Hi ,
Looking to buy either a Macbook or a Surface Pro 4.
My requirements are very simple.
1) Lightweight, easy to carry.
2) Basic browsing and be able to connect remotely to office. Most of my work is done while connected to office via citrix, so I don;t need a powerful computer at home.
3) Good battery
4) Good for next 3 years.
5) Inclined towards Surface due to touch and Pen, will be able to try my hand at drawing/painting for fun.
Suggestions please
I'd say neither,
The MS surface is alright, but gets really annoying when using it as a laptop because it does not have a stable base, and also as mail4bbs said the pen is pretty gimmicky unless you're a graphic designer.
Macbook does not have touch, which whenever i am using my laptop i find unbelievably useful.
The ones I was looking at when buying a laptop recently was Dell XPS 13, Asus ZenBook (not sure which model) or HP Spectre x360. eventually got a Lenovo X1 Carbon Yoga instead, but not happy with the GPU processing.
I find the Surface works fine on my lap. Took a little getting used to but it's great once you adjust to it. Also great in bed as the adjustable stand can fold almost all the way back which puts it at the perfect angle if I'm lounging around in bed.
One other advantage on a lap compared to a traditional laptop is it doesn't heat up your legs.
have a surface pro 3 and its horrible as a laptop unless you are always using it on a desk. the keyboard is just way too wobbly for use on a couch or in bed. i kinda regret it and have barely used the pen. i think it would be great for students and when i was going to lectures, it was great for taking lectures note on onenote. cause you could type notes but then draw graphs etc.
however if you are mainly going to use it as a laptop, i suggest getting something as like an ultrabook as you have suggested. the macbook 13 would give you decent battery life if you went for the non-touch bar model. the touch bar version isnt meant to be good.
Had the surface pro 4 hard to use on your lap and travel wise due to keyboard not being solid like traditional laptops.
Go for the Dell XPS 13 IMO, signature edition on MS Store.
Macbook Pro…. you really want to part of the dongle life?
If you are going for the surface pro, just thought I would let you know that the surface pro is due for an update sometime soon as the 4 came out back in October 2015. So it might be worth holding off for the pro 5. Either way, there would be price reductions for the 4 then.
Rumour has it that it might be announced in Q1 of 2017.
macbook pro seems to have really poor battery life and thats why US Consumer reports has not recommended to buy them. Sometimes you will get 9 hours, other times only 3 - this is both 13 and 15 inch, with or without touchbar.
There are a lot of stories about the poor battery life
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-macbook-pro-2016-con…
Surface pro 4 seems like it ticks all your boxes and you'll use it as a tablet while sitting on the couch too.
there are other great laptops too, Lenovo thnkpad Yoga http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/deals/current-offers/laptops-fo… Yoga 900's http://www3.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/yoga/yoga-900/c/yoga900
HP Spectre and folio range http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/Merch/Product.aspx?…
compared to Windows offerings, Mac is pretty plain and average in what it offers nowadays.
have you considered a surface book? When i was looking i wanted a proper keyword and the surface book is great.
Macbooks are known to have bad battery life these days. Whether you're referring to the pro or the 12 inch macbook, they wont meet your good battery life requirement.
Just go for whatever is cheaper.
Bought wife a MacbookAir, she takes in everywhere including few trips OS, excellent battery life and so light to carry.
Thanks Guys.
Decided to wait till Surface pro 5.
Hope it'll be worth or at least will make Surface pro 4 cheaper ;)
Based on your requirements I'll go with macbook pro (or even go with a refurbished macbook air) - lightweight, good battery life, good for the next 3 years.
The biggest shortcoming of surface pro is its battery life when you use it as a PC. The pen thingy to me is more or less a gimmick unless you're a graphic designer or something.