Got my Surface Book - makes Macbooks look like dinosaurs...

[Obagleyfreer]

Another for the Surface Book, leaps & bounds ahead of Apple's current offering's. Six months in with the Surface Book, no regrets whatsoever. Apple wants my $$$$ and recommendation, they need to provide professional solutions, not lifestyle products...

Q-6

I was really having a hard time deciding between the 2 myself but settled on MBP after weeks of consideration.
For the same money I would have spent on the SB, I got a MBP with better, larger screen, better trackpad, better CPU ans latest USB C ports.
What is it that makes you feel it's leaps and bounds ahead? (Genuinely interested, that's not a sarcastic question)
Obviously the fact it has touch screen and a removable screen is more versatile than MBP, but in my view that's just as gimmicky as the Touchbar.
I want a pro laptop to just be a laptop not a tablet/laptop hybrid.

 

[Queen6]

I find the Surface Book to be simply far more flexible versus the 13" MBP. Being a 2 in 1 with full Pen & Touch support is allowing me to work in different more productive ways. Being able to interact with the system on several different levels opens new avenues and the ability to detach the Clipboard. I still wanted a premium notebook and Surface Book fits the bill.

Inclusion of a dGPU in a 13" class notebook is also a nice inclusion. Fundamentally if the 1 in 2 features are of no interest then there are many other options as your paying an additional cost for the design and engineering to accomplish the functionality. If I had no interest or usage for a 2 in 1 I doubt I would have bought the Surface Book as that functionality is it's key feature. Clearly usage is the key, I can lever more with the 2 in 1 features than a basic clamshell notebook, I wouldn't say that I use the Pen or Touch extensively, however having the ability is definitely a bonus for my needs.

Q-6

 

[maflynn]

For the same money I would have spent on the SB, I got a MBP with better, larger screen, better trackpad, better CPU ans latest USB C ports.

I can't answer for anyone but myself, I purchased the SB before the new MBPs were out, so you need to exclude the advantages of USB-C.

For me there was a number of reasons why I opted for the SB over the MBP.
There is a need to use Windows in my day to day working environment
My view of Windows is that there seems to be more innovation occurring with Windows then OS X and I'm genuinely interested in what MS is doing.
There also seems to be more innovation on the hardware side, I like what MS was trying, the display is gorgeous, the battery is excellent, I'm very happy with the performance.
Keyboard and trackpad are excellent (trackpad is good for a PC, not as good as a Mac).

On the Mac side
Pre-2016 update: We consistently got updates that only made the laptop thinner, so basically, I was looking to spend over a grand for something that just failed to excite me on some levels. Yes its a tool, but I do want something looks cool and I enjoy using.

Post 2016 update: The new MBPs include a ginormous trackpad (15" model), smaller batter and poor battery performance, a keyboard that some people dislike because of noise, key travel and feel (other people like it and that's fine).
TouchBar is gimmicky, unlike a touch screen which doesn't take my focus away from my work, I need to look down and execute the action. keyboard shortcuts imo seem more efficient
Lack of SD cards, and magsafe. While many people tend to marginalize the loss of those ports, I do miss them and they impact my day to day usage.

I'm not down on Apple, though I've been critical of their recent actions, I may very well buy a 15" MBP in the near future, but regardless of what I choose, I expect to get value for my money. The Surface Book did just that when I decided to buy it last fall.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

<snip> The Surface Book did just that when I decided to buy it last fall.

You may have mentioned this already but why are you now looking for another laptop? Your Surface Book hardly seems old given that you bought it last fall...

 

[maflynn]

You may have mentioned this already but why are you now looking for another laptop? Your Surface Book hardly seems old given that you bought it last fall..

I mentioned it a number of times, while I really do like my Surface Book, my old eyes could use a larger display So its not that the laptop is not working but my eyes

I'm not ready yet to pull the trigger, precisely for the reason that I just bought the SB

 

[macjunk(ie)]

I mentioned it a number of times, while I really do like my Surface Book, my old eyes could use a larger display So its not that the laptop is not working but my eyes

I'm not ready yet to pull the trigger, precisely for the reason that I just bought the SB

What about increasing the font size system wide?

I do not have a lot of experience with high resolution displays on Windows but maybe the high resolution is to a fault? What happens if you downgrade the resolution? I did this to my M4800 for the few months I owned it.

 

[Partron22]

Pen is as smooth as any Wacom.

I am intrigued.

 

[keeper]

What about increasing the font size system wide?

I do not have a lot of experience with high resolution displays on Windows but maybe the high resolution is to a fault? What happens if you downgrade the resolution? I did this to my M4800 for the few months I owned it.

I've got a 1080P and found it small, from display settings I increased the size to 125% and it did the trick.

 

[maflynn]

What about increasing the font size system wide?

For the most part I use a mixture of resolution and zooming, but the apps I use RDP and GotomyPC don't scale too well zooming wise, and are more dependent on the resolution