Microsoft Slammed Over Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 Issues: 'You Gotta Pull A Steve Jobs'

It's been three months since tech bloggers wrote in their launch reviews about the Microsoft Surface Book's issues, and since then the company has done little to change things. On Friday, the tech world bit back, slamming the company for its terrible handling of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book driver problems.

"Microsoft, you’re f@#$ing up. Big time," blogger Paul Thurrott wrote on his website. Citing Intel display driver problems, "blue screens of death," battery drain and issues switching the Surface Book between laptop and tablet mode, he said enough is enough.

Thurrott said the Surface Book is Microsoft's "antennagate" moment, a reference to the drama surrounding the iPhone 4's launch in June 2010 when it emerged that the handset would lose mobile signal if held certain ways.

In response to Thurrott's story, tech fans took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. Peter Bright, technology editor for Ars Technica, described Microsoft's silence on the issues as "baffling." "As I wrote in my review, I'm sure these glitches will get fixed, but I never expected it to take this long," he said.

Cassim Ketfi, a freelance journalist, said Microsoft needed to act now as the Surface Book is set to expand into new markets. The laptop is currently ready for preorder in Austria, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand. Twitter user Nik Kearney said the issues had persuaded him to opt for an iPad Pro instead of a Surface Pro 4.

"Microsoft, you gotta pull a Steve Jobs," Thurrott said. Less than a month after the iPhone 4 launch, the former Apple CEO called a press conference at the company's headquarters and attacked the "antennagate" issue head on.

Jobs promised a free case to all buyers until September, which solved the issue. He also outlined how other phones had a similar weakness and, despite the glitch, iPhone 4 return rates were still far lower than the previous model. Time will tell if Microsoft chooses to publicly address the criticisms or, in the face of expansion into new markets, remain quiet and hope it blows over.

Microsoft officials were not immediately available to comment.

Update: 1:50 pm

A Microsoft spokesperson provided IBT with the following statement:

“We are focused on delivering a great experience to every Surface customer. We know a small set of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 customers are experiencing issues and addressing that is a top priority for us. We have dedicated engineering teams working to get updates and fixes out as quickly as possible and we will continue to use our Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 support forums to share new information directly with our customers as it becomes available.”