Can Microsoft's new Surface Book 3 really rival the MacBook Pro 2020?

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Microsoft has today unveiled a bunch of new Surface devices and accessories including the Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2, as well as a brand new set of wireless earbuds – and they're all arriving this month.

The announcement comes hot off the heels of Apple announcing its brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro this week, and the most obvious competitor here is the new Surface Book 3, Microsoft's own high-end laptop. Like the MacBook, the new Surface Book features 10th generation Intel CPUs, and Microsoft says it will have a 50% performance boost over the Surface Book 2 (which we've no doubt it'll replace on our list of the best laptops for graphic design). 

The new Surface Book 3

While the internals sound similar, what potentially sets the Surface Book 3 apart from the MacBook Pro 2020 is its design. Not only do you get the option of a 13.5-inch or 15-inch display (starting from $1,599.99 and $2,299.99 respectively), but the Microsoft machine includes a high resolution touchscreen and removable keyboard, both absent on the Mac. 

For many it will boil down to whether you prefer the OS X or Windows software ecosystem, but the physical versatility and matching high specs of the Surface Book 3 could even turn the heads of a few Apple fanatics.

The new Surface Go 2

We were big fans of the portable Surface Go (check out our Surface Go review) and the newly announced Surface Go 2, with its 8th generation processor, is said to enjoy a 64% performance boost over the original. There are also some interesting hardware tweaks here, with the addition of dual studio mics and a 5MP front-facing camera. The diminutive device could end up being just the thing for creatives on the go, especially with its low starting price of $399.99.

Bringing up the rear are the brand new Surface Earbuds – which are no doubt taking aim at certain other well-known brand of white wireless earbuds. Whether they'll beat Apple's AirPods on sound quality remains to be seen (or should we say heard).

It's been a bountiful week of hardware reveals, and today's Microsoft Surface announcements won't make the decision any easier for creatives. Both the Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 appear, on the surface (sorry), to be very capable machines. You can find them both at microsoft.com.

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