Microsoft Surface Dial Vs Apple Touch Bar

Microsoft & Apple have both recently introduced some changes in their technology line up. Microsoft has brought us the Surface Dial and Apple has introduced their clever Touch Bar. Let’s compare Microsoft Surface Dial vs Apple Touch Bar.

So what exactly are they?

The Surface Dial is a puck-shaped, Bluetooth enabled device. It drops on top of a variety of Microsoft Surface touchscreen products and brings up a range of options, depending on the application. I could try to explain the technicalities but I think Microsoft’s ad does a much better job. The video below is an overview of the Surface products, but the Dial is visible from around 1:04.

[fve]http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzMLA8YIgG0[/fve]

The Apple Touch Bar is an integrated accessory that is available on the latest models of the 13 and 15 inch MacBook Pros.

Like the Surface Dial, its functions can change depending on the application that you’re using. Some developers have dug deep into the Touch Bar code and found that it is basically an adapted Apple Watch system. This allows you to drop in emojis or select sections of a video clip. Again there are a lot of cool features, but I’ll let the video do the talking.

[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkskUE8_hA[/fve]

Which is better?

In fairness to Microsoft & Apple, we really like both products and are confident they will appeal to many users over the coming years.

The Surface Dial, being an external accessory seems to be more flexible and looks to have more potential. And we believe it could be a real game-changer in how people use their computers, and look forward to seeing how it shapes the future of computing.

The Touch Bar is a little bit less exciting but offers a lot of great functionality to the average Macbook user. The idea doesn’t feel as innovative as the Dial. But being a more conventional idea means that it will probably be more useful. At least in the applications, you use day to day for now.