Will Surface be as popular as Macbook?

[Tsang Fai]

Let me emphasize that I'm talking about the popularity of Surface vs Macbooks as seen in public places (trains, coffee shops, libraries, etc).

Even Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 generally regarded as "successes", still very few people are using Surface devices - I have only seen totally 4 people using Surface devices during the past 2 years while I see hundreds of people using Macbooks everyday.

Macbooks are still the 99.9% majority (which is not an exagerration based on my observation) for people in starbucks, students in lecturte theatres & libraries, professionals on the trains, sales people in banks, etc.

Not sure whether the adoption rate of Surface is better in other countries? (I'm from Hong Kong)

Well, even including all Surface-like Windows 2-in-1 (Lenovo, HP, etc) as "Surface" devices, the popularity is still very low as compared to Macbooks.

Is Surface not as premium/stylish as Macbooks? Do people still think Windows devices are cheap despite the hardware specs and functionalities of Surface devices out-perform the Macbooks? Do people feel "not too confident/comfortable" to use their Surface devices in public places? (I'm not that kind of people for sure. I feel very proud of my Surface 3/Surface Book everytime I use it in front of people)

If not as popular as Macbooks, can Surface devices even be 25% as popular as Macbooks? (1 using Surface vs 3 using Macbooks)

The reason why I care the popularity of Surface in public places is simple - if Surface is popular in public places, Microsoft can save lots of money in promoting the devices. Seeing many real users in coffee shops everyday is very effective in building up solid confidence to potential buyers.

What can Microsoft do to push the market share of Surface devices to a "reasonable level"? By "reasonable level" I mean to an extent that potential customers would consider Surface because they see real users enjoying such a wonderful device in public places, not because they occasionally see those advertisements.

Here are some of my thoughts:

• SP4/SP3/Surface 3 looks premium except the type cover - I hope Microsoft would release a more premium version of type cover, preferrably metal-plated.
• Surface Book should be less expensive in order to attract the non-enthusiasts to consider. Many people have comments like this, "(Surface Book) looks awesome. But why don't I buy a cheaper Macbook?"
• Microsoft should be more proactive in promoting Surface (or other Windows devices) to schools and business (partner with banks so that they use Surface devices to serve customers' enquiry / collect opinions with Surface Pen)

This thread is not just limited to Surface vs Macbooks - I'm just wondering if one day Microsoft hardware can be as popular as (or close to) the Apple equivalents?

 

[fdalbor]

How long has MacBooks been on the market, and how long has Surface products been on the market. Also (no offense to anyone) Hong Kong is not the world.

 

[Pete]

I've been seeing plenty of Surface devices being used in coffee shops over here in the UK; I don't see MacBooks being as prevalent as they used to be. I'm also seeing them used on TV more and more frequently.

The Surface Book is well priced for where it is as far as I see it. It's aimed at the MacBook Pro sector - it's more expensive, but then the MacBook doesn't have a touch screen and can't be used as a tablet. Using the Surface line for a few years, I've come to the point of view that with something sitting on your lap, it's entirely natural to touch the screen.

Yes, Microsoft is actively promoting the Surface line to schools and businesses. We see the occasional story on WindowsCentral and locally. This is a story about a school that's local to me where every student gets a Surface 3 for use at school and home.

Empowering with Technology | Luckley House School

My assessment is that the Surface line will get more successful over time.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Rollout differs by country. There are countries where surface devices have never been sold like mine. However, macbooks and apple devices in general are rare as well due to their high cost and other issues. Laptops are the majority in public spaces

 

[Tsang Fai]

How long has MacBooks been on the market, and how long has Surface products been on the market. Also (no offense to anyone) Hong Kong is not the world.

Yeah I know the adoption of Surface in Hong Kong is quite low compared to other regions. That's why I wanna know the situation in other regions.

Any other people here to share? Have you noticed more people using Surface devices over the past years? Kindly let us know where you are from, and the occasion (coffee shop, lecture theatres, etc).

 

[Spectrum90]

According to estimates, Microsoft is selling 1 million Surfaces per quarter.
Apple is selling 5 million Macs and 10 million iPads per quarter. The iPad Pro is already outselling the Surface.

Apple is too strong and Microsoft keeps dropping the ball.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I've never seen a Surface outside of a store. The PC notebooks that I see regularly are from Dell, ASUS, Lenovo, and HP.

 

[ZoneofJhay]

It will require a lot of effort from Microsoft's marketing division to really advertise the Surface. I actually never saw any of the Surface on the wild here. Most of the time its Macbooks or other windows laptop manufacturers. I can bet confidently that none of my classmates ever heard of the Surface before.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

Amazingly surface pro 4 is available for sale in my country (Kenya) online. Pricing is 1300USD for the 4GB model and 1700USD for the 8GB model

 

[jmshub]

I rarely see MacBooks in the wild where I live. However, I have never seen a Surface Book / Surface Pro either. I mostly see a variety of traditional laptops running Windows.

For people who frequently use their laptops on the road, in coffee shops and in trains, etc, Apple has been a leader because they really were building fast and light laptops for years before Windows PC builders got around to the ultrabook market.

There are a lot of really excellent Windows based laptops now, and these convertibles and tablets give people the option to use the machine best suited for their use, so Windows is in a better position than ever.

One thing however, as Windows moves upmarket with these premium PCs, it does lose one of it's larger advantages over Apple for all those years, and that is price. Apple has quietly reduced the overall price of a decent Macbook over the years, and premium Windows PCs will easily reach the $1500+ (USD) range.

 

[Pete]

According to estimates, Microsoft is selling 1 million Surfaces per quarter.

Apple is too strong and Microsoft keeps dropping the ball.

Did you just make those figures up?

Login to DIGITIMES archive & research

Microsoft shipped 2.5 million Surface-series tablets in the fourth quarter of 2015, leading to total shipments for the year reaching six million units, or 50% higher than market expectations of four million, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

While global notebook shipments are expected to remain weak in 2016 although the rate of decline is expected to narrow, shipments of Surface 2-in-1 products are likely to grow another 30% on year to eight million units in 2016, the sources estimated.

Microsoft announced recently that its Surface revenues grew 29% on year in the second quarter of its fiscal 2016, which ended December 31, 2015. Increased shipments of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book contributed to growing Surface revenues, the sources commented.

And you say Microsoft is dropping the ball?

 

[Spectrum90]

Did you just make those figures up?

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And you say Microsoft is dropping the ball?

Digitimes is not a reliable source and that "estimation" is absurd. With that volume the ASP of the Surface line would be lower than $500.

"We believe Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros while Microsoft sold around 1.6 million Surface devices, a majority of which were Surface Pro and not the more affordable Surface 3. With these results, it's clear that price is not the most important feature considered when acquiring a detachable – performance is."

IDC

Microsoft sold 1.6 million units in the holiday quarter in which they launched the new model.
The revenue of the Surface line has been:
2015 Q4: $1375 million
2015 Q3: $672 million
2015 Q2: $888 million
2015 Q1: $713 million

With simple arithmetic you can arrive to ~1 million units per quarter in 2015.

Sales of the Surface line are insignificant compared to iPads and Macs. I don't think Microsoft is making any money with such low volume. The media shouldn't call the Surface line a success.

 

[jmshub]

Digitimes is not a reliable source and that "estimation" is absurd. With that volume the ASP of the Surface line would be lower than $500.

So, one analyst is unreliable, but your is? These companies are all watching the market and making educated guesses. You can't say one is bunk, but the other is exact. At this point, you can really only trust direct information from manufacturers or retailers, which of course, we rarely get.

And you say that these numbers are fudged, or else the Surface would be < $500, but that logic would have to apply to Apple with their iPads as well. And you only get under $500 from last year's iPad Air 2, or of course, the Mini version.

 

[Spectrum90]

So, one analyst is unreliable, but your is? These companies are all watching the market and making educated guesses. You can't say one is bunk, but the other is exact. At this point, you can really only trust direct information from manufacturers or retailers, which of course, we rarely get.

And you say that these numbers are fudged, or else the Surface would be < $500, but that logic would have to apply to Apple with their iPads as well. And you only get under $500 from last year's iPad Air 2, or of course, the Mini version.

Digitimes is a low quality news site, not a research firm. They publish rumors that are wrong too many times.

 

[runamuck83]

Over the last few months I have attended 3 different tech conferences. One for a major ERP software, one for a major BI software, and another for a technical security conference. At all 3 I saw ridiculous amounts of people with Surfaces. It's totally catching on...

 

[Steve Adams]

I hope not. I will be seen as a hipster when I am out using my surface. That's all that has macbooks around here. hipsters at coffee shops.

 

[skstrials]

I do not understand why people think the Surface is the only Windows tablet available in the market.

There are so many great Windows tablet options from other OEMs such as Dell, Lenovo, and HP that make better products than MS at a cheaper price.

Going back to the original topic, I am already seeing more Surfaces in the university I go to (UBC) compared to just a few years ago.

Couldn't care less what others use, but I do like to see my friends not wasting money on Apple products.

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