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Microsoft’s first ever laptop, the Surface Book, has gone on sale in the US this week.
To coincide with what the firm is hoping is a throng of Apple users switching over to Surface, Microsoft has created a detailed guide to switching from MacBook to Surface Book.
It certainly is a bold move to intentionally dig out a competitor. Then again, this isn’t the first time the vendor has taken a direct swipe at Apple. Over the year’s Microsoft hasn’t held back when it comes to proving its Surface products are superior. It claimed the iPad Air wasn’t family friendly in its Surface 2 advertising campaign in 2013, and poked fun at the MacBook Air in its Surface Pro 3 marketing.
The Surface Book is certainly a competitor to the MacBook range. It comes with a 13.5-inch touchscreen display, a range of Intel Core processors, and 8GB to 16GB of memory. It carries a price tag of $1,499, placing it around the same price point as Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro – but Microsoft claims the Surface is two times faster than Apple’s laptop.
So if you’re an Apple fan that’s impressed by what you’ve heard so far, Microsoft is offering up a detailed guide to the new device.
“Whether you’re considering a Microsoft Surface Book or have already purchased one, we want to say thank you! We designed Surface Book to be the ultimate laptop and to make you more productive in every aspect of your digital work and life,” reads the guide.
Besides a run down of the basic features of the Surface Book and Windows 10, the guide includes a set of tips for MacBook users, including how to perform a secondary click/right-click, keyboard shortcuts, finding system settings, locating downloads, and creating additional accounts.
Read through all of Microsoft’s Surface Book user tips here.
Microsoft also goes into detail about using Surface Book with iPhone, iCloud and iTunes, explaining what happens to all your iTunes music and movies, how iPhone works with the device, and how to access photos and files stored on iCloud.
Read more about using your iPhone, iCloud and iTunes with the Surface Book here.
Moving documents from one device to another is also outlined in detail in Microsoft’s guide. It explains how to know what size external hard drive to buy, how to move your photos and documents, how to move your web favourites, and how to access your email, contacts and calendar.
Read Microsoft’s full guide on moving photos, files, and mail from Mac to Surface Book here.
While there’s no news yet on when exactly the Surface Book is coming to the UK, the Surface 4, which was announced along with the new laptop, will be available from November 12th.
Read our analysis piece on if the Surface 4 can also swing consumers away from Apple here.
On the business side of things, the firm has recently updated its Surface Enterprise Initiative to help improve the adoption of the devices in the workplace.
Microsoft is also offering free copies of Office 365 to all delegates at this year’s PCR Boot Camp North. The conference and expo takes place on November 18th and is free for retailers, resellers, system builders and service providers to attend.
