Microsoft touts Surface success, claims more MacBook switchers than ever

Calling the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar a "disappointment," Microsoft claims that more users than ever are switching from Apple's MacBook lineup to its competing Surface lineup of hybrid laptop tablets.

In a new blog post, the Redmond, Wash., company claimed more people are switching from Macs to the Microsoft Surface than ever before. No actual sales figures were shared, however.

"Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro — especially among professionals — is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface," wrote Brian Hall, corporate vice president for Microsoft Devices Marketing.

The Windows maker claims that its Surface lineup —  including the Surface Book and Surface Studio —  is having its best holiday season ever.

For years, Apple boasted of taking market share away from the larger Windows platform, well before Microsoft stepped into the hardware business with its own lineup of tablets and laptops. Now, Apple mostly focuses on switchers from the Android platform to iPhone, reflecting the fact that the iPhone is its major revenue driver.

Microsoft expanded its Surface lineup in October with the new Surface Studio, an all-in-one desktop PC that takes on Apple's iMac with a unique adjustable touchscreen.

For its part, Apple claims that the new MacBook Pro is anything but a disappointment at launch. Last month, marketing chief Phil Schiller claimed that initial orders for the new Touch Bar-equipped models exceeded any other pro model that came before.

"We are proud to tell you that so far our online store has had more orders for the new MacBook Pro than any other pro notebook before," added Schiller. "So there certainly are a lot of people as excited as we are about it."