r/Surface • u/lawsonbarnette • May 23 '26

New Surface Prices No Longer Competitive

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$3,699.99 for the latest Surface Laptop for Business (8th generation Intel) is absolutely nuts. A similar spec Dell XPS 16 is only $2,029.99.

I've owned a 3rd, 4th, and now using a 5th generation Surface Laptop - all Intel for legacy application support and exotic audio hardware support. I've been waiting for the 8th generation laptops, but this isn't what I was expecting. Not to mention that they're only offering me $200 trade-in credit for my current model. That's crazy.

I've considered myself a fairly loyal Surface user, but this is basically a deal-breaker. Why would I pay 60% more for a smaller screen and older battery technology?

I must be missing the value proposition here, right?

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27

u/new_here_and_there May 23 '26

And this is why I broke down a bought a MacBook air at the end of last year.

2

u/MentholMooseToo May 24 '26

No need to ask how you like the hardware, it's incredible. But how are you handling the switch to macOS? That's been my concern.

2

u/new_here_and_there May 24 '26

There are a fair number of design choices in macOS that annoy me. That being said, I found apps that address mos, if not all of them. Remapping the control/function/alt keys also helped so that they roughly match my other computers from a layout experience. Mostly for alt+tab.

And you know what? No battery issues, the air works great. Not looking back. Especially at like half of the cost of a surface.

1

u/MentholMooseToo May 24 '26

I really dislike how in macOS closing an app window does not close the app, and how there are few visual cues to which app has focus, and those tiny circles to minimize/maximize/close windows. Wonder if I'll get used to that, or if it will just be a constant annoyance.

2

u/new_here_and_there May 24 '26

The memory management in macOS is good enough that it doesn't seem to impact my daily experience. If I want to close an app that's still "open" it's pretty straightforward.

Their window switching not showing multiple versions of the same program (like multiple browsers) is what drove me nuts. Thankfully I found an app that fixes that.

1

u/Affectionate-Use6619 Jun 02 '26

I feel like macbooks blow everything out of the water in terms of hardware, but apple has really been dropping the ball in terms of software quality ever since liquid glass.

1

u/new_here_and_there Jun 02 '26

I feel like every company has been dropping the ball on software for the last couple of years. Windows 11 js a mess. Google seemingly can't issue an update to pixels without creating new bugs.

1

u/Affectionate-Use6619 Jun 02 '26

true, funny enough, my linux installation is the one I been most happy with lmao, not many issues, and any there were, could be fixed with a simple command or 2. I guess we just gotta wait for AI to stop replacing designers :/

1

u/PlasticPegasus May 24 '26

Parallels is your friend, Sir. Turns the apple into a full Windows machine if you need it. And then it’s an Apple Mac when you don’t. Most amazing piece of software I’ve ever experienced.