Microsoft Blasts iPad Pro And Outrageous Apple Tax In Latest Surface Pro 7 Ad

by Brandon Hill — Monday, April 05, 2021, 02:52 PM EDT

Microsoft launched a new ad series in January that talked up the benefits of adopting its versatile Surface Pro 7 Windows 10 convertible. In the first commercial, Microsoft painted a big red target on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which it criticized for lacking a touch screen, its finicky Touch Bar, and its lack of gaming credentials.

Well, Microsoft is back at it again with a new ad pitting the Surface Pro 7 against its more natural competitor: the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Microsoft starts right out of the gate by pointing out that the Surface Pro 7 comes with a built-in kickstand, which is a handy feature that doesn't require you to buy an additional accessory to prop it up.

Next, the actor on-screen laments the heavier iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard accessory, which is a heavy beast due to it needing to support the tablet without tipping it over when you touch the display (that's where the Surface Pro 7's kickstand comes into play). Moving on, the commercial points to one of the biggest demerits against the iPad Pro: its single USB-C port at the bottom, which is fine if you prefer to be stuck with "dongle life." The Surface Pro 7 is by no means littered with ports, but at least it features one USB-C port, one USB-A port, and a microSDXC slot for expanding storage.

ipad pro 2 — Apple iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard

The video closes out by focusing on the Surface Pro 7 as a real computer, assuming that the iPad Pro is simply a pretender with its more limited capabilities. And to drive home the point of value, Microsoft shows that the Surface Pro 7 starts at $750 ($880 with the Type Cover Keyboard), whereas the iPad Pro costs $999 ($1,348 with the Magic Keyboard). It's almost comical that the Magic Keyboard is more than a third the price of the iPad Pro itself, but this is a prime example of the Apple Tax.

In recent months, Apple has come under attack, with Microsoft and Intel getting in their respective punches. Intel released a series of "Go PC" ads featuring former Apple pitchman Justin Long to attack M1-powered Macs. New Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger would later say that the ads should be seen as nothing more than "competitive fun" with Apple.

Tags: Microsoft, (NASDAQ:AAPL), (nasdaq:msft), ipad pro, surface pro 7

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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