I've been a hardcore Apple fanboy for approximately 15 years. I've owned many Apple Mac computers and Apple iOS devices over those years that I’ve used for music, video and image production.
As you could imagine, I have never been particularly taken by Microsoft releases or Windows as a platform until recently. Over the last couple of years news of the Surface Studio 2 desktop and Surface Book 2 tablet/laptop computers have been catching my attention. Check out our article Microsoft Announce Surface Studio 2 With Surface Dial to find out our thoughts on the new Surface Studio all in one desktop computer.
MacBook Pro With Touch Bar
The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has been with us for a few years. Several Production Expert Team members own one.
When the Touch Bar was introduced in around 2016 we expected quite a lot from Apple's latest generation flagship laptop offering. Sadly, the touch bar aspect turned out to be not as useful as Apple hoped. Does the Touch Bar make the MacBook Pro a gimmick? No, these are still powerful machines, however, as much as I should love the MacBook Pro I don't, it doesn't capture my imagination like previous models did.
The laptop world has shifting gear incorporating full touch in their main displays. Several very capable hybrid options are available for similar MacBook Pro money. One such laptop is the ASUS ZenBook which is a 15-inch laptop, comparable in price to the MacBook Pro 15-inch, but what if your budget falls short of £2,500 for a new studio laptop? You may need to consider a lower cost 13-inch MacBook or a Surface Book 2 instead.
Surface Book 2
I’ve had some experience using a Surface Book 2 for music production as my brother in law owns one. It’s very well made. It's no MacBook in terms of thinness but it is in a class of its own as it is either a tablet or traditional laptop, the choice is yours.
When the Surface Book is in laptop configuration it works like any other laptop should but what I found I was doing differently was touching the screen to press buttons which meant I using the trackpad far less than I would on a MacBook Pro.
Price Comparison
MacBook Pro 13" With Touch Bar
256GB SSD
8th Generation Intel Core i5 1.43GHz quad-core
8GB Ram
13-inch non touch display
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C)
Touch Bar
Battery life 8-10 hours
Weight 1.37 kg
£1,499 inc VAT
Support Service: Apple Care
Up to three years of technical phone support
Up to three years of additional hardware service options
Walk in to Apple Stores Worldwide for face to face support.
Roughly £229
Surface Book 13.5"
256GB SSD
8h Generation Intel Core i5
8GB Ram
13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display
2 USB 3.0 ports, SD & mini display port
Surface Pen included
Battery life 12-16 hours
Weight 1.65 kg
£1,499 inc VAT
Support Service: Microsoft Complete
Two years of technical support from the Answer Desk
Accidental damage protection including drops and spills - Deductible applies for accidental damage claims: limit two claims
Roughly £149
More Choices Available
Creative professionals have have some pretty amazing choices in the laptop market now. I don't feel it boils down to which laptop is best, the best laptop is the one that best fits you as a "Pro" or "Creative".
As a Mac user I feel that we are now free to venture out of the mac ecosystem as laptops such as the ZenBook or Surface Book 2 prove that quality, design and power can be had in a windows machine.
As my opening statement of this article says "I've been a hardcore Apple fan boy for about 15 years" - Windows and the Surface products are a serious consideration for me in my future creative workflows.