A Surface event happened today. I’ve linked The Verge’s coverage of the devices they presented (sorry for the wall of media) below.
I’ve gotta say… Apple Silicon aside, I’m really jealous of Microsoft’s willingness to play with hardware design. I know the iPad is supposed to be “the modular computer,” but really it’s a modular computer accessory when compared to what MS is putting out.
I dream of a Hackintosh Surface Pro. It will never happen (at least, not without your WiFi card breaking or whatever) but damn, it would be such a great machine.
There are certainly a lot of ideas borrowed from Apple (magnetically attached and chargeable pen, USB C ports, design aesthetic, etc). The iPad Pro 12.9" + the Magic Keyboard Folio TouchPad thing comes close.
iPadOS is the problem here. iPadOS is no longer in its infancy. When Windows was 10 years old it was the far more capable Windows 95. Apple has a different vision for iPad. Power users get thrown a few features here and there, but it’s predominantly a consumption machine.
Microsoft went from laptop and evolved it into a tablet. Apple went from phone and its holding on to the phone roots pretty strongly.
That’s an industry standard and the Surface Go had them before the iPad did. Also, the Surface Pen was magnetic before the Apple Pencil 2 was released.
Have you tried it? Because I find it too be very buggy with weird choices. To name a few: users lose a large part of the control over the taskbar (position, size, icons, etc.) and for “normal” persons it is almost impossible to change default apps like a browser. Microsoft plays the nice guy, but Windows 11 is a sneaky OS compared to Windows 10.
Nonetheless, I like Windows 10 and the Surface Laptop.
I haven’t. In fact I haven’t used windows for a while, except for the ocasional trip to my Parallels VM for some weird Brazilian government software that will not run directly on macOS.
That said, I guess the buggy part is somewhat expect if the OS hasn’t been officially released, ain’t it?
As per the sneaky part, if I read your comment correctly, I guess they’re enforcing the defaults for their own apps. Is it? While it’s a good thing Edge is good now, it’s would definitely be a shame if Microsoft starts making it more difficult to change its defaults.
There was a keynote years ago, for the original Surface Studio I think, where Panos Panay would just not stop talking about the hinges. How many minuscule components they required. How they gave them a polished finish so that they reflect the desk and blend into their surroundings. It was then that I knew Microsoft is the new Apple. They just need to find their Bertrand Serlet.
Absolutely agree. On the hardware front I’ve been more excited by MS and their foldable stuff and the Surface line. Certainly far more innovative than what Apple is producing. I do still love my iPad though…MacBook Air gets work done fine, but I can’t say I love it.
