Over the past few months, there has been a consensus over the fact that Microsoft seems to be getting back to making some really cool computers. New Microsoft products like the Surface Studio, the Surface Book, and the Surface Hub have all received positive reviews from even the most hardcore of Apple fans. Apple, on the other hand, has received a lot of flak — especially after the recent MacBook Pro announcements where the company removed several useful ports to make their new Pro machines slimmer and sleeker.
Following the path of the ultra-slim MacBook, released way back in 2015, the entire MacBook Pro lineup has done away with things like the traditional USB port, the SD card reader, the MagSafe connector and HDMI ports. The new MacBook Pro lineup now only come with USB Type-C and a 3.5mm audio port (the latter which, ironically, Apple chose to remove from its new iPhones). To make things worse, you cannot directly connect your iPhone 7 to a new MacBook Pro without an adapter.
While some people have lauded Apple for making these brave moves, most tech industry pundits have been vocally critical of Apple for removing many of these useful features. It would take some time before we figure out if the removal of these features will affect the sales of these new Apple machines. However, if we are to believe a new blog post by Microsoft, posted recently on their Windows Blog, a sizable number of MacBook owners are switching to the Surface Book following the announcement of the new Macs.
An excerpt from the blog post reads as follows.
“Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro – especially among professionals – is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface, like this. It seems like a new review recommending Surface over MacBook comes out daily. This makes our team so proud, because it means we’re doing good work.”
Microsoft also went on to add that the month of November was the best ever month for the company when it came to the sales of Surface products. The company claims that the renewed interest in Surface products was not limited to the U.S. market. Countries like the United Kingdom and Germany too, are reporting strong sales with several Surface products topping the sales charts there.
All said, many industry analysts are still shy of writing off Apple and its MacBook Pros completely. According to The Financial Post , a recent report by Slice Intelligence suggested that the sales of the new MacBook Pro models are in fact doing just fine. In another report by Taiwanese publication Digitimes , Apple is reportedly “placing aggressive orders with its suppliers” to meet the heightened demand of the new MacBook Pros. Apple’s Phil Schiller too claimed that the company has received more orders for the MacBook Pro than any other Pro notebook before.
As we mentioned earlier, it would be difficult to make a fair comparison unless we have some official sales data out. Unfortunately, it would take a couple of months more for a clearer picture to emerge. That said, there is still no denying the fact that Microsoft is definitely gaining some serious traction with its new Surface line-up. More and more Surface devices are now being used by students and professionals across the globe. The reviews about the products too have been generally positive.
Do you think people are indeed switching over from Macs to PCs? In case you happen to be an existing Mac user, does the new Surface products from Microsoft interest you? Please do let us know in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Microsoft ]
