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• Microsoft criticizes Apple's Touch Bar in new advertisement for the Microsoft Surface Pro 7.
• Apple is said to be planning to get rid of the Touch Bar entirely in its latest update.
• The two companies have long gone head-to-head in their advertising efforts around computers, with the rivalry going back decades.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple and Microsoft's decades-long rivalry is alive and well, with the PC-maker taking a swipe at Apple's MacBook Touch Bar in its latest advertisement for the Surface Pro 7.

With the Office key, you can get to the Office apps you use every day without taking your hands off the keyboard. To learn more, see Using the Office key. Download the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center. Customize hot keys for easy access to media controls and your favorite apps by using the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center. I recently bought the new surface Bluetooth keyboard as a replacement for my Mac Bluetooth keyboard due to it having a NUM pad and more options. It pairs up just fine, but I don't think the Sierra OS recognizes it as a keyboard. The issue I'm really having is with the modifier keys. I can't flop them no matter what options I use.

'Mac gave me this little bar, but why can't they just give me a whole touchscreen?' a boy asks in the commercial, examining the thin keyboard display, which offers customizable keys.

1. Turn off the Surface Hub using the power switch next to the power cable. Connect the cables from the Surface Hub's replacement PC ports to the replacement PC. These ports are usually covered by a removable plastic cover. 55' Surface Hub - connect one DisplayPort cable, and two USB cables.
2. If you want a Surface device but need a bigger screen, consider the Surface Pro X. The MacBook: A unified, if pricey, ecosystem. Apple’s MacBooks take a more traditional approach to being a laptop — no touchscreens or detaching keyboards here, just a gorgeous screen attached to a whisper-quiet keyboard, all housed in a sleek shell.

Apple's Touch Bar has come under fire in the past, as users have been saying it is inconvenient and can easily get accidentally bumped while typing.

The commercial also disses Apple's MacBook Pro pricing compared to the Surface Pro, which has a detachable keyboard and comes at a lower price. The Surface Pro 7 starts at $890, while Apple cheapest MacBook Pro model is $1,299. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ad.

Apple is in the process of ditching the Touch Bar altogether in favor of physical keys, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple has reportedly been testing multiple versions of the product without the Touch Bar.

The OLED Touch Bar was introduced in 2016 and bears some resemblance to a similar touch strip Microsoft built as a prototype in 2010, called the 'Adaptive Keyboard.' According to patent filings, Apple has also explored the idea of a virtual keyboard with keys that could be fully customized.

Microsoft investigated the idea of incorporating touch elements into the keyboard as far back as 1999, according to The Verge. Though, the idea for an adaptive keyboard did not pick up steam like Microsoft's Surface tablet, which was released in 2012.

Microsoft applications largely do not work on Apple's Touch Bar, but in December, the company announced it is planning to contribute to the Touch Bar by building more controls for Microsoft Office applications into the bar. Microsoft intends to roll out Touch Bar Meeting Controls for Teams on Mac's within the month.

An ongoing rivalry

This is not the first time the two companies have traded insults.

Since the 80's, there has been a long standing competition between the two companies, including decades of feuding between the founders Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

For years, Apple's 'Get A Mac' ad campaign saw actor Jason Long position Apple's products as more modern than a Microsoft PC, which was portrayed by author John Hodgman.

Microsoft fired back with its 'I'm a PC' ad campaign.

In 2016, Microsoft said it saw a sales boost after customers were largely disappointed by Apple's newest Macbook Pro. In 2019, Microsoft appeared to diss Apple's laptop at its Surface event. While not specifically naming Apple, Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay referenced the company's keyboard design, the then-lack of a mouse on iPads, as well as several other design features.

Connect Microsoft Surface Keyboard To Macbook

Note: Some products might not be available in your country or region.

Use the Surface Connect to USB-C adapter to connect some Surface devices to a USB-C dock or charger.

Here’s what you’ll need:

How To Connect Surface Keyboard To Mac

• A Surface Connect to USB-C adapter. (See it in Microsoft Store)

• A supported Surface device. Surface Laptop (1st Gen), Surface Laptop 2, Surface Pro (5th Gen) with LTE Advanced, Surface Pro (5th Gen), or Surface Pro 6.

• A supported USB-C dock or charger. A USB-C dock or charger that supplies a minimum of 12V and 27W of power.