News of the new Microsoft Surface Book has been flooding almost every tech site out there ever since it was announced earlier today. I have to say it looks great and sounds very promising, but there is just one thing I can’t comprehend. Why did Microsoft compare a very good product that could hold its own to an Apple MacBook Pro?
If you remember when the Surface Pro 3 was announced, Microsoft marketed it as a device that is better than a laptop and a tablet. That was great, as it made a niche for themselves with a new unique product. Now, they announced the Surface Book. Since it is one of Surface line of products, most people would already have a certain perception about it: it looks very similar to the Surface Pro 3 or the Surface 3 in terms of design and make, and we would expect it to be a tablet and laptop in one. However, with Microsoft comparing the Surface Book to a MacBook Pro, they have brought another perception into the picture. Now, we can not just look at the Surface Book and think, “Hey, that is a really cool new product like the Surface 3 series”, but instead think, “Hmmm, how is it like the MacBook Pro?”
For instance, Panos Panay, the VP of Microsoft Surface Division said, “The Surface Book is two times faster than the MacBook Pro.” There was actually no reason to compare it to the MacBook Pro. Mac users are Mac users not because of the performance, but more about the user experience and the brand perception it offers. If it was just about performance alone, there are other laptops that offer even better performance than a MacBook Pro, but they don’t blatantly make comparisons to it since there is no real reason to.
Another instance is the way Panos Panay compared the revised Microsoft Pen stylus to the Apple Pencil, and I quote, “Isn’t it funny that there is a pencil out there without an eraser. It’s like backwards.” Instead, I find it funny that Microsoft had to make that jab at Apple, when we all know Apple already has taken a lot of flak when it announced its Pencil, since it was as if they were trying too hard to emulate the Microsoft Pen.
So, instead of comparing the Surface Book to a MacBook, Microsoft should have stuck to offering a great combo of a laptop and a tablet in one with more performance power than its previous Surface products, since it is after all, a really awesome looking device. It is not about being an Apple fan or a Microsoft fan, but Microsoft has its own great song to sing instead of doing comparisons.
