Microsoft takes aim at Apple with first-ever laptop, new smartphones and tablet

On Tuesday, Microsoft took a big step further in its evolution toward becoming a hardware company, showing off its first-ever laptop, the Surface Book, plus new iterations of its Surface tablet, Lumia smartphones, and Band smartwatch/fitness tracker.

The new laptop, which features a removable tablet-screen, will challenge other hardware makers rolling out their own Windows 10 notebooks, "but the main event today was clearly more about Microsoft vs. Apple," one of the tech world's biggest, longest-running rivalries, says Edward C. Baig at USA Today. "Microsoft's first bold claim is that Surface Pro 4 is 50 percent faster than Apple's MacBook Air, which it clearly views as Surface's natural competitor." Time will tell if consumers love, not just need, Windows 10 — a key goal of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella — and the Microsoft hardware that runs it. But competition is good for consumers, so game on.

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