Apple's new MacBook is much better than Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 -- here are ...

Apple has finally announced the new lighter-than-Air MacBook we were all waiting for. And, as expected, it's spectacular. It's so attractivethat I can't possibly imagine why my colleague Brian Fagioli would claim that Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is better.We are living on the same planet, aren't we?

Brian is terribly wrong, of course. But I'm not surprised, because he is, after all, a Surface Pro 3 user, and has been from the get-go. So it's easy for him to miss all the things that make the new MacBook so much better. He could only come up with six reasons to make his case. I offernine reasons -- tangible benefits -- that prove otherwise!

1.More Affordable

First off, let's tackle a misconception about the new MacBook. It's not more expensive than Surface Pro 3, as Brian claims. Yes, Microsoft's slate may kick off at $799, but the version that's equivalent to the base new MacBook (the one with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD) costs $1,299. And that's withoutthe must-have Type Cover 2 keyboard, which adds $129.99 to the cost. In total, you're looking at just shy of $1430.

Meanwhile, the base new MacBook, that packs 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB super-fast SSD, costs $1,299. And, of course, there's a keyboard included for the money. The difference can go towards Apple Care or buying a proper tablet, which will work so much better as a tablet than the hugeSurface Pro 3.

Don't even get me started on the 512 GB Surface Pro 3. It costs a whopping $1,949. Again, add $129.99 for the keyboard. Sure, it's faster than the new MacBook, but that only goes for $1,599 when matched with a 512 GB SSD. (A faster processor will be available for custom orders, but pricing is yet unknown.)

2.Better Looking

Using Brian's own words, the new MacBook is "more attractive". He even admits to falling in love with it!

Surface Pro 3 looks decent, but the new MacBook is dead-gorgeous. It's impossibly thin, and sleek. The keyboard looks great when the lid is raised, the screen is surrounded by a lovely black bezel that makes it look very elegant, the side profiles are clean, and there are no ugly holes for ventilation as the new MacBook is fan-less!

For those who love the iPhone color palette, the new MacBook is available in matching colors. It can be had in Gold, Silver or Space Gray. I'd pick the third option, as it looks very bad a*s (yes, I said it). Meanwhile, Surface Pro 3 can only be had in what I like to call boring-businessman-black.

3.More Portable

The new MacBook is also more portable than Surface Pro. It weighs just 2.03 pounds (or 0.92 kg) and comes in at 0.52 inches (or 1.31 cm) at its thickest point. Meanwhile, the latter is heavier (2.41 lbs or roughly 1.1 kg) and thicker (0.55 inches or 1.39 cm) with the keyboard on. The new MacBook is more compact overall, having a smaller footprint (11.05 inches in width and 7.74 inches in depth, compared to 11.5 inches and 7.93 inches, respectively, for Surface Pro 3).

And it's not like the new MacBook sacrifices battery life to fit in such a small body. Apple rates it at up to nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing or 10 hours of video playback. And we know that its ratings are conservative. Surface Pro 3 promises the same endurance for Wi-Fi browsing.

4. Proper Keyboard

A click-on keyboard, as Microsoft forces you to get with Surface Pro 3, is not as good as the keyboard that the new MacBook has. I've used many, and the ones on Macs are the best in the business when it comes to ultraportable devices. It's a joy to type on, with plenty of travel, and works great on your lap too, which is also not something that can be said about Type Cover 2. If you want to type on the go -- and comfortably at the office -- get the new MacBook.

5. Bigger Trackpad

When it comes to trackpads, MacBooks are unmatched among laptops. Apple gets it. Its trackpads are a pleasure to use. Fingers just glide on the glass surface, whichis bigger than whatmost competitors have to offer, including Surface Pro 3 and its Type Cover 2. In fact, Type Cover 2 has a tiny trackpad in comparison, because Microsoft wants you to poke the screen to navigate Windows 8.1. It may have buttons, but the new MacBook trackpad is pressure-sensitive, which makes for more fine-grained controls.

6. New and Shiny

Surface Pro 3 is approaching the end of its life-cycle, while the new MacBook has yet to even hit store shelves. Why is this important? Well, after Surface Pro 3 is replaced (which is any day now), its resale value will drop like crazy, while the new MacBook -- which is cheaper to buy -- has no such successor in sight to affect second-hand prices. It's also a purchase you can enjoy for at least a yearuntil a successor arrives, which isn't the case for Surface Pro 3.

7. Runs Windows and OS X!

One of the reasons why Brian believes Surface Pro 3 is better than the new MacBook is because the former can run Windows. He's being disingenuous, of course, because all Macs have been able to run Windows since Apple switched to Intel processors (hint: it happened last decade). The new MacBook is no exception.

Of course, what Surface Pro 3 can't do is run OS X 10.10 Yosemite natively, which the new MacBook can do without a problem. Even if you don't have a Windows license, you can always get one for about the same money as a Surface Pro 3 keyboard, or even less.

8. Apple Lifestyle Integration

Like my colleague Joe Wilcox explained, if you get the new MacBook you will want or feel like you need to get other Apple products.It ties in well with iPhones and iPads, andApple services like iTunes. You could start to compose an email on the new MacBook, and move on to your iPhone to finish the draft and send it. Or, you could call your other half from your new MacBook, using your iPhone to intermediate the call. Buy something from iTunes using your iPad and it's available on your new MacBook instantly. No Wi-Fi coverage? No problem. Enable tethering on your iPhone straight from your new MacBook -- yes, that's possible, without having to worry about passwords, or even unlocking the phone!

There's a sense of integration here that's missing from Surface Pro 3, which offers few reasons why it's better together with other Microsoft products. The experience it offers is disjointed and unpolished, in comparison.

9. It'sFocused

Apple designed the new MacBook with the goal of making it the best ultraportable you can buy, and I think it has achieved that. There's a clear focus here on consumers who value portability and battery life, over anything else. Meanwhile, Surface Pro 3 is a device which can't figure out whether it's a good tablet, a laptop or both.

There you go... Brian is clearly wrong!

Image Credit:Michele Paccione / Shutterstock

Source: http://betanews.com/2015/03/10/apples-new-macbook-is-much-better-than-microsofts-surface-pro-3-here-are-9-reasons-why/

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Hands-On With the Unbelievably Thin, Strange New MacBook

Apples latest MacBook isnt a spec update. Its not an incremental upgrade. Its a totally different machine, for a different kind of person. Its also kind of ridiculous.

First of all, it is incredibly, impossibly thin. Ive been using a MacBook Air for years, and this 13.1-millimeter, 2-pound device feels like an entirely different category of not-there-ness. Its amazingly sturdy for being so thin, too. The screen, the 2304 x 1400 display that I wish desperately would have also come to the Air, is lovely. Its the most important upgrade this device offers, honestly: once you start using a Retina display its hard to go back.

In every way, this is a thing of beauty; its no wonder Apple spent so much time talking about the engineering behind it. Everything about the MacBook is about beauty, whether its the single USB-C port on the left sidethe only port on the entire device save for a headphone jack on the rightor the new Gold, Space Gray, and Silver colors. The Gold is actually much more handsome than gaudy, but the Space Gray is my favorite of the options. Its dark and sleek, fitting for a device thats so, so very thin.

But then you use it, and the positive feelings fade a bit. For all the talk about the new butterfly keys, the new, better keyboard, I immediately hated using the keys. Theres basically no travel, no movement. Its not that different from tapping on a touchscreen. I initially felt the same way about the new Force Touch trackpad, which is in most ways the same as ever, except for the new ability to sense different levels of pressure placed on it. For a minute, it was hard to get just right. I kept pressing too hard, or not hard enough, trying to select a word and get it to pop up a Wikipedia page for Kelly Slater, or to show all the Numbers documents I had open by mashing on the app icon. It only took a minute or so to figure it out, though, and once you get the hang of it, quickly fast-forwarding through a video or looking something up on Wikipedia is actually quite easy. I may come around to the butterfly keyboard in time as well, but it doesnt give a great first impression.

The MacBook itself, meanwhile, runs quite well for a device powered by a Core M processor and with no fan inside. Based on a few minutes of web browsing, typing my name over and over in a Pages document, and poking through Numbers, it seems like its up to the tasks for which it is clearly meant. Its not for gaming, its probably not for editing video, but it does the basics really well.

Its hard to say for sure without using the laptop more, which well do as soon as possible, but for the moment the new MacBook feels a bit like the Apple Watch: its beautiful, a status symbol Id be desperate to show to everyone I know and kind of already want to frame. Its a clear indication that Apple values form and beauty first and foremost. But its expensivethe oddest moment of the event was when Phil Schiller announced the $1,299 starting price, and the room just deflated. Its also a little underpowered for such an expensive machine. But good lord is it beautiful.

Source: http://www.wired.com/2015/03/new-macbook-hands-on/

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