Microsoft released a new ad for the Surface Pro 4 and, as expected, it took a swipe at its competitor, Apple's iPad Pro.
On Aug. 1, Apple posted its ad on YouTube titled "iPad Pro - What's a Computer?" It shows the company's flagship product and demonstrates how the keyboard can be put out of the way so the user can work directly on the touchscreen, either with the fingers or a stylus.
"When you see a computer that can do all that, it just might make you wonder, 'Hey, what else can it do?'" says the ad.
Apparently in response, Microsoft released the ad titled "What's a computer? Just ask Cortana" on Aug. 16, also on YouTube. It starts with the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4 sitting side by side, with a mirror ball and bunting in the background.
Cortana asks Siri what the party is for, and the latter replies, in a rather robotic voice, that she has a keyboard so she's a computer now, just like the former. Cortana then asks if she has a more powerful processor, "like an Intel Core i7 processor," to which Apple's virtual assistant replies that she got a new keyboard. Cortana pushes on, trying to confirm if the iPad Pro runs full Office, has a trackpad, and external ports.
"Maybe this party thing was not such as good idea," Siri says as the bunting falls over Apple's tablet.
According to The Verge, Microsoft's approach is not new, as it has been using the strategy since 2013. In the new ad, it emphasizes that the Surface does more, just like the user. The caption of the video also says that just because someone calls something a computer does not mean that it already fits the description. Cortana apparently knows that the Surface Pro 4 fits the description since it has an Intel processor, a detachable keyboard with a trackpad, a touchscreen, a pen, full Office, and ports.
Ultimately, the choice between the two still remains on the consumer.