New Surface Pro 4 Ad Takes on Apple's 'What's a Computer?' iPad Pro Campaign

[ikir]

You mean how Apple bashed the competition in their "I'm a PC" ads? Karma is a beeyoch.

It was different. Those ADS were funny and especially informative, because 90% didn't know actual fact about Mac like office, compatibility. In most idiot country like mine (Italy) most users still ask if Macs can have office or if they can plug their camera... sigh

 

[DevNull0]

I don't think either of you know the definition of "computer"...

Okay, what's your definition of "computer"?

 

[iMi]

Exactly.

This is why I've chosen Apple over Microsoft. Still use Windows for school though (IT related training), but it just lacks consistency. My iPhone, Mac, Apple TV and even Apple Watch work together like a charm. Continuity is one major breakthrough from Apple that no other company has been able to even match. It works so simple, there's no hassle with setting things up to make it work. "It just works", like Steve would've said. Even if Microsoft would be able to create something similar, you'd have to go through a 100-page setup before you're done setting it up. And it still wouldn't be very reliable.

Apple delivers the perfect ecosystem for its devices. Many people complain how Apple should put OS X on an iPad. If you want to be able to carry OS X with you, consider getting a MacBook. iPad was never supposed to replace the computer, it's a tablet. And a tablet is meant to have a lightweight OS, one that really works for a touch screen. The Surface is basically a notebook without the need for a physical keyboard and it has a touch screen.

Now, I do have to admit that the iPad Pro is overpowered for what it can do. But that's not a bad thing by any means. It's up to developers to create apps that take 100% advantage of the processor and RAM inside the iPad, simple as that.

I really think Microsoft should consider all of this. What they basically do in this video, is comparing a notebook to a tablet. It doesn't add up, sorry Microsoft.

This is one of the best things about the Apple products. I love how everything I setup on one device works on the other device. Let's take mail, for example. I have several email accounts and once I set them up on one computer, I then have them on all other devices. Calendar and contacts are the same way.

Having the Surface feels like having a device that is completely separate from that ecosystem that I've come to depend on. It's both a blessing and a curse. OneDrive did sync all the photos and since I have to use Outlook on the Mac and have exchange, that also worked fairly well. Even the iCloud app synced the family calendar just fine. Still, it doesn't feel as cohesive and seamless as Apple.

On the Surface as a device, I must disagree. Windows 10 does a fantastic job of switching from what feels like a fully capable laptop to a competent tablet. I actually use the device in tablet mode a lot. Windows News is vastly better than Apple's. Windows Hello is amazing and works surprising well. Cortana is simply smarter than Siri. Weather app is clean and very detailed. One note and the shortcut for the Pen are awesome. There is a lot to like about the Surface. Setting up was a breeze and the system is perfectly stable. Surface built quality matches Apple in every way. The keyboard with the glass track pad is really nice, too. Even the optional mouse is nice, although not particularly agronomical (then again, look at the Apple mouse). At least it folds flat for storage.

Microsoft is doing some good things lately. We shall see where they go from here.

 

[mi7chy]

Clearly one is a very limited toy while the other is a professional tool with superior keyboard and addition of trackpad.

 

[Michael Goff]

Except they are not.

But don't let that confuse you.

"So you have full office and not just those Office apps" kind of implies they're downing their own Office apps.
[doublepost=1471377515][/doublepost]

Clearly one is a very limited toy while the other is a professional tool with superior keyboard and addition of trackpad.

Ah, the wonderful "toy" argument. It helps people quickly realize when somebody doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

I have two aging iPad 2s that have been needing replacement. I will likely replace them with Surface Pros because iOS is going nowhere and I'm tired of seeing a grid of uninteresting square icons that all look the same. Apple is losing its game here.

 

[chiefsilverback]

Microsoft are aiming their SurfacePro at people who need a computer as a replacement for a computer. Apple are aiming the iPad at those who don't need a full computer but a device to browse on and do occasional light work.

Tablets arn't the answer to a replacement to a full computer if you need one, they are however a replacement for those who don't need a full computer which as it happens accounts for most people.

Aren't Apple trying to challenge the definition of 'computer'. Does your average person need a professional grade workstation to browse the web? No, but there are many who still want a 'computer', whatever that is these days...

 

[Sharkey311]

I have two aging iPad 2s that have been needing replacement. I will likely replace them with Surface Pros because iOS is going nowhere and I'm tired of seeing a grid of uninteresting square icons that all look the same. Apple is losing its game here.

yes and tiles are so much better LOL

 

[spinedoc77]

As a 'tablet', Surface is mediocre. As a 'desktop machine' iPad is mediocre.
Amazed how much people are invested in comparing apples to oranges.
I do things on my iPad in photography, art and music that I vastly prefer to doing on a desktop computer.
On the occasion where I need to do a spreadsheet, I pull out the Mac or PC. Pretty much it.

I don't understand the Trumpesque chest beating that goes on around this subject. Use what works for you.
Period.

As a tablet surface is very nice IMO. And Trumpesque chest beating is what makes 99.9% of these forums go.

 

[DevNull0]

No, it's not. An easy to use computer is the one your grandmother would pick.

Great criteria. My grandmother would (and did) pick a windows box.

I tried to get her to use my mac, I even set up a mini for her, left it with her a month, showed her how to use it several times and really pushed her to use it. She hated every second with it. I couldn't even get to her to look at an iPad, and I did try.

But on windows, she emails, skypes, uses facebook and keeps in touch with the family.

That's because you've learned how to use it and now you're subconsciously aware of all the context information needed to use it. You constantly know the active app, the active window, the current cursor position and what's in the clipboard. That's the only way how you can tell what will happen when you type ⌘V. Most people are overwhelmed with all the stuff you need to take care of and never learn how to use a PC or Mac. But the same people are easily capable of using an iPhone or iPad.

Exactly. OSX is very powerful and capable. iOS is not so there's nothing to learn. People pick it up and use it, but they can't do much with it because it simply can't do much.

And fools get overwhelmed. Only an idiot would sit down and try to learn every function in an OS before they start using the computer. You use it to do the job you need, you ask for help for that specific task from a friend/family/google and get the job done. I started on system 9 and I've used OSX since the beginning and I still certainly don't know everything it can do, but then why should I? It does everything I need sleekly and easily.

No, it makes it easier to use. All the complicated stuff like file management and process management does not exist in iOS. It's all automated and not the business of the user. If you want to do something iOS doesn't do on its own, you got to download an app, which does the job for you. It's easy as eating pie as soon as someone programmed the right app for you.

It's easier to walk than learn how to use a car. I guess cars are an inferior mode of transportation. My grandmother can't drive but she can walk. All the complicated stuff like having to put the car in gear and remembering which pedal is for go and stop doesn't exist when you're walking. You don't have to remember to buy fuel so you don't get stranded either.

But you can go a lot more places with a car than with your feet. And once you learn to drive, a car is as easy as pie because someone did all the complicated engineering for you and made it as easy to use as possible.

You want to keep people as dumb-ass idiots who can't do anything with their computers. Why?

 

[Ghost31]

I love my 12.9" iPad Pro but I agree I would never call it a computer...

What would you call something that computes things then? A toaster?

 

[sdz]

iOS for iPad needs more iPad-specific enhancements.
I miss:

- 2 documents of same app side by side (for instance comparing one numbers document with another)
- File manager (iCloud Drive without iCloud would be nice. Call it "Drive")

 

[mi7chy]

Can your iPad do this?

Sure it can and harder to recover especially the second issue which is likely hardware issue from cheapening out on only 2GB DRAM again.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/16/ios-9-3-2-bricking-some-9-7-ipad-pros/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ipad-pro-9-7-multitasking-springboad-crash.1965652/
[doublepost=1471378556][/doublepost]

Well, Surface Pro 4 can run ransomware and the iPad Pro can't

I don't like where this is going...

iOS isn't immune to social engineering attacks either having suffered a security breach and leaking private pictures of people's orifices to the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud_leaks_of_celebrity_photos

 

[spinedoc77]

This is one of the best things about the Apple products. I love how everything I setup on one device works on the other device. Let's take mail, for example. I have several email accounts and once I set them up on one computer, I then have them on all other devices. Calendar and contacts are the same way.

Having the Surface feels like having a device that is completely separate from that ecosystem that I've come to depend on. It's both a blessing and a curse. OneDrive did sync all the photos and since I have to use Outlook on the Mac and have exchange, that also worked fairly well. Even the iCloud app synced the family calendar just fine. Still, it doesn't feel as cohesive and seamless as Apple.

On the Surface as a device, I must disagree. Windows 10 does a fantastic job of switching from what feels like a fully capable laptop to a competent tablet. I actually use the device in tablet mode a lot. Windows News is vastly better than Apple's. Windows Hello is amazing and works surprising well. Cortana is simply smarter than Siri. Weather app is clean and very detailed. One note and the shortcut for the Pen are awesome. There is a lot to like about the Surface. Setting up was a breeze and the system is perfectly stable. Surface built quality matches Apple in every way. The keyboard with the glass track pad is really nice, too. Even the optional mouse is nice, although not particularly agronomical (then again, look at the Apple mouse). At least it folds flat for storage.

Microsoft is doing some good things lately. We shall see where they go from here.

I agree, setting up calendar, contacts, email, pictures, etc is quite seamless in windows 10 and is readily available on other platforms including ios, android, etc. Apple's ecosystem is tight, but introduce a non Apple device and that functionality plummets. I also still am confused why such a cumbersome dinosaur like iTunes still exists. I take for granted cool stuff like being able to install android apps right from the web. Microsoft has a VERY strong ecosystem that I prefer for most things. I do think imessage is stronger for the moment, but MS is working on that as well and we'll see where that goes.
[doublepost=1471378722][/doublepost]Couldn't stop laughing at this one... Ahh I guess Tim Cook now likes toasters and refrigerators. I also never noticed how huge the ipad pro's bezels look next to the SP4.

 

[Michael Goff]

Sure it can and harder to recover especially the second issue which is likely hardware issue from cheapening out on only 2GB DRAM again.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/16/ios-9-3-2-bricking-some-9-7-ipad-pros/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ipad-pro-9-7-multitasking-springboad-crash.1965652/
[doublepost=1471378556][/doublepost]

iOS isn't immune to social engineering attacks either having suffered a security breach and leaking private pictures of people's orifices to the internet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICloud_leaks_of_celebrity_photos

iCloud leaks had nothing to do with iOS, genius.

 

[sdz]

I've been saying this for months since the iPad Pro surfaced. If it's gonna have a 'Pro' label, it better be able to do Pro stuff. I would LOVE to have an iPad Pro that ran a full version of macOS, it's conveniently lighter than a laptop, the track pad/keyboard combo that Microsoft has introduced is really smart, plus being able to run full pro applications?

I would love a version of OS X with standard "Launchpad" as "Desktop" and Finder and everything. All window chromes are optimized for touch of course and throughout the system shortcuts can be used (via the keyboard).

Why?

Terminal access, you will have a full blown Unix and could do anything you want. Even using "bad" applications, because the App Store won't allow them.

 

[fel10]

LOL I love it. Hilarious and clever. Apple, take notes.

 

[Ghost31]

I hope Apple learns a lesson or two about pricing their products a little more consumer-friendly.
And common! 32 GB Storage for 2016 is crap no matter how you look at it! Start at 128 already!

But Microsoft surface doesn't start at 128? So how is that even a fair thing to ask for?

 

[Michael Goff]

But Microsoft surface doesn't start at 128? So how is that even a fair thing to ask for?

Yes it does.

 

[gijoeinla]

REALLY ... the entire iWork suite is INCOMPATIBLE between OS and iOS ... so much for that friendly experience!

Really? Hmmm. That's weird. Works for me.

 

[iMi]

By the way... Anyone interested can now get the i5, 4GB, 128GB Surface Pro 4 for $699.99 at Best Buy or Microsoft with Student Discount (Hint: You don't really have to be a student).

 

[Seiga]

"Full office."

Isn't Microsoft the one advertising that Office 365 is a better experience because you can have the "Full office" experience on any device?

Full office implies full version and not an app. Office 365 has full version options and provides ISO images. All app versions of office are considered "lightweight". It's like the Photoshop Elements to Photoshop.

 

[thirteen1031]

Coming late to this party, but I'd say that Apple is both right and wrong with its new ad—the one calling the iPad pro a "computer." The wrong is that, just as we see, it can and will be taken literally. Which gives Microsoft a chance to mock Apple. Because, unlike the Surface, the iPad Pro is not "literally" a laptop. So, Apple may have a hard sell on that score because people tend to take things literally. Why can't they do what they do on their laptops on the iPad if it's supposed to be a computer?

Apple actually doesn't mean it "literally." The thing is, most people don't need full laptops anymore—and in fact aren't buying them. Most people can get by on their tablet—from games, to entertainment, to work, to art, music, academics, etc. Apple is trying to get those who are thinking of ditching their laptop and going only with their tablet to buy an iPad Pro. They're trying to say to them "you won't feel the lack of that laptop." This is different (too subtle I've no doubt) from saying "Here's a tablet that can literally morph into a laptop, trackpad and everything." With the iPad Pro, Apple is trying to say, the user can forget about how the laptop did things.

This message, however, isn't coming across. Apple needs to find a way to sell the pro as a tablet that can replace most laptops, not as a laptop/tablet hybrid.

 

[Zirel]

iOS isn't immune to social engineering attacks either having suffered a security breach and leaking private pictures of people's orifices to the internet.

So what? You can ring a person's home, say it's from cable, and they will let you in.

That problem affects all platforms equally.

 

[rowspaxe]

There is a form factor by the name Tablet and there is an architecture called Tablets. PCs can come in all kinds of form factors: Desktop-PC, Laptop-PC, Tablet-PC. But they all have an indirectly controlled mouse pointer with a click. A "real" Tablet (one which has the form and the gist of a tablet) is controlled by a touchscreen on which you tap directly. It wouldn't make sense to have a trackpad on a Tablet, because there is no mouse pointer to move. Tablets could also come in different form factors like: Table or Board ... or even tablet-sized Tablets like the iPad. And then there are weird Hybrids, which can't decide whether they want to be controlled by a mouse pointer or touchscreen, that's the Surface.

This seems like a pseudo-religious distinction. Surfaces don't decide how they will be controlled, users decide how they want to address the device. I have some complaints about the Surface, but have never found it confusing. May the tablet gist be with you