Surface Pro 3: Can Microsoft’s workhorse drag an Apple fan away? (Guest Post)

Can a top-of-the-range Microsoft computer convert Apple fanboy San Sharma? Or will using a Surface Pro 3 prove to be a baptism of fire?

I queued for the first iPhone. I’ve buffered my way through almost every Apple keynote. I’m wearing an Apple Watch.  But when I saw Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 in the cool, magnesium flesh, I was intrigued. How does this curious laptop-tablet hybrid compare to the MacBook Air?
Full disclaimer: Microsoft is a client of mine, and they gave me a Surface. Partial spoiler: This was about 6 months ago, and I’m still using the Surface. So… how have I got on?

The Wow Factor
When Steve Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air on stage in 2008, he pulled it out of a manila envelope. The Surface Pro 3 feels just as thin and light. With its detachable keyboard cover, kickstand and pen, there’s more than enough about it to catch the eye. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been in a meeting with it in the past 6 months without somebody commenting on it – and in a good way. “I really want one,” is what most people say.

The beauty of the Surface Pro 3, however, is more than skin deep. There are design touches here and there that suggest a real attention to detail – and care. The USB socket in the power brick so you can charge another device while your Surface is plugged in. The way the keyboard magnetically grips the screen for a more comfortable typing position. The kickstand that gives you a multitude of viewing angles.

Some limitations
The risk, however, when putting together a laptop-tablet hybrid, as Microsoft has done here, is that you end up with a device that’s neither a great laptop nor a great tablet. I don’t think that’s entirely true here, but there are some compromises. For example, as a laptop, the Surface Pro 3 doesn’t actually sit comfortably on your lap. The kickstand juts and the keyboard cover wobbles. As a tablet, it’s a little bit heavy to hold in one hand.

However, there have been moments in my 6 months of using the Surface Pro 3 that make up for these limitations – and, if you can see yourself in the following situations, the Surface may be the computer for you.

Magic moments
So, I'm in a meeting, typing notes furiously, when I have an idea that I can’t quite express in words. In that moment, I pulled the keyboard off my Surface, grabbed my Surface Pen and, within seconds, I was sketching my idea by hand. It was magical.

More recently, I was sent a long Word document to read. Rather than hunch over my Surface at my desk, I again pulled off my keyboard, held the Surface in portrait mode and read the document on a couch like it was a magazine. It transformed that task into something that felt more natural – and, again, magical.

These moments speak to the Surface Pro 3’s real strengths – its ability to adapt to the way you work best. Of course, this is only really possible because of the software that powers the Surface Pro 3 – and, as a lifelong Apple customer, I can’t review a Windows computer without talking about Windows.

Looking through the Windows
As you can probably tell, I have no real hang-ups about the design of the Surface Pro 3. I like it. My only anxiety about accepting the Surface Pro 3 was about accepting Windows back into my life. I’d spent the past 10 years using Mac OS X as my main operating system. Could I relearn Windows?

The version of Windows that came with the Surface was Windows 8.1 – and, I must admit, it didn’t make my transition from Apple to Microsoft easy at all. It was too unfamiliar and geared too much towards tablet use, when I was mostly using the Surface as a laptop.

At the earliest opportunity, I joined the Windows Insider Programme (for free) and upgraded to the Windows 10 Technical Preview, which is basically a sneak peek at the future of Windows – and it is so much better. It’s in desktop mode by default, the Start menu is back, and it’s just so much better looking. If you’re switching from Mac to Windows, upgrade to Windows 10 at the earliest opportunity. You’ll feel far more at home.

For small businesses, the special sauce of Windows is really Office 365. Yes, you can get it on a Mac, but it’s at its best on Windows. Fully-featured Word, Excel and PowerPoint – plus, features like Skype for Business integration with Outlook – make even the smallest of businesses feel like the mightiest.

This is where Microsoft, versus Apple, really shines – and the Surface Pro 3 is the best embodiment of this idea: no-one cares more about your productivity than Microsoft. That unfortunately means, for me, the Surface isn’t quite as good as a tablet. But as a pure work horse? The Surface Pro 3 is hard to beat.

 

Find out more about the Surface Pro 3 here!

You can also learn about Office 365 and to get involved in the Windows Insider program and get your hands on Windows 10 sign up here. 

San Sharma (@sansharma) is a writer and marketer, specialising in tech and business.