Microsoft: More people switching from MacBook to Surface; Hub sales stronger than expected

midian182

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Microsoft says it has plenty to celebrate this holiday season. In the company’s year in review blog, the Redmond firm reveals that more people than ever before are switching from MacBooks to Surface devices, and that demand for the Surface Hub has been exceptionally high.

The Windows maker cites the disappointment surrounding the new MacBook Pros as a part of the reason behind the Surface’s success. Pro issues such as their high price, current lack of a 32GB option, and the polarizing Touch Bar replacing the function keys have apparently led to more people, especially professional users, making the switch to Microsoft machines.

Additionally, Microsoft reports that more people than ever before took advantage of its Mac-for-Surface trade-in program. The company was offering $650 towards a touch-enabled Surface device if consumers traded in their old MacBook. Moreover, the post attributes excitement over new Surface products, such as the Surface Studio and Dial, as a factor behind the brand’s increase in popularity - November turned out to be the best month ever for sales of Surface devices.

It’s not just consumer Surface devices that have done well this year; Microsoft’s giant, all-in-one conference system, the Surface Hub, has also exceeded expectations. Despite being delayed twice and seeing its original selling price raised by $2000, demand for the units outstripped supply.

Microsoft revealed that, nine months after its launch, the company had shipped Surface Hubs to over 2000 customers in 24 countries. With the devices aimed at the enterprise market, the average order is approximately 50 units, though one unnamed car manufacturer ordered 1500 units. With the 55-inch version costing $8999 and the 84-inch Hub priced at $21,999, you can understand why Microsoft is pleased with these figures.

The company hopes to ramp up sales of the Surface Hub with a try-and-buy program, allowing customers 30 days use before they commit to purchasing a device. Microsoft will also be increasing production and adding  new value-added resellers for the systems. While all this means the Surface Hub’s future looks rosy, it will soon have a competitor in the form of Google's similar but cheaper Jamboard, set for release in the first half of 2017.

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Unsurprising. MS has pushed new, innovative hardware, while apple has floundered on making their devices more anorexic and pushing the idea of a "dongle-book".

It's no wonder people who actually work on their machines are using a device that, you know, can do WORK.
 
Unsurprising. MS has pushed new, innovative hardware, while apple has floundered on making their devices more anorexic and pushing the idea of a "dongle-book".

It's no wonder people who actually work on their machines are using a device that, you know, can do WORK.
I am skeptical, this is MS press praising themselves - you know, you just quote some facts then explode into some self-serving analysis. People just don't give up the Apple ecosystem to join Windows crowd, just like an Iphone user doesn't cross to Android. If you spent 700 bucks for last year's Iphone, you are not gonna spend 700 for an Iphone clone like Pixel. Also, the Apple fanboys are not gonna spend 1500 bucks on the new Mac because is too expensive, but are very crazy about the Surface Studio which cost twice as much?

Migrating to windows because Apple has installed a touch bar on the new Mac model? Give me a break!
 
I am skeptical, this is MS press praising themselves - you know, you just quote some facts then explode into some self-serving analysis. People just don't give up the Apple ecosystem to join Windows crowd, just like an Iphone user doesn't cross to Android. If you spent 700 bucks for last year's Iphone, you are not gonna spend 700 for an Iphone clone like Pixel. Also, the Apple fanboys are not gonna spend 1500 bucks on the new Mac because is too expensive, but are very crazy about the Surface Studio which cost twice as much?

Migrating to windows because Apple has installed a touch bar on the new Mac model? Give me a break!
This is what happens when you read only what you want to read :)

I would love to get my hands on a Hub.
 
Unsurprising. MS has pushed new, innovative hardware, while apple has floundered on making their devices more anorexic and pushing the idea of a "dongle-book".

It's no wonder people who actually work on their machines are using a device that, you know, can do WORK.
I am skeptical, this is MS press praising themselves - you know, you just quote some facts then explode into some self-serving analysis. People just don't give up the Apple ecosystem to join Windows crowd, just like an Iphone user doesn't cross to Android. If you spent 700 bucks for last year's Iphone, you are not gonna spend 700 for an Iphone clone like Pixel. Also, the Apple fanboys are not gonna spend 1500 bucks on the new Mac because is too expensive, but are very crazy about the Surface Studio which cost twice as much?

Migrating to windows because Apple has installed a touch bar on the new Mac model? Give me a break!
You are right, they dont jump ship over one product. They jump ship after repeated messages that apple doesnt care about them anymore. This is happening, slowly, but it is happening. Macs are starting to fall out of favor after apple nixed the mac pro tower, ruined final cut pro, took away CUDA. Professional apps have been moving to windows in droves, and there is little that a mac can do now that a PC cant do just as well.

then there was removing replaceable hardware, then there was the iOSifying of mac OSx, then the removal of features for power users, THEN there was the "dongle book". The removal of CUDA capable macs, the removal of macs that can act as servers (the towers), the removal of a true "professional" macbook pro, the removal of the 17 inch macbook, the list goes on.

apple people have been migrating from apple due to these issues. The issues above are quoted from former apple fans I work with. Our digital media class is moving to PCs soon because apple has nothing for them. Our CAD classes now use PCs. Even our print shop moved to PCs. The only people buying macs are the ones that want to be hip, and type word documents on a mac.

The iphones are still superior to android in terms of security and updates, although who knows how long that will last. If the android world hadnt gone full dumb and removed replaceable batteries, I wouldnt have jumped ship to iOS (because there are those of us who do jump between platforms, as all of our apps are present on both, and we have no reason to stay loyal to one or the other).
 
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Pro issues such as their high price, current lack of a 32GB option

I like the Surface products, but aren't both of these also applicable to them? The Book is about the same price, the Pro and Type Cover aren't much less, and neither has a 32GB RAM option either.
 
The next worldwide pandemic will be caused by people picking their nose after using touch screens like this one. Someone invent a germ killing screen surface layer please.
 
Unsurprising. MS has pushed new, innovative hardware, while apple has floundered on making their devices more anorexic and pushing the idea of a "dongle-book".

It's no wonder people who actually work on their machines are using a device that, you know, can do WORK.
I am skeptical, this is MS press praising themselves - you know, you just quote some facts then explode into some self-serving analysis. People just don't give up the Apple ecosystem to join Windows crowd, just like an Iphone user doesn't cross to Android. If you spent 700 bucks for last year's Iphone, you are not gonna spend 700 for an Iphone clone like Pixel. Also, the Apple fanboys are not gonna spend 1500 bucks on the new Mac because is too expensive, but are very crazy about the Surface Studio which cost twice as much?

Migrating to windows because Apple has installed a touch bar on the new Mac model? Give me a break!

Since when does a Surface cost twice as much? Hz for Hz, GB for GB, they are reasonably comparable - last time I checked. But the surface has a touch screen, and Macs do not.

The touch bar was poorly implemented. Good idea at its core, but by eliminating the actual function keys, creators feel like they are giving something up so that consumers can have a new gimmick. Had they kept the Function row, and put in a 'touch row' above or below it (probably above), then there would have been some added value for both consumers and creators.

Meanwhile, the Surface Pro and Surface Book, having physical keyboards and touch interfaces available to them, offer this exact experience. I don't think anyone is going "nuts to Apple, let me get rid of my MacBook that I'm perfectly happy with and switch to a Surface". Instead, the people Microsoft claims are switching are probably doing so because they were already in the market for an upgrade, were waiting on the latest release from Apple, and found it lackluster for an upgrade that was supposed to satisfy them for several years. At the same time, while Microsoft regularly refreshes the Surface lineup - even with sometimes minor changes that don't cause a number-bump - Apple goes years without so much as hinting at an upgrade. It is going to be years before the next MacBook release, while the Surface Pro 4 came out in Oct 2015 (compared to June 2012 for the third gen MacBook Pro), and everyone is expecting the Pro 5 and Book 2 to be launched in the next year or so.
 
Since when does a Surface cost twice as much? Hz for Hz, GB for GB, they are reasonably comparable - last time I checked. But the surface has a touch screen, and Macs do not.

The touch bar was poorly implemented. Good idea at its core, but by eliminating the actual function keys, creators feel like they are giving something up so that consumers can have a new gimmick. Had they kept the Function row, and put in a 'touch row' above or below it (probably above), then there would have been some added value for both consumers and creators.

Meanwhile, the Surface Pro and Surface Book, having physical keyboards and touch interfaces available to them, offer this exact experience. I don't think anyone is going "nuts to Apple, let me get rid of my MacBook that I'm perfectly happy with and switch to a Surface". Instead, the people Microsoft claims are switching are probably doing so because they were already in the market for an upgrade, were waiting on the latest release from Apple, and found it lackluster for an upgrade that was supposed to satisfy them for several years. At the same time, while Microsoft regularly refreshes the Surface lineup - even with sometimes minor changes that don't cause a number-bump - Apple goes years without so much as hinting at an upgrade. It is going to be years before the next MacBook release, while the Surface Pro 4 came out in Oct 2015 (compared to June 2012 for the third gen MacBook Pro), and everyone is expecting the Pro 5 and Book 2 to be launched in the next year or so.

I was comparing macs with surface studio, but you are right, it is not a fair comparison. Comparing Hz for Hz, GB for GB, etc. they are reasonable comparable only on paper and that is for a few specs. The Surface also have a pen, and the touch is pressure sensitive - doesn't matter too much though, unless you are an artist. My pen is very annoying - had to open it a couple of time and reinsert the battery, it is not flawless you know. And the pressure sensitive feature is not activated by default and only works in selected apps, but I diverge. Coming back, I am pretty sure that the MacBook battery life beats the crap out of surface pro 4 (I can squeeze somewhere between 4-5 hours out of my surface pro 4, and all I do is reading novels).

The surface pro 4 looks good on paper - I had all sorts of issues with it and sent it twice back. First, their February 2016 patch of updates which wanted to fix a lot of issues broke my battery. They even issued a fixing guide for people with broken batteries - did not worked for me, and after hours online with the support, and hours of backing up my stuff, I had to send it back. Second device came already with a faulty screen - send it back again. I bought mine one month after it went to the market and considered buying a lumia 950 XL and a band 2 also. But when my first surface broke, I started reading their forums, which are full of horror stories. Even the Microsoft customized software installed on it is crappy - like the OneNote. You might think that with last year iteration, the surface line has reached some maturity, but nope. There is no accident that Microsoft discontinued the band, the phone, and that the surface pro 4 doesn't have a direct successor by now. Everything hardware they are showcasing is mostly a proof of concept - they recycle labels (Surface Studio for instance or the yet to be seen surface phone) to trick people into believing them having a continuous line of products over the years, which is not the case.

So yeah, I can totally see why an Apple user would want to switch to a surface device.
 
You are right, they dont jump ship over one product. They jump ship after repeated messages that apple doesnt care about them anymore. This is happening, slowly, but it is happening. Macs are starting to fall out of favor after apple nixed the mac pro tower, ruined final cut pro, took away CUDA. Professional apps have been moving to windows in droves, and there is little that a mac can do now that a PC cant do just as well.

then there was removing replaceable hardware, then there was the iOSifying of mac OSx, then the removal of features for power users, THEN there was the "dongle book". The removal of CUDA capable macs, the removal of macs that can act as servers (the towers), the removal of a true "professional" macbook pro, the removal of the 17 inch macbook, the list goes on.

apple people have been migrating from apple due to these issues. The issues above are quoted from former apple fans I work with. Our digital media class is moving to PCs soon because apple has nothing for them. Our CAD classes now use PCs. Even our print shop moved to PCs. The only people buying macs are the ones that want to be hip, and type word documents on a mac.

The iphones are still superior to android in terms of security and updates, although who knows how long that will last. If the android world hadnt gone full dumb and removed replaceable batteries, I wouldnt have jumped ship to iOS (because there are those of us who do jump between platforms, as all of our apps are present on both, and we have no reason to stay loyal to one or the other).
By the same line of thought, the major game studios should have been bankrupted by now since the gamers (tired of being ignored or being sold unplayable games) have moved on. Doesn't happen in real life, another example being Microsoft. I do not remember people migrating to Mac after Windows ME, Windows Vista, Windows 8.1 (in which they tried to impose a different UI), etc, etc, etc.
 
By the same line of thought, the major game studios should have been bankrupted by now since the gamers (tired of being ignored or being sold unplayable games) have moved on. Doesn't happen in real life, another example being Microsoft. I do not remember people migrating to Mac after Windows ME, Windows Vista, Windows 8.1 (in which they tried to impose a different UI), etc, etc, etc.
No, they just migrated to a different Windows operating system instead. Apple doesn't use 'different' operating systems, you buy the upgrade for somewhere around $30-$50 and seems like more everyone does. They also have a much narrower hardware lineup than Windows does. Don't like a MacBook? You have 1-2 alternate models to select from. Don't like Surface? You have a half dozen OEMs and ODMs to select from, each with dozens of models.

I've also never had so much as a hiccup with my Surface 3 or 4, if we're accepting anecdotal evidence for or against the quality of the surface lineup.
 
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