Same, I have owned Macbooks since 09; didn't think I would own anything else, but then for some reason they just started making design decisions that just didn't work for me.
People will call me a dinosuar for wanting machines with USB-A and SD card slots, but these are interfaces that I use at least twice a week; they're not ancient, and they're not phased out yet, not for people that actually use their machines for things besides browsing the internet anyway.
Then the keyboard woes came and I just gave my decision to buy a 2017 a serious pause, especially since my 2012 is still in good shape.
Not even a fair comparison. It's like comparing a horse drawn wagon to a Tesla.
What's more important than OS is the software ecosystem. Professional, gaming, etc. software don't exist on the niche MacOS. You'll have to use Windows or maybe Linux if you want ANSYS, OrCAD, SolidWorks, Pro/Engineer, Catia, etc. but none of those exist on MacOS.
What's more important than OS is the software ecosystem. Professional, gaming, etc. software don't exist on the niche MacOS. You'll have to use Windows or maybe Linux if you want ANSYS, OrCAD, SolidWorks, Pro/Engineer, Catia, etc. but none of those exist on MacOS.
My answer is "No".
It's good with competition though.
(As long as macOS exists, Windows will never be an option for me)
It's good with competition though.
(As long as macOS exists, Windows will never be an option for me)
I agree with you, Heard about Many failures of Surface Books
But in comparison, my MacBook Pro (2016) was repaired once already and needs to be Serviced soon again (Keyboard issue). So thats pretty lame too
I tried a Surface Book 2 right after it launched last November. I was torn between that and a 15" MacBook Pro. I actually ended up with the Surface, though only for a couple months. Beautiful machine I must say. But Windows hasn't improved enough for me to make it my daily driver (nor will it ever). I use it on a custom-built rig at home for some games and because I like a bigger monitor, but that's as close as I want to get to that mess.
The point though is, I'm about as big of an Apple fanboy as they come, and even I switched over (albeit temporarily before coming to my senses). That should really scare Apple. If I could be exploited by Microsoft in a moment of weakness, anyone can. Especially those who don't care about being in an ecosystem or aren't on any "one side". Competition is GOOD!
The point though is, I'm about as big of an Apple fanboy as they come, and even I switched over (albeit temporarily before coming to my senses). That should really scare Apple. If I could be exploited by Microsoft in a moment of weakness, anyone can. Especially those who don't care about being in an ecosystem or aren't on any "one side". Competition is GOOD!
I saw it in offline. It is a really sexy product. If Apple will continue to degrade quality of its main product for computers—macOS, then they finally lost its sector of business.
Well, I have been a huge Apple fan for many years - we own two iMacs, an iPad Pro, an iPad Air 2, two MacBook Pros and an Apple TV in every room, as well as a Gen1 Apple Watch and a Gen3+cellular Apple Watch. But, the love has finally died. I’m tired of Apple telling me what’s good for me. I hate the fact that I have to carry 7 dongles for my company-purchased 2017 Macbook Pro. I hate the fact that they made the trackpad so large. I hate the low profile keyboard. I hate the fact that my iPhone X and my partner’s iPhone 8 Plus do not have earphone jacks. You see where I’m going? Last month I purchased a top of the line Surface Book 2 and absolutely love it!! Almost $4K with warranty. Apple’s loss, but alas, I don't think they care. Contrary to the article, my Surface Book 2 screen is super bright, and believe me, I’m hyper-critical of screen brightness. Also, unlike many other Windows-based notebooks, the trackpad on the Surface Book 2 is amazing - very accurate; never erratic. I’m really disappointed that Apple has driven me to this. Divorcing myself from the Apple ecosystem will be a process, but one that’s long overdue.
:-(
:-(
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I do like the 2:3 aspect of the surface products, compared to other windows computers that are typically 16:9 it’s far more usable. Apple do slightly better with their 16:10 displays as well (something I have always appreciated about the MacBook line). If Apple keep putting more and more unusable keyboards in their computers (particularly if they are intent on going with a touchscreen/ haptic keyboard in a future revision) I might have to end up going with a surface.
you mean that MBP's terrible decision with design over functionality? you really must be a power user
It runs Windows which is VERY off putting to me, i left Windows behind in 2011 when i got my very first Mac (MacBook Pro) and i haven't looked back since MacOS is just so much better there really isn't a competition on that score. I do give Microsoft credit for trying something different tho, i still think that the MacBook Pro is miles better as a laptop.
Lol i was thinking the same thing. Funny when people try to sneak diss, yet get it completely wrong.
I own a iPad 10.5 pro, a MacBook Air, and a surface laptop. The Surface laptop is well built, and no issues. Microsoft has figured out sleep on it. The battery life on is amazing. I easily get 8 hours on it. It doesn’t have usb c or thunderbolt, but login time with windows hello is fast, from a cold boot about 10 seconds. I probably buy the pen, great for signing documents. It’s not the fastest machine out there, but for productivity it’s fine. I like the fact that the power connector is similar to the mag safe on my air. One usb3 port may seem sparse but when your traveling a lot it’s ok. I like the fact that the power charger has usb charging port built into it. My air sees it on my home network and sees my air. I do believe that using both operating systems is a plus, not a negative.
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Microsoft Surface Book 2 has been greatly improved. Details like the keyboard, trackpad, screen, etc are all very good.
And the Surface is better as a convertible tablet, with lots of nice ports. I prefer MacOS, primarily because it's BSD based. Even Microsoft is relegating Windows to ugly stepsister status and courting Linux.
I was a die hard fan of Mac. Off lately, I could only see fancy or not worth chances in Mac or iPhone.
They also compare their products with their previous products. "The fastest iPhone ever", "The lightest Macbook ever"...come on man, you upgrade the RAM, remove unnecessary parts and call it an innovation. I am not going to be fooled again...
Innovation can make you go back...It's Surface time for me.
They also compare their products with their previous products. "The fastest iPhone ever", "The lightest Macbook ever"...come on man, you upgrade the RAM, remove unnecessary parts and call it an innovation. I am not going to be fooled again...
Innovation can make you go back...It's Surface time for me.
I love, love, love the Surface Book 2 form factor, its 3:2 aspect ratio, the tablet and pen. Being a Windows programmer, I'll heavily depend on the system for the foreseeable future, and I actually prefer physical Windows over VMware on a Mac (for speed). I use an older 5K iMac at home for my hobby photography, and love its amazing display. I'm completely comfortable with both operating systems.
I prefer the MacBook's touch pad over any PC implementation, but I use a mouse 99.9% of the time anyway. I choose the iPad pencil for note taking over the Surface; no parallax, good pencil from Apple, but I hate the charging solution. I only take hand-written notes when it involves formulas or charts. I also wouldn't bother detaching the whole Surface Book screen just to take a small note while in the middle of something else, so I prefer the separate iPad. But when it comes to Photoshop, I obviously prefer the real computer over the iOS variant.
It all boils down to personal preferences. Are you willing to accept Windows 10 as a better than ever effort from Microsoft? Are you willing to migrate to DaVinci Resolve from FCPX? A lot of the readers here would never do that. If you're not so hooked to Apple, it's something to think about.
To mention something negative, the Surface Book's SSD has slow write speeds, unless you get the 1TB version. The USB-C has no Thunderbolt, and there are no ports on the clipboard, only on the base. Big positive is the 4-core CPU and great GPU, while the 13" MBP only has dual core and integrated graphics. At least until the soon-to-come upgrade. The MBP touch bar does nothing to me, and I really like the dedicated PgUp/Dn, Home/End buttons on the Microsoft, which every programmer appreciates. I like that the Surface Book clipboard is such a light tablet, and a real computer running real Photoshop.
There's no right on wrong, just different personal needs.
I prefer the MacBook's touch pad over any PC implementation, but I use a mouse 99.9% of the time anyway. I choose the iPad pencil for note taking over the Surface; no parallax, good pencil from Apple, but I hate the charging solution. I only take hand-written notes when it involves formulas or charts. I also wouldn't bother detaching the whole Surface Book screen just to take a small note while in the middle of something else, so I prefer the separate iPad. But when it comes to Photoshop, I obviously prefer the real computer over the iOS variant.
It all boils down to personal preferences. Are you willing to accept Windows 10 as a better than ever effort from Microsoft? Are you willing to migrate to DaVinci Resolve from FCPX? A lot of the readers here would never do that. If you're not so hooked to Apple, it's something to think about.
To mention something negative, the Surface Book's SSD has slow write speeds, unless you get the 1TB version. The USB-C has no Thunderbolt, and there are no ports on the clipboard, only on the base. Big positive is the 4-core CPU and great GPU, while the 13" MBP only has dual core and integrated graphics. At least until the soon-to-come upgrade. The MBP touch bar does nothing to me, and I really like the dedicated PgUp/Dn, Home/End buttons on the Microsoft, which every programmer appreciates. I like that the Surface Book clipboard is such a light tablet, and a real computer running real Photoshop.
There's no right on wrong, just different personal needs.
Apple are on top of the world. Their products and services are the best in every category.
They don’t need knocking down. I’m quite happy for them to keep delighting me.
But that’s the point it’s not even very good as a tablet when compared to the iPad.
…which, by the way, is a direct result of the touch screen functionality. Just a little reminder for all those who still clamour for a touchscreen Macbook.
I find it a bit disingenuous to list these as disadvantages of the Surface Books when Windows 10 has similar features with OneDrive and the recently added Timeline (which in contrast to Apple's solution also can work across system boundaries and supports iOS and Android devices – if the app developers integrate it), and when iCloud is also supported under Windows.