- Microsoft just launched the Surface Laptop Ultra
- It’s urging Apple laptop owners to “break up with your MacBook and get up to $1,000”
- The trade-in values you’ll get for older MacBooks are low, and you’d be much better off selling second-hand yourself
It’s clear enough that the new Surface Laptop Ultra is aiming to poach MacBook Pro owners, and Microsoft is making no secret of that fact – indeed, it’s trying to bribe Apple laptop users in a way.
Mashable flagged up that if you head to the Surface Laptop Ultra product page in the US, there’s a banner along the top where Microsoft is urging folks to “break up with your MacBook and get up to $1,000.”
An asterisk is attached to that amount, as it is a trade-in scheme where buyers of the new Surface model, at quite a cost, can get money off if they’re willing to part-exchange their MacBook Pro. The cash you’ll receive very much depends on the age and the condition of your Apple laptop, as you’d expect.
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$1,000 is the maximum payment, but you won’t get this unless you are trading in a newer and well-specced MacBook.
The typical payment is considerably lower. For example, if you have a MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020 with an entry-level spec (8GB/256GB) the trade-in value is just $45. A MacBook Pro 14-inch from 2023 with an M3 chip (8GB/512GB) will land you $275, which isn’t going to make a huge dent in the asking price of most Surface Laptop Ultra models.
You’ll need a newer laptop for a decent payout, such as a MacBook Pro 14-inch from 2024 with an M4 chip (16GB/1TB), which will net you $755.
That’s a value based on your provided assessment of the MacBook, but bear in mind that if Microsoft’s trade-in partner doesn’t feel you’ve been accurate or truthful, it’ll drop the value – you can then decide whether to take that lower offer, or have your MacBook returned.
This offer appears to be for the US only (it wasn’t available in the UK when I looked).
Analysis: a touch of desperation?
Yes, I get that Microsoft is making no bones about going after the MacBook market, but you only have to look at the design of the Surface Laptop Ultra to realize that. Urging Apple fans to ‘break up’ with their MacBook is, I guess, supposed to be a playful or amusing way of trying to attract defectors to the Windows side of the OS world, but it just comes across as a little desperate.
It’s fair enough that Microsoft wants to highlight that it has a trade-in program for those interested enough to browse to the product page for its new, much more powerful Surface, but I think the manner in which this is currently couched needs to be revisited.
I’ve been flitting about various Reddit threads today gauging the broad reaction to the Surface Laptop Ultra, and if there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that Apple owners are pretty disparaging, by and large, of Microsoft’s efforts here. Of course, those are the people most likely to be drawn to comment, as always.
Also bear in mind that while a trade-in may seem tempting in some respects, as noted, you may find the initial offer is downgraded – and you’re going to get more (maybe a fair bit more) selling the device second-hand yourself. That’s not as easy, naturally, but it might well be worth the effort, or at least having a quick punt at it.
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