Microsoft Launches New Holiday Ad Comparing Surface Pro 3 to MacBook Air
Microsoft yesterday launched the latest in its series of ads comparing the Surface Pro 3 to Apple's MacBook Air. The new ad, entitled "Winter Wonderland", compares and contrasts the two machines to the jingle of the Christmas melody.
The ad's predominant assessment of the Surface Pro 3 is how powerful the device is in comparison to the MacBook Air, offering similar performance while also supporting pen input. Microsoft also highlights the use of the Surface Pro 3's kickstand and touch screen as major advantages over the MacBook line, as the Microsoft user in the ad goes about using the Surface to design a Christmas-themed coffee mug. Finally, the ad highlights the Surface Pro 3's ability to detach from its magnetic keyboard for easy travel and its robust array of ancillary ports, such as its USB port. "I think I like your Surface Pro 3," the MacBook Air user states at the ad's end. "No seriously, where can I get one?"
Since the Surface Pro 3 was announced this past May, Microsoft has released several ads comparing the device to Apple's line of MacBooks. Back in August, the company released a series of ads sizing up the MacBook Air with the Surface Pro 3 for the first time, most likely for the then-impending back-to-school rush. Microsoft has also pitted the MacBook Air against Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro in another ad released earlier this month.
All of the ads unsurprisingly position the Microsoft product as offering more versatility and a wider array of functionality compared to the MacBook Air. None of this is new, of course, as Apple and its products have long been popular targets in ads from a number of competitors including Microsoft, which has in the past compared its Cortana virtual assistant to Siri and the Surface RT to the iPad.
Popular Stories
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March.
As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta.
Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device.
The revised beta addresses an...