It’s a new year and Microsoft seems to be taking a new approach in its advertising. MS Power User spotted a new 30-second YouTube ad for Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7, in which the software giant compared its 2-in-1 laptop to Apple’s 13” MacBook Pro.
The video directly compares the Surface Pro 7 against the MacBook Pro, with the young presenter having some hands-on time with the two devices while running through the benefit the former has over the other.
Interestingly, at the end of the ad, Microsoft lists the price of the MacBook Pro as USD1,299 (RM5,256). However, if you closely look at the keyboard layout of the laptop shown in the video, it does not feature a physical Esc key. Apple added the key in its mid-2020 refresh of the laptop, which means the model shown in the video is not the latest MacBook Pro with Apple’s latest M1 chip.
Besides that, the video also highlights that the Surface Pro 7 has a full touchscreen whereas, on the MacBook Pro, you get a little bar with touch support, an obvious jab at the Touch Bar.
The video also touts how the Surface Pro 7 can be converted to a laptop and tablet easily with the Type Cover detachable keyboard. According to the description of the video:
Only Surface Pro 7 has the versatility and portability of both a tablet and a laptop. With features like touchscreen, detachable keyboard and pen, and enough power to run your favourite apps — you can work or play from anywhere. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 has everything you need to do what you love.
Finally, the video claims that the Surface Pro 7 is a “much better gaming device” than the MacBook Pro, and it is more affordable.
It should be noted that this Microsoft ad is for a limited-time offer, that’s only available in the US, bundles the Surface Pro 7 with the Type Cover and Surface Pen for USD1,130 (RM4,573).
That is a pretty good deal all things considered as both the Type Cover keyboard and Surface pen are optional accessories that need to be purchased separately.
Looking at it from a local perspective, the Surface Pro 7 features a 12.3” touchscreen display, and the current model sold on Microsoft’s official store on Lazada is priced at RM5,499 in Malaysia. This configuration comes with an Intel Core i5-1065G7 Processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.
It is worth noting that this is the mid-range model and there is a cheaper base model, which has the same specs though it has a 128GB SSD instead, priced at RM3,999. This model is currently listed as unavailable, so you can only get the more expensive model.
So to use the Surface Pro 7 as a normal laptop, you will need to add RM639 for the Pro Signature Type Cover. This means the actual cost of the Surface Pro 7 with a keyboard is RM6,138. That actually makes it RM540 more expensive than the base model 13” MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 chip, 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage, that costs RM5,599.
Also, if you want to use the Surface Pen, you will need to cough up an additional RM399. So if you want both the Type Cover and the Surface Pen, the total cost would be RM6,537.
But what do you think? Do you agree with Microsoft’s ad that the Surface Pro 7 is better than the 13″ MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments below.
