Surface 3 w/Keyboard & Pen or MBA 13 base model?

[MrXiro]

So I picked up a Surface 3 (not Pro) w/ 4gb RAM/128gb Storage, Keyboard cover and Pen for about $650 total after tax. Now this is significantly cheaper than a 13 inch MBA ($999 retail) which I'm sure I can find an open item for somewhere between $850-910. But I've been a Mac user for years but was looking to give Windows another shot since I heard that Windows 10 is pretty good. So far I don't dislike the Surface 3 as a computer. Though it makes an awful tablet compared to an iPad Air 2.

I know most of the people on here are Mac fans, as am I. But I was hoping there are just some general tech users on here that is more interested in the best devices not just Apple.

I have a Mac Pro for all my heavy lifting so this is just a supplemental laptop I'm looking for to write/blog/do some light photo editing. I was debating getting and iPad Pro for these purposes too but it seems besides the Pencil there isn't much the iPad Pro does that my iPad Air 2 can't.

Has anyone tried out the Surface 3 and liked it more than the MBA? Or should I look into the MBA as a better machine? I've done a ton of research on the Surface 3 and every once in a while I run into a vague post about the keyboard cover getting "mushy" or the Surface 3 crapping out. But they never go into how or why. I know Macbooks are known for quality. I had a MBA 11 back in 2010 and it was good but I was using the iPad a lot more at the time so I got rid of it.

Would love to hear some feedback and thoughts. Should i stick with this Surface 3 or check out the MBA 13 instead?

 

[dhc921]

So I picked up a Surface 3 (not Pro) w/ 4gb RAM/128gb Storage, Keyboard cover and Pen for about $650 total after tax. Now this is significantly cheaper than a 13 inch MBA ($999 retail) which I'm sure I can find an open item for somewhere between $850-910. But I've been a Mac user for years but was looking to give Windows another shot since I heard that Windows 10 is pretty good. So far I don't dislike the Surface 3 as a computer. Though it makes an awful tablet compared to an iPad Air 2.

I know most of the people on here are Mac fans, as am I. But I was hoping there are just some general tech users on here that is more interested in the best devices not just Apple.

I have a Mac Pro for all my heavy lifting so this is just a supplemental laptop I'm looking for to write/blog/do some light photo editing. I was debating getting and iPad Pro for these purposes too but it seems besides the Pencil there isn't much the iPad Pro does that my iPad Air 2 can't.

Has anyone tried out the Surface 3 and liked it more than the MBA? Or should I look into the MBA as a better machine? I've done a ton of research on the Surface 3 and every once in a while I run into a vague post about the keyboard cover getting "mushy" or the Surface 3 crapping out. But they never go into how or why. I know Macbooks are known for quality. I had a MBA 11 back in 2010 and it was good but I was using the iPad a lot more at the time so I got rid of it.

Would love to hear some feedback and thoughts. Should i stick with this Surface 3 or check out the MBA 13 instead?

 

[dhc921]

I have just picked up a SP4 (still trying) and I also own a Macbook Air 13. I am a long term Apple user (10+) years and have not touched Windows for a long long time. I also have a Macbook Pro Retina 15 too as my desktop computer at home, very similar to your case.

After about a week of using the SP4, I cannot say which one is better. There are good and bad for both hardware/software features. For SP4, I like the pen interface and ability to quickly write on web pages/PDF files but Windows 10 is not so stable like the MacOS. Ultimately they can accomplish the same result but they are just different ways of doing things that you will need to get used to.

I think I will probably return the SP4 at the end and just keep using the Macbook Air 13 as MBA can perform 99% of my daily tasks very well. The only drawback is the display quality and the fact that you cannot remove the keyboard for surfing the web like a tablet (but I have an iPad Air 2 that can do that).

Microsoft, Apple and Google are all trying to create a new category between laptop and tablet now, and while this concept makes a good sense, none of the implementation is perfect at this moment. While I do think Windows is having a slight edge on the SP products, I think I am going to stick with the Mac OS + iOS combination as it is quite good already.

I think it's less about which device is better but which OS that you prefer ultimately.

 

[MrXiro]

I have just picked up a SP4 (still trying) and I also own a Macbook Air 13. I am a long term Apple user (10+) years and have not touched Windows for a long long time. I also have a Macbook Pro Retina 15 too as my desktop computer at home, very similar to your case.

After about a week of using the SP4, I cannot say which one is better. There are good and bad for both hardware/software features. For SP4, I like the pen interface and ability to quickly write on web pages/PDF files but Windows 10 is not so stable like the MacOS. Ultimately they can accomplish the same result but they are just different ways of doing things that you will need to get used to.

I think I will probably return the SP4 at the end and just keep using the Macbook Air 13 as MBA can perform 99% of my daily tasks very well. The only drawback is the display quality and the fact that you cannot remove the keyboard for surfing the web like a tablet (but I have an iPad Air 2 that can do that).

Microsoft, Apple and Google are all trying to create a new category between laptop and tablet now, and while this concept makes a good sense, none of the implementation is perfect at this moment. While I do think Windows is having a slight edge on the SP products, I think I am going to stick with the Mac OS + iOS combination as it is quite good already.

I think it's less about which device is better but which OS that you prefer ultimately.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah. I love the other little neat features and the screen on the Surface... which is the reason I didn't jump to MBA right away... for the price I feel like I am getting a LOT of device to use/play with and some new neat toys. While the MBA feels a little boring. I forgot to mention that I have been typing on this thread on my Surface 3 and it feels pretty great to work on!