Two pros enter, one pro leaves: Microsoft’s Surface Pro takes on Apple’s MacBook Pro 13

Now more than ever, ultra-portable tablets and laptops allow us to get work done from anywhere, without sacrificing power for portability. These two features are no longer mutually exclusive, which means the market is chock-full of nimble, lightweight solutions that will appeal to consumers of all demographics. Capitalizing on the burgeoning trend, Microsoft has doubled-down on its popular Surface Pro 2-in-1, by refreshing the internal components with the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 chips, refining the internal design, and iterating on a winning form factor.

But it’s still just a tablet, right? Well, yes and no. Between the Type Cover and a full version of Windows 10, the new Surface Pro continues to provide a decent mobile computing experience in a lightweight package. Unlike the iPad Pro, which uses a modified version of Apple’s iOS, the Surface Pro is a fully-functional laptop (when you want it to be).

With that in mind, let’s see how the new Surface Pro stacks up against a portable, premium laptop: Apple’s latest MacBook Pro 13.

Specs

MacBook Pro 13

Surface Pro (2017)

Dimensions
13.75 x 9.48 x .61 (in)
11.50 x 7.9 x 0.33 (in)
Weight
 4.02 pounds
1.69 – 1.73 pounds
Processor
 6th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7
7th-generation Intel Core m3, i5, or i7
RAM
8GB, 16GB
4GB, 8GB, or 16GB
Display
13.3-inch Retina display
12.3-in PixelSense Display
Resolution
2,560 × 1,600
2,736 x 1,824
Storage
256GB, 512GB, 1TB SSD
128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB SSD
Networking
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2
802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, optional LTE
Ports
2x or 4x USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), any can charge; 3.5mm headset
1x USB Type-A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, microSDXC card reader
Webcam
720p FaceTime HD
Windows Hello face sign-in camera, 5.0MP 1080p front-facing camera, 8.0MP 1080p rear-facing autofocus camera
Operating System
MacOS Sierra
Windows 10
Battery
Up to 10 hours
Up to 13.5 hours
Price
$1,500+
$800+
Availability
Available now
Available June 15, 2017
Review
6 out of 10
Hands-on

Design: Magnesium vs. aluminum

The MacBook Pro 13, for all its faults, is a remarkably well-designed product. Apple’s industrial design is iconic, simple, and high-quality in a way most competitors have yet to match. That said, Microsoft has come closer than ever before with its latest Surface lineup, including the new Surface Pro.

The Surface Pro’s magnesium-alloy chassis feels every bit as nice as the MacBook Pro 13’s aluminum unibody. They’re both rock-solid, and nearly seamless. Metal-and-glass construction makes both a joy to use, and they’re robust enough that tossing them in a bag never feels like a dangerous proposition.

In everyday use, the MacBook Pro is just present enough — it does an excellent job of getting out of your way. The keyboard has short travel, but a welcome tactile feel, and the trackpad is large and spacious. Conversely, the Surface Pro offers a uniquely intuitive user experience with its touchscreen and Surface Pen integration.

The MacBook Pro 13 is a great laptop, but the Surface Pro is a great tablet, with some laptop functionality. The keyboard cover, upholstered with that super-soft and luxurious Alcantara fabric, gets the job done and looks good doing it — but more often than not you might find yourself foregoing it entirely to interact with the Surface Pro’s gorgeous and responsive touchscreen.

Both products exemplify different design sensibilities, delivering near-perfect craftsmanship in their own unique ways. They’re both at the top of their respective games, using clever, elegant design to elevate what could otherwise be typical and pedestrian user experiences.

Bottom line, which one has the better overall design? Considering nothing else but product design, the MacBook Pro 13 is hard to beat as a laptop, and the Surface Pro is hard to beat as a tablet. That’s really it. This is the one area where there these two products are too different to really compare. Declaring a winner here would be a disservice to both products, both achieve and execute their design goals near-perfectly.

Winner: Tie

Power: 6th-generation Iris vs. 7th-generation HD

If you just looked at the spec sheet, it might be hard to determine which one of these products was which. Both feature similar processor options, both have similar RAM and storage options, and both have a conspicuous lack of ports. Plus, neither the MacBook Pro 13 or the Surface Pro feature discrete graphics cards, instead relying on Intel HD or Intel Iris graphics.

When it comes to memory and storage, both products have a decent range of choices available. The Surface Pro dips a little deeper into the low-end with its lowest RAM and storage options than the MacBook Pro 13 does, but otherwise the mid and high-end versions of both products can be scaled up to the same maximums — 1TB of storage space, and 16GB of RAM.

In everyday use, both products provided more than enough horsepower to get through a typical workday. Neither one is going to be good for games beyond maybe Hearthstone, but neither is going to hold you back while doing some serious multi-tasking, either.

It’s worth mentioning that the Surface Pro is running the latest 7th-generation “Kaby Lake” processors from Intel, so even though they’re comparable to what’s under the hood of the MacBook Pro 13, they’re going to have a little bit of a leg up when it comes to raw performance and energy efficiency.

Also, the MacBook Pro features Intel Iris graphics up and down the line, which is a bit of a step up from the Intel HD graphics featured on the Core m3 and Core i5 versions of the Surface Pro. However, you can enjoy Intel Iris graphics if you opt for the Core i7 model of Surface Pro.

Overall, the systems are very similar in performance. The MacBook Pro is more powerful in its base configuration, but also more expensive. They’re about equal in top-tier trim; however, the Surface Pro uses the latest Intel processors, so it obtains the win.

Winner: Surface Pro

Form factor: Tablet vs. laptop

This is a battle between two ultra-portable computers, after all, so portability is of critical importance. Which one has the greater work-from-anywhere factor? Well for that answer, we’ll need to carefully weigh our options. Seriously, weight is an important aspect here.

The MacBook Pro 13 is remarkably small; it’s svelte and slim, and at just four pounds, it fits in almost any messenger bag or backpack with ease. The Surface Pro is also thin and light, weighing in at just under two pounds. You could stuff two Surface Pros into a bag and it would still be lighter than a single MacBook Pro 13.

It’s almost cheating, though. The Surface Pro’s keyboard doesn’t house any hardware — it’s just a keyboard — and it’s partially made of fabric. Still, the Surface Pro is far lighter than the lightweight MacBook Pro 13, and it has a few other advantages worth mentioning.

Namely, it’s a 2-in-1. Need to type up a paper from a coffee shop? No problem, just pop the keyboard on there and get started. Need a tablet to read before bed? Sure thing, Surface Pro has you covered… just snap the keyboard off. These are two things that the MacBook Pro 13, as a traditional laptop, just can’t do.

Add on top of that the Surface Pro’s superior battery life, and we have a clear winner here. The Surface Pro lasts around 13 hours on a single charge, while the MacBook Pro 13 only made it about nine hours on our internal tests. While the MacBook Pro 13 is one of the most portable laptops on the market today, the Surface Pro has it beat because of its versatility — it is by its very nature more portable.

Winner: Surface Pro

Price: A lot of money vs. even more money

Well, this one’s pretty straightforward, right? Just point out which one costs more, full stop. Unfortunately, it’s actually a little tricky to tease out which one is the better value. Sure, the MacBook Pro 13 starts at $1,500, and the Surface Pro starts at $800 — that’s a pretty clear-cut difference — but that’s for the barebones versions of both products, and the prices only go up from there.

For $1,500, you can get a decent MacBook Pro. For $800, however, you’d get a very underpowered Surface Pro running an Intel Core m3 processor that has pretty low headroom when it comes to real computing tasks — like running more than a handful of applications at a time.

Moving on up the spectrum, the MacBook Pro 13 tops out at $2,900 for the fully tricked-out version, while the Surface Pro tops out at $2,700. At those prices, that’s a pretty narrow margin, and both products net you nearly identical specs.

It’s also worth mentioning that no matter how much you spend on the Surface Pro, it doesn’t come bundled with any of the above-pictured accessories. That’s right, no Type Cover, Surface Pen, or Surface Dial will be in the box — even if you invest in the fully-loaded version. It’s an odd choice, given that the Surface Pro isn’t a 2-in-1 without the keyboard component, and you’ll have to spend an extra $130 for the privilege. Add on to that another $60 for the Surface Pen, and the grand total comes out to $2,890. That only puts it at ten bucks cheaper than a fully maxed-out MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar.

Add the keyboard cover and pen to the low-end version of the Surface Pro and you’re looking at $990, which is an awful lot to spend on a “laptop” with an underpowered Intel m3 processor and the bare minimum amount of RAM and storage space.

Winner: Tie

Innovative design gives Surface Pro the win

Which one should you buy? Well, there are plenty of great laptops, tablets, and hybrid 2-in-1s on the market today, and some of them might even require less compromise than one of these two products. The Surface Pro suffers from unfortunate up-charging, and the MacBook Pro 13 is a little too expensive for what you end up getting, and the Touch Bar is only available on the mid and high-end models.

Still, the Surface Pro gains the nod. It’s slightly less expensive and more versatile than the MacBook Pro 13, yet also takes a minor edge in hardware. Apple’s MacBook Pro 13 is no slouch, but it feels a bit old-fashioned compared to Microsoft’s latest.

Whiteboard is Microsoft’s Windows 10 app for collaborative inking

Microsoft has unveiled a new Windows 10 app called Whiteboard.

It’s a “collaborative inking” app meant for Microsoft’s Surface devices. Microsoft demoed the app while on stage at its Surface event in Shanghai, China on 23 May. The company explained that the app offers not only two-way inking, but also “geometry recognition, table conversion, and automatic table shading”, as well as exclusive capabilities for Office 365 subscribers.

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The point of the app is that it will help you illustrate your ideas together with others – regardless of the device you’re using. While it’s not yet widely available for all to use, Microsoft has opened a private preview for Surface Hub and education customers. The app should be available on more Windows 10 devices, such as the Surface Studio and Surface Pro, later in 2017.

Microsoft

Alongside the Whiteboard app, Microsoft announced improvements to its inking technology and the inking experience in its Office apps. It even said Office will support the new Surface Pen low-latency and tilt options, so you’ll be able to adjust the thickness and texture of ink in Office apps by physically tilting the Surface Pen on the new Surface Pro.

With the new Surface Pen, Microsoft said the ink reacts a user’s touch with pressure sensitivity of 4,096 pressure points – up from 1,024 pressure points. The stylus offers “almost zero latency” when used with Office apps, Microsoft explained.

Ikea’s smart lights add voice control via Alexa, Assistant, and Homekit

You will soon be able to control Ikea smart lights using your voice.

The Swedish retailer has revealed the Tradfri range will get voice control for owners of Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa devices. The feature is expected it to arrive by this autumn, according to Ikea (via MacRumors). Here’s how the functionality is explained:

“In the summer and autumn, IKEA takes the next step towards the smart home. With increased functionality, IKEA’s smart lighting range can be used with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant, which means that you can voice-control your lighting. We believe that smart home technology should be accessible to everyone. For this reason, we will continue to work with our products to be compatible with other products available.”

Ikea introduced its smart lighting collection in March. The new range, which starts at £15, includes the Tradfri LED bulb, £69 Tradfri gateway kit (includes two white spectra LED bulbs), £29 Tradfri dimming kit white spectrum, £25 Tradfri wireless motion kit sensor, and £90 LED light doors and panels. And all these devices can be managed and customised via the Tradfri app for phones and tablets.

• What Philips Hue smart bulbs are there and which should you buy?
• You can now control LG smart home appliances using Google Home
• Philips Hue expands White Ambience range with three new smart lamps

The lights can be switched from warm to cold light using a remote control or the app, and you can group individual lamps together to create lighting moods. Ikea is basically going after Philips Hue and other smart LED lamp products, but unlike Hue, its offering is much easier on the wallet. Plus, now that the Tradfri range supports voice commands, it’ll be easy to control, too.

Ikea has said it plans to introduce more smart home products.

US senator wants to make sure the FTC takes smart toys seriously

It’s not just parents that are worrying about the security of connected toys. Senator Mark Warner has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission grilling it about efforts to protect kids’ privacy when they use smart toys like the CloudPets you see above. He’s particularly worried that FTC Acting Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen is shrugging off concerns about how companies handle kids’ data. In recent statements, she argued that the FTC should focus on “objective, concrete harms,” such as financial damage or health risks — toy data leaks might not fit under that bill.

Warner’s questions touch on a few subjects. In addition to Ohlhausen’s remarks, the Senator is interested in whether or not the FTC has responded to both the CloudPets and My Friend Cayla privacy incidents. He also wants to know if the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) needs an upgrade to “keep pace” with modern security.

There’s no guarantee that Warner will get the answers he wants, let alone promises that the FTC is taking toy data privacy seriously. Although he’s on the Senate committee handling consumer protection (Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs), the letter isn’t binding. And the FTC, like other agencies in the current US administration, is limiting its regulatory scope.

With that said, there are hints that he might find a receptive audience. Ohlhausen’s same statements acknowledge that data leaks can hurt beyond just financial info. She notes that the Ashley Madison hack led to people committing suicide after their infidelity was made public, and that snippets of seemingly innocuous info can violate your privacy when they’re pieced together. The agency head may decide that connected toys are problematic simply because the potential consequences of a hack might be too severe to ignore.

Via: Nextgov

Source: Senator Mark Warner

CBS greenlights another James Corden show… on Snapchat

James Corden’s viral-friendly Carpool Karaoke videos have given The Late Late Show exposure well beyond it’s timeslot. Now CBS wants to squeeze out a little more of Corden’s magic by giving the singing Brit his own (fictional) competitive reality show called James Corden’s Next James Corden, in which fake contestants compete to (eventually) take Corden’s job. But the show won’t be on CBS or All Access when it arrives this fall — instead, James Corden’s Next James Corden will be headed straight for Snapchat Discover.

Although the show’s PR makes sure to note Corden is not actually thinking of leaving his hosting job, the premise of finding someone with Corden’s effusive and cuddly personality makes for good Snapchat content. Aside from Corden, the new show is expected to feature bandleader Reggie Watts and “many familiar faces.” Meanwhile, Corden’s Carpool Karaoke spin-off show that was supposed to be one of Apple’s first original productions has been postponed indefinitely.

Snap has also run into issues with the Discover platform recently. The company is determined to treat the service like TV and encourage professional content, but it also had to institute new rules to protect users from misleading clickbait that was starting to gain traction.

IKEA’s affordable smart lights will dim with your voice

Last month, IKEA launched its own line of low-cost smart lighting, called TRÅDFRI, and up until now, users have had to rely on a remote control or a proprietary app to use the product. But no longer.

Today, the Swedish retailer announced that their IKEA Home Smart products will respond to voice commands from Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant starting this summer. Additionally, the product line will integrate with Apple’s HomeKit. “With IKEA Home Smart we challenge everything that is complicated and expensive with the connected home. Making our products work with others on the market takes us one step closer to meet people’s needs, making it easier to interact with your smart home products,” said IKEA Home Smart’s business leader Björn Block.

Traditionally, smart lighting systems are pricey. Take Philips Hue, perhaps the best known smart lighting system. The Philips Hue Bridge 2.0, which supports 50 Hue lights, costs $60. In comparison, IKEA’s Smart Lighting System’s TRÅDFRI Gateway is half that price — just $30, though the number of lights it supports is unclear. Hue provides more choice in bulb types, from floodlights to spotlights, but IKEA wins on price — their standard bulb is priced at $12, compared to Hue’s $15. A $3 difference may not seem like much, but when you’re replacing every bulb in your house, that seemingly small gap can add up quickly.

Smart lighting systems may have once been a quirk for those with too much money on their hands, but with their arrival at IKEA, it looks like they’re here to stay. IKEA’s aggressive pricing makes smart, voice-controlled lighting more accessible to a wider range of potential buyers.

Source: Ikea

Google will track your shopping trips to prove its ads work

First, Google followed you to the store using location data, much like Foursquare. Then its launched its Express shopping service. Now, it will track billions of credit and debit card transactions in an even bigger effort to prove its online ads push users into brick-and-mortar shops.

Specifically, Google will see card numbers, amounts spent, and when the purchases happen. The company says it has tracked 5 billion store visits in the last three years and customers are 25 percent more likely to make an in-store purchase after clicking a search ad. Most retailers still prefer to spend on TV ads, according to The Washington Post. Google makes most of its money from ads, and wants to show that its advertising is more effective, whether via search or YouTube.

Of course, data privacy is enough of a concern with your online behavior, let alone when you’re offline. Google says they use “double-blind encryption,” meaning that while retailers know if a user came to their store, the person’s identity will be anonymous. Still, a study has shown that a customer can be identified with as few as three anonymous credit card transactions.

Right now, internet shopping is destroying physical retail. Yet, even if you swear off Amazon, it seems your spending habits won’t escape the data giants — they’ll follow you right to the mall.

Via: The Washington Post

US sues Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions cheating

Volkswagen definitely won’t be the only major automaker hauled into court for cheating on diesel emissions tests in recent years. In the wake of EPA accusations from January, the US Department of Justice has sued Fiat Chrysler for allegedly using a combination of defeat devices and software to trick regulators into thinking its 3.0-liter EcoDiesel engines are… well, eco-friendly. Reportedly, 2014-2016 model year Dodge Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles (104,000 in total) violated the Clean Air Act by meeting emissions rules in EPA testing, but spewing “much higher” nitrogen oxide levels in certain everyday driving situations.

The case would force Fiat Chrysler to fix the affected vehicles and demand other penalties, possibly including a fine. The EPA previously warned that a fine could climb as high as $4.6 billion. That pales in comparison to VW’s $14.7 billion settlement, but it’s not exactly a trivial amount.

This isn’t nearly as far-reaching a case as it was with VW, which was accused of cheating with nearly 500,000 cars. However, VW also confessed to its deceptive practices where Fiat Chrysler still denies having done anything wrong. It tells Reuters it’s disappointed in the lawsuit and denies having cheated using defeat devices. At the same time, it’s planning a software update that it hopes will address officials’ concerns — whether or not there was intentional deception, the company isn’t taking any chances. We’ve reached out to Fiat Chrysler to see if it can say more.

There could be more trouble coming, if not necessarily in the US. At the same time as the Justice Department was filing its lawsuit, German officials were searching Daimler offices as part of an investigation into diesel fraud. If they find evidence of wrongdoing, that could indicate an industry-wide attempt to play fast and loose with diesel emissions, not just one or two outliers.

Source: Department of Justice

1Password Gains ‘Travel Mode’ to Protect Sensitive Data When Traveling

AgileBits recently introduced a new 1Password feature called Travel Mode, which is designed to protect password vaults from unwarranted searches when traveling.

When activated, Travel Mode will remove every password vault from all of a user’s iOS and Mac devices except for vaults that have been earmarked as “safe for travel,” effectively hiding a user’s most sensitive information. Travel Mode is available to all customers who have a 1Password membership.

Before Travel Mode, I would have had to sign out of all my 1Password accounts on all my devices. If I needed certain passwords with me, I had to create a temporary travel account. It was a lot of work and not worth it for most people.

Now all I have to do is make sure any of the items I need for travel are in a single vault. I then sign in to my account on 1Password.com, mark that vault as “safe for travel,” and turn on Travel Mode in my profile. I unlock 1Password on my devices so the vaults are removed, and I’m now ready for my trip.

Once a user arrives at their destination, Travel Mode can be toggled off and the vaults return to all of a user’s devices. AgileBits has a detailed support document outlining how to use Travel Mode.

Vaults are not hidden with Travel Mode, but instead are completely removed from all devices as long as Travel Mode is turned on. AgileBits says that there are no traces left for anyone to find, and there are no signs that a special mode has been enabled.

With 1Password for Teams, Travel Mode allows the team administrator to turn Travel Mode on and off for employees, giving companies a way to make sure their data stays safe.

1Password can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but there is an in-app fee to access the service. A standard 1Password account is priced at $2.99 per month and a multi-user family account is priced at $4.99 per month. There is an additional fee when purchasing a subscription through the App Store, and there are also separate subscription options for teams.

– 1Password for Mac [Direct Link]

– 1Password for iOS [Direct Link]

Tags: 1Password, AgileBits
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Apple Releases Revised Version of iTunes 12.6.1

Apple today released an updated and revised version of iTunes 12.6.1, which was originally released alongside the macOS Sierra 10.12.5 update on Monday, May 15.

The new version of iTunes is 12.6.1.27, while the previous version was 12.6.1.25. It’s not clear why Apple has released a new minor update to iTunes 12.6.1, but it presumably includes some unspecified bug fix.

According to the release notes, the update “includes minor app and performance improvements.” These are the same generic release notes that were included in the first iTunes 12.6.1 release.

The new version of iTunes 12.6.1 can be downloaded for free using the Software Update function in the Mac App Store.

Tag: iTunes
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