Microsoft Says 'Disappointment' of New MacBook Pro Has More People Switching to Surface Than Ever Before

[prowlmedia]

What can't you do on a Windows PC?

Have a week go by without a 20 minute update.
Have a day go by without a crash or 10.
Have a hour go by without some nonsensical technical pop up.
No find decades old UI elements they still have not changed since windows NT/95
Change a system setting without going insane trying to find it in either of the 2 UI metaphors ( metro / classic ) and then the dozens of buried tabs and modal pop up.
Generally be happy and have a nice time using your computer at all.

 

[Mildredop]

I have had so many issues with just freezing, losing inputs and randomly restarting for updates that I don't feel like I can rely on the thing.

This is exactly what I remember about PCs - the random nature of them and the way you'd suddenly lose things or it would suddenly crash.

I used to write emails in Word (with auto save enabled) and then copy and paste when ready to send as I was fed up with losing half-written emails.

The last straw was when I bought Sony's iPod equivalent (the HD-1?) to use with my Viao laptop. After spending many hours ripping all my CDs and importing them into their iTunes equivalent, one day it all vanished. Customer support said I'd just have to start again.

It was that very afternoon I went into Manchester centre and bought a 15" MacBook Pro and an iPod.

I no longer have any Apple products other than the MacBook, but still can't quite face giving Windows another go, however good the Surface hardware is and however bad the new MacBook Pros are.

 

[Padaung]

Yeah, because everything Steve Jobs did was perfect. Like....

- the cube
- ping
- releasing an iPhone that lost its signal when you held it
- Apple 3
- The Lisa

In defence of the Cube, it was so, so nearly perfect and yet it was a massive failure! The price was its achilles heal, you could buy an equivalently priced Mac Pro for several hundred pounds less. The Cube was much smaller and way more BEAUTIFUL, but that doesn't really matter too much for a device which is typically tucked away on/under a desk somewhere...

Conversely, the new MBP appears to have a number of other complaints against it (I've not used one yet, I've only read about the issues), along with many considering it over priced (me included).

I'd have loved to own a Cube back in the day, but I bought a Mac Pro G4 instead

Edit: Hmmm, my rose tinted glasses have cleared - I seem to remember issues with the Cube's acrylic case cracking. Were there any other issues with it that I can't remember?

 

[6836838]

I think this has more to do with the price than anything else.

No it's to do with the lack up upgradability, requirement of multiple adapters, poor battery capacity, a relatively poor performance increase (in some cases they are actually slower) and many other documented issues that have been reported (speakers blowing up, etc).

 

[cankster]

The problem is, Steve Jobs was primarily worried about making the best products possible at the exclusion of all else. Tim Cook is a SJW and primarily worried about the LGBT composition of Apples engineers and employees. This will get worse not better until Apple realizes this and replaces him with someone who prioritizes greatness again.

 

[thekeyring]

When Microsoft says "more people are switching to Surface from Mac than ever before": MacRumours forum readers react like it's chaos.

When Tim Cook says Apple have "sold more watches than ever before": Suspicion from MacRumours forum members.

 

[9081094]

Well if people moving into MS will make Apple wake up and deliver on the Mac, I can say this is a good thing.

Normally a company will respond and will try to do their best in delivering the best they can offer. But we are talking about Apple here... A company who neglects their loyal customers and refuses to deliver what those same loyal customers want/need. In a more arrogant act they up the price and deliver something you won't suspect from a company famous for user friendlyness. An ever changing touchpad where you have to take the eyes of the screen en see where to put your finger on... Nice for gimmick.... not quite for real world use.

 

[jcshas]

Apple is bragging over Apple Watch sales and 2016 MBP sales without any hard numbers as well.

--> http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2016/11/09/apple-macbook-pro-sales-figures/#5610aec06bf0

 

[cormandy]

OK, I am one who is moving from Windows to Mac. Just bought the 15" 2016 MBP. Yes, could do with 32GB instead of 16GB and yes not the cheapest machine, but after hauling around heavy Thinkpads for years and dealing with general Windows ******** I thought would give OS X a go. My opinion is that it is around £1000 to £1500 too expensive, and that is excluding all the bloody USB-C dongles I needed to buy for VGA, HDMI, USB, etc... (Odd as Jobs used to justify the higher pricetag as a Mac included stuff like a camera etc. when compared to a Wintel machine. Apple has jettisoned all this stuff in name of making a smaller machine.) Also needed more than 2TB of storage so had to spend £500 on a 2TB Samsung T3. Net cost approaching £5000. Let's hope it doesn't piss me off and end up on eBay. Don't let me down Apple...

 

[InsoftUK]

MacBook Pro is a good laptop, the main issue is price as it is more than the previous model and other laptops like Dell that have newer CPUs and more memory, Apple should of put a bigger thicker battery in and forgot how thin they could make the laptop.

Next year when the memory is ready for 7th gen CPUs Apple needs to reduce the price back down and update the CPU, memory and use Bluetooth 5

Dongles are normal during transitions, not remember USB issues, the tape to floppy to CD to Flash Storage to wireless.

Perhaps Apple should get rid of the Mac and run macOS on dell, hp and others

 

[AppleMad98004]

If a marketing person at Microsoft says it, then it MUST be true.

Then again more people could be switching to the Microsoft Surface because until a few years ago it didn't exist, the lineup is now broader, and early versions were duds.

Well there is anecdotal evidence among young people that the Mac (not the iphone) is losing to MS. I was just at two universities over the last couple of weeks and I saw very few Apple laptops but a ton of Surface and PC/Tablet hybrids. One class of about 40 there was only one MacBook. It was a very surprising change.

 

[NufSaid]

No it's to do with the lack up upgradability, requirement of multiple adapters, poor battery capacity, a relatively poor performance increase (in some cases they are actually slower) and many other documented issues that have been reported (speakers blowing up, etc).

I know we talk about upgradeablity but the reality is that managing 40 users in one business and 5 in another and purchasing over 25 laptops and heavens knows how many desktops....I have RARELY ever did an upgrade.

Exactly zero on laptops....so I am not as troubled by it.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Yeah, Microsoft is leading now. As someone that loves the Apple ecosystem and has always bought Mac products in the past, I'm struggling to justify carrying on like this and I just don't know where to go or what to buy.

My Mac Pro is something like 5 years old and still feels like a better and more powerful and upgradeable machine than anything offered by Apple since. My 30" Apple Cinema Display is pushing 10 years old now but Apple hasn't released a product that seems like an improvement since. My MacBook Pro is 8 years old and failing and my iPad is four years old and unusable due to slowness now.

I'd like a laptop/ipad hybrid that's good to replace my MBP and iPad. Something like the iPad Pro but that also runs OSX. I want an upgradeable modern Mac Pro. I want a > 30" retina display Apple monitor.

It really feels like Apple don't want me as a customer anymore.

The iPad running OS X will never happen. Apple still needs you to buy three devices at the minimum. !. iPhone 2. mac 3. iPad

They need this combination as bad as it is to make the iTunes store and their cloud services seem reasonable. You can take the iPad out of the equation in this scenario but it will never be allowed to live by itself. You have to have some sort of main computer if you are half way sane.

Put USB-C on the iPad and give it a file system at the minimum. Apple increasingly sells services and this simply won't work if people get tired of their product limitations. There are many companies that offer cloud storage and streaming service solutions.

Apple desperately needs to launch a tablet that runs full OS X if they want to sit at the grown ups table. Their just buy it from iTunes model is becoming insufferable.

 

[cipher29]

Microsoft is on to something here..

I know I'm only one consumer and I don't represent everyone, but as a long time mac/iOS user (started using macs with the first macbook after the iBook), but I will no longer be buying a new Mac computer and very likely won't be buying another iOS device.

I sit here with a 2008 Mac Pro, Macbook Air (personal), iPad Pro (12"), iPhone 7 Plus, Multiple Apple TV's etc and a work Macbook Pro (last years).

For me, I don't really see Apple taking a "innovative" direction anymore. This whole dongle, overpriced MacBooks and mediocre iPhone updates have really just hit a wall for me.

Again, I'm only one person and certainly don't/can't speak for everyone, but I know I'm not really sold on Apple's future direction. Hopefully their platform still continues to work well for others though!

 

[exexs]

Apple is lazy and controled by investors that don't care at all about users satisfaction but just want high return for their money. I don't think Steve had a better design team but Steve was Steve and didn't fear to stand up against all investors to say "we will deliver the best product even if we make 5$ less per iphone sold". Cook has not this power, Cook tries to satisfy everyone at the table and fails because to deliver the best product ever you cannot make compromises on everything.

 

[oneMadRssn]

If you're being a smartass, the surface studio goes up to 32GB RAM.

If you're not, the answer is still surface studio:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-studio/overview

Sorry, as the topic of the article was Macbook Pros, and the OP talked about Pro computers having a certain battery life, I thought it was understood that I was asking about a laptops.

The current iMac is also currently expandable to 32GB and 64GB of RAM.

 

[QquegChristian]

MS Support is the absolute pits. My husband called as a business customer to clear up a licensing issue and the MS rep, a woman in this case, was unbelievably rude and unreasonable. But the man before her wasn't much better. It's not like it's a personal thing that they're so intractable and rude, it's almost like they are acting that way as a matter of policy! It took a LOT of valuable time to get the issue resolved. That being said, my husband has had to gradually switch some of the office over to Windows because Apple has had chronic supply issues. And now they're having these quality control issues or design issues with their new laptops as well, so that's a problem, too.

I'm really rooting for Apple to get their act together because they do have better customer service overall.

I will say that, though I absolutely didn't like the result of my time with support in-store with Microsoft ($450 to fix a Surface Pro 4). The people in-store were great. The whole store experience was far better than my last few experiences in the Apple Store.

Of course, it's easier to be personable when the store is basically empty.

I feel like I'm in Wal-Mart when I walk into Apple at this point because of how many people are there... it gives me anxiety and I feel like I don't even know how to buy something. Last time I tried to make an appointment to get something fixed, there was a two week wait. Then I waited an hour when I got there.

MS let me make an appointment 15 minutes before.

Apple needs more stores at this point or a Genius Bar in every Best Buy or something.

 

[Martyimac]

What are these mythical i/O devices you speak of? I've not plugged anything into my laptop for years apart from a USB / Thunderbolt Hard drive and they certainly are not USB1! I have the new macbook pro and it's great.. I have a wacom / 3D controller / Jog controller and mouse all connected via Bluetooth. And just bought a new USB3.1-C > USB2 Cable for my hard drive.

Just buy the cable dongles are not needed. I agree with the SD card - but the specs on them change so fast the readers become obsolete - even on a computer - There is even another new protocal coming out right now ( I am working on a 3d presentation for them as we speak ) - Same form factor just 3x faster and they won't read even on the last macbook pros / Monitors or any dongle up till now... it's all a bit of minefield.

Look at this way we could have stuck with the old cables and you'd have no dongles .... also no bandwidth... USB-C is the connecter we should all be using - USB 3.1 - Thunderbolt 3 - Video - Ethernet - audio All on one cable. It's up to the peripherals to catch up

You didn't ask me, sorry, but I would like to answer this. What are these "mythical I/O devices? As I sit here at my desk at home, these are the current I/O devices I have that are either USB1, or non USB3/TB device. They are, 3 different monitors that don't support USB/TB, a portable DVD read/write drive, my external Time machine backup disc which is USB1, my Logitech mac compatible keyboard and mouse which uses the USB1 compatible unifying receiver, a mac compatible dasKeyboard that is not usb3/TB compatible, my B&W desktop speakers which are USB1 not 3 compatible. all my thumbdrives (7 at last count) that aren't USB3/TB compatible, my logitech camera/mic, and there are probably more. And these are items that are in almost constant daily use.

Do YOU understand now why there is such an uproar about USB3/TB being the only ports ?

 

[SBG88]

I can see that whether its true or not. I have never, in my 17 years of using Apple products, been so disappointed with my equipment. Its damn eerie how satisfied I was until shortly after 2012.

Things I used to brag about (using Apple products) has ended. The saying 'It just works' has shifted to 'it just works most or some of the time'. I really thought Apple and Google would have started filling the MS hardware grave.

But there is nowhere to go for me. As disappointed with my products as I am I'm still happier with Apple than any other. I've tried and and can't see living with anything else. Hello, Google.

 

[PhoneI]

In defence of the Cube, it was so, so nearly perfect and yet it was a massive failure! The price was its achilles heal, you could buy an equivalently priced Mac Pro for several hundred pounds less. The Cube was much smaller and way more BEAUTIFUL, but that doesn't really matter too much for a device which is typically tucked away on/under a desk somewhere...

Conversely, the new MBP appears to have a number of other complaints against it (I've not used one yet, I've only read about the issues), along with many considering it over priced (me included).

I'd have loved to own a Cube back in the day, but I bought a Mac Pro G4 instead

Edit: Hmmm, my rose tinted glasses have cleared - I seem to remember issues with the Cube's acrylic case cracking. Were there any other issues with it that I can't remember?

few people buy a desktop because of its looks. Its not art.

 

[Defthand]

I seem to remember issues with the Cube's acrylic case cracking. Were there any other issues with it that I can't remember?

Was it prone to overheating? If I recall, it was one of the first PCs not to have a fan.

 

[mi7chy]

The Edge browser is similar failure iteration like Apple Maps, not too many use them.

Edge used to be as bad as Safari as far as html5 compliance but it's gotten better with the last few updates. Chrome is still king.

http://html5test.com/results/desktop.html

 

[DakotaGuy]

As I see it Apple has so much money and the iPhone is their cash cow. As long as they are rich and everyone is crazy about iPhone they could care less about the boring old Mac line.

 

[carletonguy]

This is the first time I've had serious pause over an Apple product. I had every intention of buying a maxed-out 15" MBP. I don't care about the money. I'm the target market... I'll pay a premium for Apple products and would prefer to stay in their ecosystem, but the issues with the graphics, and more importantly, the horrendous battery life that continues to be reported by folks with a configuration similar to mine stopped me from processing the order. I don't expect great battery life when editing. No one does. But if I'm browsing the web and working on some documents in pages or numbers, I expect to get something close to their 10-hour time...If it's dying on me before the end of a long flight, then I'm not interested. Far too many folks are getting 4-5 hours with light web browsing, and Apple's response to their problems has been "your battery is healthy and we can't find anything wrong." The killer part is other folks are getting better battery life in similar scenarios, so SOMETHING is up. Apple doesn't know what it is, and for that reason, the SurfaceBook is looking more and more attractive. I don't want to deal with Windows. I hate Windows machines...I use them at work and I'm not interested in using them at home, but sadly, I just might.

The killer for Apple is that once I switch to a Windows machine, I no longer have a great reason to stay with iPhone, either. Hell, that Pixel looks mighty nice and there's no big difference beyond waterproofing between that and iPhone 7 once the ecosystem is no longer a selling point. I might be ditching Apple for Microsoft, which would then be quickly followed by Google's Pixel. The Google services (photos, music, etc) are 10-times better than Apple's offering, but staying in a single ecosystem has prevented me from switching. Looks like that won't be true much longer.

 

[Martyimac]

Have a week go by without a 20 minute update.
Have a day go by without a crash or 10.
Have a hour go by without some nonsensical technical pop up.
No find decades old UI elements they still have not changed since windows NT/95
Change a system setting without going insane trying to find it in either of the 2 UI metaphors ( metro / classic ) and then the dozens of buried tabs and modal pop up.
Generally be happy and have a nice time using your computer at all.

Hmmm. I have a 6+ year old Dell that I have upgraded through all the MS iterations since XP and am now on Windows 10. I have NONE of these problems that you mentioned, not one.