Home
News
You are here

Microsoft CEO gloats that iPad Pro ended up being a whole lot like the Surface line

By Daniel P.

Updated: Nov 22, 2016, 7:40 AM

23comments

Surface Pro 4 behind an iPad Pro with a keyboard cover and Apple Pencil

Apple's CEO Tim Cook and a few other execs down the rank, have repeatedly said they don't plan to introduce touchscreens on their laptops, or produce 2-in-1 hybrids like the Microsoft Surface line. In fact, Tim Cook is on record saying about hybrid devices that can be used both as a laptop and as a tablet that "you can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but you know those things are not going to be probably be pleasing to the user."

Well, Microsoft's CEO begs to differ, pointing out that Apple actually has a device similar to its Surface concept, and it is called iPad Pro, which Apple now bills as a computer in ads like the one you see below. "I mean, take even Surface. Three years ago, the two-in-one as a form factor was questioned. Does anybody need one? And now guess what, even our competition has decided that it's not a refrigerator and a toaster but it's actually a two-in-one," quips Satya Nadella.

Well, if you have to tack on a keyboard cover with a stand to a thin device with a touchscreen to make it work like a laptop, you might as well get an ultrabook these days, as they now have similar battery life but are more powerful and offer more storage plus proper keyboards and ports for similar prices, but we digress.

On the topic of phone development, Microsoft's CEO was more obscure:

We don't want to be driven by just envy of what others have, the question is, what can we bring? That's where I look at any device form factor or any technology, even AI... We will continue to be in the phone market not as defined by today's market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device.

Therefore [with Nokia assets], we stopped doing things that were me-too and started doing things, even if they are today very sub-scale, to be very focused on a specific set of customers who need a specific set of capabilities that are differentiated and that we can do a good job of.

Thus, it seems that Microsoft is really planning to focus on artificial intelligence, Android or iOS apps, virtual reality and cloud computing, gnawing on the mobile industry from the sides, rather than trying to compete with Apple or Samsung in the phone business with devices directly, which is probably the smarter move at this point.

source: AFR

Loading Comments...

Up Next:

Microsoft CEO gloats that iPad Pro ended up being a whole lot like the Surface line

Recommended Stories

Popular stories

Latest News