Checking Microsoft’s Value Finder on their Surface Laptop Ultra website, they’re offering $2,115 for the MacBook Pro M5 Max (128GB RAM, 4TB SSD) that I have on my lap right now. When it was new it was worth $6,149. I guess that’s the price to pay for magnetic USB-C!
I also checked out what I could get with an older base model 12-inch MacBook. Remember that laptop? The one with a single USB-C port that’s not even magnetic? The Microsoft AI behind the value generator probably laughed when it created its $32.37 offer.
But seriously, Microsoft is putting pressure on MacBook Pro users. Head to the Surface Laptop Ultra site and you’ll see Microsoft advertising up to $1,000 when you trade in an eligible MacBook Pro and buy one of its new laptops, specifically telling buyers to “break up” with Apple:
Break up with your MacBook
If you’ve outgrown the compromises of a traditional professional laptop, we’ll help you make the switch. Upgrade to Surface Laptop Ultra and get up to $1,000 cash back when you trade in an eligible MacBook Pro.12 We’re confident that once today’s creators and developers experience everything Surface Laptop Ultra has to offer, they won’t look back. Learn more about the offer here.
microsoft
Low trade-in values are nothing new. Apple’s values are also low. Reminds me of when I traded in my old gas car for my electric vehicle (did I mention it was shiny?). Additionally, as my PCWorld colleague Mark Hachman points out, Microsoft is silent about the battery life and power consumption of the Surface Ultra laptop. I mean, that’s about as red as a red flag can get.
So yeah, I don’t think I want magnetic USB-C that much. After all, MacBooks have MagSafe. Good enough for me.
