Surface Laptop can win the battle?

[RamaArista]

Sup, that's my question.... Can MSFT win the battle against google Chromebooks?? Yes or not.. And why?...

 

[kaktus1389]

Well the Surface Laptop is targeting MacBook Air because of the price range and it's meant for college students primarily. It can of course be useful for every other consumer and enterprise, but the main goal of Windows 10 S is to eliminate the Chromebook threat.

Surface Laptop is just an example of how laptops primarily made for students with Windows 10 S should be like - like the guidelines what must the other OEMs consider when they're making a product like that. As you probably know, Chromebooks are also famous for their low prices and Surface Laptop is too expensive to compete with Chromebooks and of course has significantly better hardware than the most of the Chromebooks. There however was an announcement that the starting price of OEM products with Windows 10 S is going to be 189$ and that type of devices is what is going to take on the Chromebooks. With Microsoft's new set-up system Windows 10 S machines are going to be easy to maintain and set up, they are also going to offer some of really powerful apps and games that Google cannot offer in their store, but it's still a question if schools and students are going to find that appealing since students these days grew up with mobile apps.

I think there is a good chance Microsoft is going to succeed though, especially if they combine Windows 10 on ARM with Windows 10 S.

 

[k1s23]

Well the Surface Laptop is targeting MacBook Air because of the price range and it's meant for college students primarily. It can of course be useful for every other consumer and enterprise, but the main goal of Windows 10 S is to eliminate the Chromebook threat.

Surface Laptop is just an example of how laptops primarily made for students with Windows 10 S should be like - like the guidelines what must the other OEMs consider when they're making a product like that. As you probably know, Chromebooks are also famous for their low prices and Surface Laptop is too expensive to compete with Chromebooks and of course has significantly better hardware than the most of the Chromebooks. There however was an announcement that the starting price of OEM products with Windows 10 S is going to be 189$ and that type of devices is what is going to take on the Chromebooks. With Microsoft's new set-up system Windows 10 S machines are going to be easy to maintain and set up, they are also going to offer some of really powerful apps and games that Google cannot offer in their store, but it's still a question if schools and students are going to find that appealing since students these days grew up with mobile apps.

I think there is a good chance Microsoft is going to succeed though, especially if they combine Windows 10 on ARM with Windows 10 S.

nice thorough response. i think they will win too. theres so many options for people to choose from when it comes to windows and there will be more with ARM that its kinda hard not to find something that will match a user. surface laptop targets macbook air, and the surface line in general targets the mac users who are creators. the surface line is a "premium" line, so they probably wont work on making something in the future that competes with chromebook. thats why one of its OEMs will in accordance with windows 10 s like in the case of the $189 education-focused laptop. its nice to see microsoft work as a team with other OEMS to take down its 2 biggest threats, apple and google.

 

[Photonsym]

The surface laptop is only a showcase device for windows 10s and not the target for windows 10s. The chromebook competition will come from cheap laptops around the 200 range.

 

[JohnnyRedLight]

Reading these forums have changed some of my opinions about the Surface Laptop. As others have noted, the Surface Laptop itself is in a different league than Chromebooks. I agree with the others that, if anything, 10S on more economical laptops will be the competition to the Chromebooks. Will Microsoft "win"? No but they will be successful and competitive.

 

[Surapathi_121-0]

Oh sure, Surface laptop is built for this reason. Microsoft is not dumb by letting it on the loose. I bet you, Chromebooks are a waste will be understood when they just see the laptop in reality.

 

[kaktus1389]

Chromebooks are a waste

Although I am not a huge fan of Chromebooks and I don't consider them real computers at all, I don't underestimate the power of Google's Play Store that is full of Android apps that are used by the majority of student population as phones are becoming main "computing machine" for many people nowadays.

 

[k1s23]

The surface laptop is only a showcase device for windows 10s and not the target for windows 10s. The chromebook competition will come from cheap laptops around the 200 range.

agreed. the surface laptop is a "this is what we came up with, what about you?" message to the OEM. i said this somewhere else but microsoft is purposefully trying to be undercut by other manufacturers in the education sector. which is fine, because these OEMs will hopefully be the ones that the education sector buys for schools and personal use.

 

[k1s23]

Reading these forums have changed some of my opinions about the Surface Laptop. As others have noted, the Surface Laptop itself is in a different league than Chromebooks. I agree with the others that, if anything, 10S on more economical laptops will be the competition to the Chromebooks. Will Microsoft "win"? No but they will be successful and competitive.

hey johnny, agreed with 10 s being on more economical or "cheaper" laptops. yes, the surface laptop is being released with windows 10 s but its also coming with a free upgrade to windows 10 pro for a reason: microsoft is trying to promote windows 10 s, with the real "windows 10 s" devices being the other education devices being released with that os. its an interesting tactic and one that i hope will play out in microsoft and the OEMs favor.

 

[k1s23]

id like to also add: people will stick with something just because of brand recognition, and now that the younger generation is growing up with google-powered devices and services its scary to think the chromebook can and is becoming a real threat to microsoft because google is what they know. microsoft is really trying to get to the younger generation as much as possible partly because of this.

 

[T Moore]

Sup, that's my question.... Can MSFT win the battle against google Chromebooks?? Yes or not.. And why?...

Not with the Surface Laptop. To many $$$,
You have to look at the OEM versions with lower specs that will contend with the Chromebooks.
They start at $189

Microsoft is not in the battle, the 10 S OEM devices are

Acer, HP launch $299 Windows 10 S laptops | ZDNet

 

[anon(10237065)]

Not with the Surface Laptop. To many $$$,
You have to look at the OEM versions with lower specs that will contend with the Chromebooks.
They start at $189

Microsoft is not in the battle, the 10 S OEM devices are

Acer, HP launch $299 Windows 10 S laptops | ZDNet

But let's not forget they've chosen Apple's way - through premium devices - rather than a typical cheap Chromebook. They're not doing exactly the same, they're trying a different path.

 

[k1s23]

Not with the Surface Laptop. To many $$$,
You have to look at the OEM versions with lower specs that will contend with the Chromebooks.
They start at $189

Microsoft is not in the battle, the 10 S OEM devices are

Acer, HP launch $299 Windows 10 S laptops | ZDNet

i agree with you t moore. the surface laptop "going into battle" with cheap chromebooks isnt how this is playing out. microsoft mentioned 2 important things regarding this "battle" in their education press conference: the surface laptop is a competitor to the macbook air (competing with apple), but also the OEM laptops being released with windows 10 s starts really cheap (competing with google). the surface hardware is too premium to compete in the education sector, but microsoft is providing the tools for OEMs to fight the battle collectively.

 

[xandros9]

id like to also add: people will stick with something just because of brand recognition, and now that the younger generation is growing up with google-powered devices and services its scary to think the chromebook can and is becoming a real threat to microsoft because google is what they know. microsoft is really trying to get to the younger generation as much as possible partly because of this.

Ah don't sweat it, Chromebooks are solid inexpensive web browsing machines and for many people that covers the majority of what it needs to do. I think you're overestimating the power and presence of Google in this regard - but what I think we'll see is people who do nothing but web browsing being better served by Chromebooks.

It will never overthrow Windows entirely as Windows is where games, specialized tools, etc. are.

 

[k1s23]

Ah don't sweat it, Chromebooks are solid inexpensive web browsing machines and for many people that covers the majority of what it needs to do. I think you're overestimating the power and presence of Google in this regard - but what I think we'll see is people who do nothing but web browsing being better served by Chromebooks.

It will never overthrow Windows entirely as Windows is where games, specialized tools, etc. are.

hey xandros thanks for your reply. i guess im thinking like that because android went from 0 market share when it was introduced to the most used os in the world in a "relatively" short amount of time. after seeing something like that happen its hard not to overlook what else google products are capable of doing.

 

[etphoto]

I don't think MS needs to win the battle. There is room enough for both platforms. It's the same in mobile when everyone says MS will never beat the iPhone or Android. They don't need to beat them, just have some market share and compete.

Twitter: @PhotographyET

 

[SysArch]

Yes, all they need to do is put more effort in an efficient way and I think they are getting there. Here is a list of partial benefits of Windows 10S over ChromeOS.
1. Cortana/AI assistant: It is in-built in Windows 10, while ChromeOS nope.
2. Full Microsoft Office is supported on Windows 10 S - ChromeOS can not.
3. Easy to use Google Docs through Edge browser, Google Drive etc. on Windows 10 S. Chrome OS yes.
4. Full Adobe Photoshop as it is available via Windows Store, while Chromebooks can not.
5. With the help of Desktop bridge (if Microsoft can spend more time on this and bring its partners up to speed) every Windows Desktop application can be purchased via store and executed - Chromebook can not unless you use a cloud client, which Windows 10 S can do easily
6. Web Applications - both Windows 10 S and Chrome OS can do with the exception that there are still few web sites and applications still not work on Edge. But I think Microsoft can close that gap.
7. AutoCAD - I heard Microsoft is working with Autodesk to port its applications via Desktop Bridge, if that is true, it will be another win for Windows 10 S.
8. While ChromeOS is sandboxed, there are few ads, which sometimes go through Google Ad network, can take the users browser down and thus Chromebook down as Chrome browser is the only user interface there. This issue is not there on Windows 10 S. Here the system itself is sandboxed.
9. Offline use, while Google claims having Internet is not required for Chromebook, it is a must to be proactively performing and you have to sync with cloud for certain web apps and majority of the web apps need connection. Windows 10 S doesn't have this limitation.
10. Windows 10 S can be upgradable to Windows 10 Pro giving the user more power. Chromebook, there is no easy way of upgrading it to full fledged Linux system.
11. It is easy to sync with your phone on Windows 10 S than ChromeOS.
12. And there are many....

 

[SpaciousZebra]

I'm thinking "No" here, but I also think it depends on whether or not cheaper laptop options become available with 10 S installed on them. Chromebooks have a mass appeal because of their price, and Microsoft hasn't done anything to change that yet. Once price is addressed by either Microsoft or its Windows partners, then we'll see.

 

[tgp]

6. Web Applications - both Windows 10 S and Chrome OS can do with the exception that there are still few web sites and applications still not work on Edge. But I think Microsoft can close that gap.

I'm afraid that Chrome's advantage here is going to supercede all others. Your other 11 points are great, but I doubt they'll factor into the equation much for users of Windows 10 S.

Simply put, the average consumer uses little more than the browser, even on full Windows. It's a sledge hammer being used to drive a thumbtack. The buyers of Windows 10 S are probably even more likely to be a browser only user.

Considering that ChromeOS vs Windows 10 S means Chrome vs Edge, it's not even a contest. And from here on out, ChromeOS users have the Play Store at their disposal. While Windows 10 S users may have Adobe Photoshop available in the future, how many people actually use it? Someone using an advanced program like that is probably going to have full Windows anyway, even if they're using the Store app.

I guess we'll wait and see how this spins out. There are valid arguments both ways. Time will tell. There's a saying, "If the world were a logical place, men would ride side saddle."

 

[Sergio The One]

I would say that Surface is the only product, other than possibly Xbox, that's making Microsoft cool in the eyes of the people, so even if the Surface Laptop is overpriced, I do believe it will sell well, and be considered a success within its niche (students, etc).