Surface Devices

[SDColorado]

Microsoft have introduced a new configuration of the Surface Go, the price point is interesting!

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft-begins-selling-499-surface-go-4gb-ram-and-faster-128gb-ssd

Interesting. It appears that the Costco exclusive model only had a finite time as an exclusive before being released to the general market.

Edit: However, if it were me, I would spend the extra $50 and move up to the 8GB RAM model. But I guess it all depends on use as far as whether or not that $50 is well spent or not

 

[Dave245]

Interesting. It appears that the Costco exclusive model only had a finite time as an exclusive before being released to the general market.

Edit: However, if it were me, I would spend the extra $50 and move up to the 8GB RAM model. But I guess it all depends on use as far as whether or not that $50 is well spent or not

It's an interesting one, considering the cost of getting the new Macbook Air, even the 8GB Ram model wouldn't cost as much even with the pen and type cover. Apple really need to stop with the price hikes. As someone who wants to dip their foot in the Surface water this might be a great entry level device.

 

[SDColorado]

It's an interesting one, considering the cost of getting the new Macbook Air, even the 8GB Ram model wouldn't cost as much even with the pen and type cover. Apple really need to stop with the price hikes. As someone who wants to dip their foot in the Surface water this might be a great entry level device.

Microsofts 30 days return policy gives enough time to truly decide as well. 14-days is maybe OK if you already are in the Apple eco, but it's isn't enough for a curious switcher. But it also gives you enough time to see how well the specs meet your needs, so you can buy this model and decide whether or not for your own use, if you really do need to spend the additional money on the 8GB version or not. Take one for a 30-day test drive and see what you think!

 

[Dave245]

Microsofts 30 days return policy gives enough time to truly decide as well. 14-days is maybe OK if you already are in the Apple eco, but it's isn't enough for a curious switcher. But it also gives you enough time to see how well the specs meet your needs, so you can buy this model and decide whether or not for your own use, if you really do need to spend the additional money on the 8GB version or not. Take one for a 30-day test drive and see what you think!

It is VERY tempting especially with this offer that Amazon have, the Surface Go (8GB, 128GB SSD storage) the Alcantara Signature Type cover and the Surface Pen, all for £654.60 that seems like a great price!

 

[SDColorado]

It is VERY tempting especially with this offer that Amazon have, the Surface Go (8GB, 128GB SSD storage) the Alcantara Signature Type cover and the Surface Pen, all for £654.60 that seems like a great price!

It does for sure. I have no experience with the Go, but do have experience with the Surface Pro and Surface Book 2. I personally really like the Surface devices. They work for me. Which is no guarantee that they will also work for you, but you will never know if you don't try

 

[SteveJUAE]

It's an interesting one, considering the cost of getting the new Macbook Air, even the 8GB Ram model wouldn't cost as much even with the pen and type cover. Apple really need to stop with the price hikes. As someone who wants to dip their foot in the Surface water this might be a great entry level device.

It is VERY tempting especially with this offer that Amazon have, the Surface Go (8GB, 128GB SSD storage) the Alcantara Signature Type cover and the Surface Pen, all for £654.60 that seems like a great price!

The GO is a cute device but unless you have modest requirements or just want it as a companion device its no substitute for the probably better value SP6

If it's your 1st venture in to W10 in a long time I would not say its a good choice but less of a compromise if you were a W10 user and opted for an Ipad instead of a rMB/MBA for example

 

[Dave245]

The GO is a cute device but unless you have modest requirements or just want it as a companion device its no substitute for the probably better value SP6

If it's your 1st venture in to W10 in a long time I would not say its a good choice but less of a compromise if you were a W10 user and opted for an Ipad instead of a rMB/MBA for example

It would be my first time using Windows since 2011 what i'm thinking at the moment is to get a Surface device at some point, try it alongside my current devices (Mac and iPad) and see if it can fully replace my iPad Pro, if so i will retire the 2017 iPad Pro i currently have.

For the same price of a new iPad Pro 512GB version, i could get the Surface Pro 6! Apple have increased prices but they haven't given any more in terms of what the OS can do I'm not bashing on the iPad Pro, i like mine for drawing and using apps such as Procreate and Pixelmator BUT for the money the Surface Pro is fully positioned to be the "computer that can replace you're laptop"

It's only been my fear of Windows that has put me off this far, because i don't know what i'm doing when it comes to Windows, i'm literally like a fish out of water

 

[SDColorado]

It would be my first time using Windows since 2011 what i'm thinking at the moment is to get a Surface device at some point, try it alongside my current devices (Mac and iPad) and see if it can fully replace my iPad Pro, if so i will retire the 2017 iPad Pro i currently have.

For the same price of a new iPad Pro 512GB version, i could get the Surface Pro 6! Apple have increased prices but they haven't given any more in terms of what the OS can do I'm not bashing on the iPad Pro, i like mine for drawing and using apps such as Procreate and Pixelmator BUT for the money the Surface Pro is fully positioned to be the "computer that can replace you're laptop"

It's only been my fear of Windows that has put me off this far, because i don't know what i'm doing when it comes to Windows, i'm literally like a fish out of water

I was in the same boat as you Dave. I hadn’t used Windows since NT, so luckily missed the Vista and Windows 7 debacles

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I purchased the Surface Pro last year, but I found it wasn’t hard at all to learn the basics and I purchased a couple of books to learn more in depth. Not unlike my switch to Mac where I still have books on MacOS Tiger and Leopard around the house. They make for good references if you get stuck.

I was really hesitant to make the switch, but found it was far easier to make the switch than I thought It was going to be. The hardest part was breaking out of the mindset of having had nothing but Macs for all those years.

I am not at all an artist, so I don’t know much about drawing apps or their equivalents. I do like the adult coloring books Apps for unwinding and find that is still something I prefer to do on my iPad. Not because the pencil is a better tool, but because the apps are better than the Windows equivalent. I know nothing about Pixelmator, so I don’t know what the equivalent would be.

I do spend very little time with my iPP since I purchased the Surface Pro. It is mostly the coloring and checking news and email before bed and when I wake up. A bedside table device for the most past these days.

I am not trying to steer you wrong and I realize the Surface devices aren’t for everyone. But it sounds like you are not fully satisfied with what the iPP brings to the table and are looking for a device that will fill the role of what you use your iPP for as well as what you might use a MacBook Air for. A Surface Pro might be the fit .

 

[SteveJUAE]

It would be my first time using Windows since 2011 what i'm thinking at the moment is to get a Surface device at some point, try it alongside my current devices (Mac and iPad) and see if it can fully replace my iPad Pro, if so i will retire the 2017 iPad Pro i currently have.

For the same price of a new iPad Pro 512GB version, i could get the Surface Pro 6! Apple have increased prices but they haven't given any more in terms of what the OS can do I'm not bashing on the iPad Pro, i like mine for drawing and using apps such as Procreate and Pixelmator BUT for the money the Surface Pro is fully positioned to be the "computer that can replace you're laptop"

It's only been my fear of Windows that has put me off this far, because i don't know what i'm doing when it comes to Windows, i'm literally like a fish out of water

I'm not quite sure why your so hesitant Its not like your losing anything against your Mac let alone an IPP

Sure things are different a bit like picking up a hire car in country that uses the other side to drive on, getting out of the car park is stressful at first but everything is basically similar yet different

If it's easier than getting something like the SP6 on 14/30 return why not bootcamp your Mac and practice

Users like my wife never fiddle with her rMB that's bootcamp'd she just uses it

 

[SDColorado]

I'm not quite sure why your so hesitant Its not like your losing anything against your Mac let alone an IPP

Sure things are different a bit like picking up a hire car in country that uses the other side to drive on, getting out of the car park is stressful at first but everything is basically similar yet different

If it's easier than getting something like the SP6 on 14/30 return why not bootcamp your Mac and practice

I like the car hire analogy. The hardest thing to do is to pull it out of the rental car location and remember which way to look and which way to turn. The more you do it the more natural it becomes

 

[SteveJUAE]

I like the car hire analogy. The hardest thing to do is to pull it out of the rental car location and remember which way to look and which way to turn. The more you do it the more natural it becomes

Yep helps if the guy in front your following knows what he's doing LOL

Although as a Brit I have driven on the wrong side for me for many years. When I first arrived in Houston with super U's and US use of stop signs at any junctions opposed to give way to through road caught me out at first .

Going through a red light on a right turn/filter lane, if clear, was always odd as to the shared central lane for turning.

A few of our team at work failed their first driving test for not using the central lane smoothly even though they had driven for 20 years or more

 

[Dave245]

I'm not quite sure why your so hesitant Its not like your losing anything against your Mac let alone an IPP

Sure things are different a bit like picking up a hire car in country that uses the other side to drive on, getting out of the car park is stressful at first but everything is basically similar yet different

If it's easier than getting something like the SP6 on 14/30 return why not bootcamp your Mac and practice

Users like my wife never fiddle with her rMB that's bootcamp'd she just uses it

I was in the same boat as you Dave. I hadn’t used Windows since NT, so luckily missed the Vista and Windows 7 debacles

I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I purchased the Surface Pro last year, but I found it wasn’t hard at all to learn the basics and I purchased a couple of books to learn more in depth. Not unlike my switch to Mac where I still have books on MacOS Tiger and Leopard around the house. They make for good references if you get stuck.

I was really hesitant to make the switch, but found it was far easier to make the switch than I thought It was going to be. The hardest part was breaking out of the mindset of having had nothing but Macs for all those years.

I am not at all an artist, so I don’t know much about drawing apps or their equivalents. I do like the adult coloring books Apps for unwinding and find that is still something I prefer to do on my iPad. Not because the pencil is a better tool, but because the apps are better than the Windows equivalent. I know nothing about Pixelmator, so I don’t know what the equivalent would be.

I do spend very little time with my iPP since I purchased the Surface Pro. It is mostly the coloring and checking news and email before bed and when I wake up. A bedside table device for the most past these days.

I am not trying to steer you wrong and I realize the Surface devices aren’t for everyone. But it sounds like you are not fully satisfied with what the iPP brings to the table and are looking for a device that will fill the role of what you use your iPP for as well as what you might use a MacBook Air for. A Surface Pro might be the fit .

I’ve just placed an order for the new MacBook Air, the plan is that I use the new Air as my up to date machine, I will not be buying the new iPad Pro, moving forward then the plan is that if Apple don’t come up with BIG changes for the iPad Pro at WWDC next year, I will try out the redesigned Surface Pro that’s due next year and if I then like it and it works for me, I will remove the iPad Pro from my devices (pass it down to my mother probably) and maybe even my Air (sell it or pass it down to a family member), I will then be done with iPad’s and will stick with a set up that goes:

Surface Pro
iMac

Before ordering the new Air I looked at the Surface Go, however it seems underpowered for me and the screen size I don’t think I would be happy with (even my iPad Pro I’m use to the big 12.9” screen). This new Air will tide me over under next years Surface Pro redesign, in the meantime I will keep trying to get more hands on time with the Surface Pro in stores and when possible.

I feel like Apple are pushing it too far, the price of the iPad Pro is a joke when compared to the prices of the Surface Pro 6. No mobile OS is going to fully replace a computer for professionals. Next years Surface Pro redesign will be very interesting!

 

[SteveJUAE]

I’ve just placed an order for the new MacBook Air, the plan is that I use the new Air as my up to date machine, I will not be buying the new iPad Pro, moving forward then the plan is that if Apple don’t come up with BIG changes for the iPad Pro at WWDC next year, I will try out the redesigned Surface Pro that’s due next year and if I then like it and it works for me, I will remove the iPad Pro from my devices (pass it down to my mother probably) and maybe even my Air (sell it or pass it down to a family member), I will then be done with iPad’s and will stick with a set up that goes:

Surface Pro
iMac

Before ordering the new Air I looked at the Surface Go, however it seems underpowered for me and the screen size I don’t think I would be happy with (even my iPad Pro I’m use to the big 12.9” screen). This new Air will tide me over under next years Surface Pro redesign, in the meantime I will keep trying to get more hands on time with the Surface Pro in stores and when possible.

I feel like Apple are pushing it too far, the price of the iPad Pro is a joke when compared to the prices of the Surface Pro 6. No mobile OS is going to fully replace a computer for professionals. Next years Surface Pro redesign will be very interesting!

Sounds like a good plan and right choice on GO to me

Enjoy your new MBA and maybe try out Bootcamp if your SSD is large enough

 

[c0ppo]

A short video about Macbook Air:

So basically, he doesn't understand people who complain about 7W chip before they even used the device. But he says it's great, even though he just opened it up and didn't even use it? Also, he forgot to mention that 15W chip would bring quad core to the table. He also didn't even mention one more price increase... I don't get it with reviewers and Apple, it seems like they are in love.

 

[SDColorado]

A short video about Macbook Air:

So basically, he doesn't understand people who complain about 7W chip before they even used the device. But he says it's great, even though he just opened it up and didn't even use it? Also, he forgot to mention that 15W chip would bring quad core to the table. He also didn't even mention one more price increase... I don't get it with reviewers and Apple, it seems like they are in love.

It came in a white box with an Apple logo. Best computer ever!

Actually in addition to what you mentioned in your post, the 300 nits display would be a bit of a show stopper for me I think.

 

[Dave245]

A short video about Macbook Air:

So basically, he doesn't understand people who complain about 7W chip before they even used the device. But he says it's great, even though he just opened it up and didn't even use it? Also, he forgot to mention that 15W chip would bring quad core to the table. He also didn't even mention one more price increase... I don't get it with reviewers and Apple, it seems like they are in love.

It came in a white box with an Apple logo. Best computer ever!

Actually in addition to what you mentioned in your post, the 300 nits display would be a bit of a show stopper for me I think.

I've just canceled my order for the new Air, i'm going to see how everything plays out with it over the next few weeks or so, reviews are coming in but not everything is out yet, we don't know everything about the keyboard issues that were affecting the butterfly keyboard.

 

[SDColorado]

I've just canceled my order for the new Air, i'm going to see how everything plays out with it over the next few weeks or so, reviews are coming in but not everything is out yet, we don't know everything about the keyboard issues that were affecting the butterfly keyboard.

By all indications it will have the same Gen3 butterfly keyboard as the 2018 MBP, I would doubt that Apple has made any revisions to that. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. I use my laptops outside a lot, so the 300 nits display was a bit of a showstopper. I was actually pretty surprised to see that. It also lacks the MacBook Pro's P3 color gamut.

I purchased a MBA back in 2013 and promptly returned it for the 13" MBP, because I couldn't really find the value of the Air over the Pro for the amount of money each cost. I am not sure I see it now either. I would still go with the 13" MBP over the Air today. But it all depends on your individual needs.

Mashable has perhaps a more balanced look at the MacBook Air than the one @c0ppo posted. Or at least a more balanced reviewer?

https://mashable.com/review/apple-macbook-air/#HH9UsuBoRPqc

Another from the Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/6/...-retina-keyboard-apple-features-battery-price

 

[Dave245]

By all indications it will have the same Gen3 butterfly keyboard as the 2018 MBP, I would doubt that Apple has made any revisions to that. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. I use my laptops outside a lot, so the 300 nits display was a bit of a showstopper. I was actually pretty surprised to see that. It also lacks the MacBook Pro's P3 color gamut.

I purchased a MBA back in 2013 and promptly returned it for the 13" MBP, because I couldn't really find the value of the Air over the Pro for the amount of money each cost. I am not sure I see it now either. I would still go with the 13" MBP over the Air today. But it all depends on your individual needs.

Mashable has perhaps a more balanced look at the MacBook Air than the one @c0ppo posted. Or at least a more balanced reviewer?

https://mashable.com/review/apple-macbook-air/#HH9UsuBoRPqc

Another from the Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/6/...-retina-keyboard-apple-features-battery-price

In a machine that costs that much I don’t know what Apple was thinking. On a different note, with the Surface Pro and Surface Book 2, can they do what the iPad Pro does, for example can they split screen? (Have two apps open at once like safari and mail) also can they do picture in picture? Having a video play in the small window on the desktop while doing something else)

these are features that I appreciate on both the iPad and Mac, yet i don’t believe i’ve askef if Windows can do it?

 

[kazmac]

The only two things holding me back are drawing apps and being initimidated by Windows. Serif got back to me as far as compatibility with the Surface, but the developer mentioned they were using a Surface Pro 3!

So...staying with the iPad and the Mac for the time being.

My job is currently moving over to G suite (what I’ve learned in the last three days is fantastic), I hope my school will too.

Apple’s gimping and price hikes are obnoxious, but as much as I try to move on, it’s not happening yet.

Definitely loving what MS are doing with the Surface line though.

 

[SDColorado]

In a machine that costs that much I don’t know what Apple was thinking. On a different note, with the Surface Pro and Surface Book 2, can they do what the iPad Pro does, for example can they split screen? (Have two apps open at once like safari and mail) also can they do picture in picture? Having a video play in the small window on the desktop while doing something else)

these are features that I appreciate on both the iPad and Mac, yet i don’t believe i’ve askef if Windows can do it?

Sure, it is a full Windows OS. and you can have as many windows open as your configuration will allow. Having more RAM, etc. will allow for more programs to be open simultaneously, just as with MacOS, but there is no hard number.

Not a problem watching Hulu, Netflix, HBO, YouTube, Windows Movie&TV app, etc. open and viewing a movie or TV show if that is what you want to do. You can size the viewing window on your own and place it on a quarter of the desktop or whatever you want to do or shrink it to a "mini-player."

I would take a screenshot, but it only displays a black box where the media such as a movie or TV show would be. Probably for copyright issues?

Mini-player is limited in size compared to just sizing the app, but will stay on top at all times.

 

[mentaluproar]

I've had several surface pros. Each was returned or sold and I wet back to my MacBook Pro. The surfaces are way too finicky. They get problems like sleep of death, overheating, poor support, corrupted updates, shorting at the power connector, incredibly bad wifi, etc. They are definitely COOLER, but not reliable enough to be anything more than a toy. Using them as a tablet is impossible too. Too heavy.

 

[SDColorado]

I've had several surface pros. Each was returned or sold and I wet back to my MacBook Pro. The surfaces are way too finicky. They get problems like sleep of death, overheating, poor support, corrupted updates, shorting at the power connector, incredibly bad wifi, etc. They are definitely COOLER, but not reliable enough to be anything more than a toy. Using them as a tablet is impossible too. Too heavy.

I have only had my Surface Pro 2017 for about 15 months now. To date, it has been flawless. It was the top end model at the time. So far no issues with any of what you mentioned and support has to date been above and beyond. Just lucky perhaps? Maybe. But it has been a great machine for me.

Which is more than I can say about my experiences with the 2018 MacBook Pro(s) unfortunately

Do you really find that the .3lbs difference in weight makes it impossible to use as a tablet and that it is too heavy? I have not found the weight difference between it and the 12.9" iPP to really be a factor, but we are all different.

 

[Queen6]

Enough said...

Times are indeed different...

Q-6

 

[SDColorado]

Enough said...

Times are indeed different...

Q-6

Yeah, when it first came out it was revolutionary. With the passage of time and no updates for so long, it’s now become little more than a catch up effort.

Edit: That review pretty much boiled down to, it’s a nice laptop, but not a great one. But if you prefer MacOS your options are limited, so you are going to overpay for it.

 

[Queen6]

Yeah, when it first came out it was revolutionary. With the passage of time and no updates for so long, it’s now become little more than a catch up effort.

Edit: That review pretty much boiled down to, it’s a nice laptop, but not a great one. But if you prefer MacOS your options are limited, so you are going to overpay for it.

Well that's the clear tactic...

I don't care for the sealed nature of Surface, equally I feel like I'm getting my money's worth, not so much Apple it's not a privilege to own their hardware, arguably a deficit in 2018...

Q-6