Surface Pro 7 Ad Throws Shade At MacBook Pro, Misses The Point
The Surface Pro 2-in-1 detachable tablet was arguably a stroke of genius and a gold mine for Microsoft but the company may have already milked the cow dry. The product line has seen very little significant innovation or upgrade in the past generations and the Surface Pro 8 doesn't sound like something terribly exciting either. Still, Microsoft seems quite insistent on pitting the current Surface Pro 7 against the MacBook Pro and while it does make some strong arguments, it might have also missed the point, especially with Apple's latest iteration.
Although they both have the "Pro" label in their name, the Surface Pro and MacBook Pro cater to their audiences in clearly different ways. The Surface Pro definitely wins in terms of versatility because of its form factor and its Surface Pen compatibility. In terms of performance, however, it might be on the losing end.
Compared at least to the M1 MacBook Pro, the Surface Pro 7 might not be able to stand up to the performance that Apple's own Silicon is now famous for. Of course, Microsoft is boasting that its computers can run full Windows software but that's pretty much a cop-out since the Surface Pro runs Windows in the first place. A better comparison would be between the Surface Pro X and the M1 MacBook Pro, but that gets even more embarrassing for Microsoft.
It has been reported that the M1 Macs actually run Windows apps better than the Surface Pro X did. When you factor in the fact that these Macs can run some popular iPhone and iPad apps as well as run Windows in a virtualized environment, the scales aren't exactly tipping in the Surface Pro's favor.
Microsoft is expected to announce upgrades to the Surface Pro and Surface Laptops lines but, if the rumors are correct, those will mostly bump up the specs. For certain users, that might be enough of a pull towards the Surface Pro but it might not be enough of a convincing argument for the majority of users who don't need portability that comes at a price.