Three ways Microsoft Windows 10 PCs are finally competing with Apple’s Premium market

One of the hallmarks of Apple’s flagship products is the traditionally high-end target consumer, the Cupertino tech giant caters to. This stems from the fact that Apple’s devices, from desktop to laptop, to mobile, and in recent years, wearables, aren’t simply “manufactured”: they are “crafted”, the latter of which being a frequent term used by Apple, in nearly all its product announcements.

Another aspect that helps Apple products achieve a desirable status among customers with a bigger budget, is the ease of use.

Building a product that works is one thing: building a product that is intuitive enough to be used by any average consumer, requires a much different strategy, involving extensive (and expensive) research, into methods to flatten the learning curve, and eliminate the need for instruction manuals, and other training material for the uninitiated.

Finally, Apple’s iconic design, which is not only part of Apple devices exterior, but also built into the look and feel of the operating systems, is responsible for a big part of the appeal stirred among prospective customers.

There is no denying that Apple products are some of the best designed worldwide, especially at the hand of some of the most successful and talented creatives in the business.

While the above points have been a near-exclusive achievement of Apple, competing manufacturers, particularly in reference to Windows 10 PC makers, are finally beginning to use the notes taken by observing Apple, over the course of the last 40 years.

Of all companies quickly ranking against Apple in this newly-found focus on high-end design, quality, and, yes, craftsmanship, Microsoft is one that is rapidly making a name for itself, as a device maker, of very high-end products.

While this may come as a surprise, for some, the concept behind the Surface tablet, for example, has always been one with a high-end target, set on discerning customers, even if Windows PCs have always been traditionally a flexible product created for nearly all budget ranges.

The Surface Book is the perfect example of a high-end laptop that includes quality hardware, extremely well-researched design, and an operating system that is as user-friendly and intuitive, as macOS, the latter point being hard to argue with, since Apple and Microsoft have began replicating a long list of desktop features that cross the line between macOS and Windows 10. Desktop enhancements, like virtual workspaces, split-screen, window snap, and the action center are some of the most notable innovations Microsoft and Apple have brought to consumers.

Microsoft didn’t stop at the Surface Book, and in its attempt to compete for Apple’s target audience, it created a desktop capable to outshine even the Apple iMac Retina. The device, called Surface Studio, is an extremely well crafted desktop PC, powered by a set of very powerful components, including an NVIDIA GTX GPU, to boost graphic performance, and drive the PC’s 28 inch touchscreen, designed to turn into an actual drawing table. Microsoft went through the trouble of creating a brand new accessory, called the Surface Dial, which is, in its most simplistic definition, a wireless, touch-enabled scroll wheel, which can be customized to work with many different applications.

An almost Apple-like care in the design and features of this new desktop, transpires clearly, in aspects like the ability to visualize digital documents, in the exact same scale as their printed version.

The attention to detail is becoming a priority at Microsoft, not only in terms of hardware and features, but also in reference to many little things that allow for a smoother workflow when using Surface devices, and we can only assume things are only going to get better from here, with a trickle-down effect on all devices targeted to budget consumers as well.

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