Apple's 'I'm a Mac' Guy Switches Allegiance: A New Era of PCs with Microsoft and Qualcomm
The tech industry is known for its dynamic nature, and the latest shift in allegiance comes from none other than Apple's former 'I'm a Mac' guy. In an unexpected turn of events, Justin Long has now become the face of Windows on Arm PCs.
During Qualcomm's Computex 2024 keynote, Long was featured in a humorous ad that showcased his frustration with macOS notifications and his search for a Snapdragon-powered PC online. The ad concluded with him stating, 'Things change.'
Microsoft's latest Surface notebooks are part of the 'Copilot Plus PCs' strategy, aiming to surpass Apple's M3 processor and MacBook Air in performance and battery life. According to Microsoft EVP Yusuf Mehdi, Copilot Plus PCs outperform the 15-inch MacBook Air by up to 58% in sustained multithreaded performance and offer up to 20% more battery life in local video playback.
The minimum specification requirements for Copilot Plus PCs include at least a 256GB SSD, 16GB of RAM, and an integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). The first Copilot Plus PCs are set to launch on June 18th. Two of the first models will be a new Surface Laptop with 13.8-inch and 15-inch displays, and a new 2-in-1 Surface Pro with an optional OLED display.
Apple produced around 300 ads for its 'I'm a Mac/I'm a PC' campaign but only aired 66 due to Steve Jobs rejecting some for being too funny. After Apple, Huawei, Intel, and now Qualcomm have used Long in their ads. In the latest ad by Qualcomm, Long deals with notifications and issues on macOS before considering a Windows on Arm PC.
The 'I'm a Mac/I'm a PC' ads were one of Apple's most successful campaigns, with around 300 ads filmed but only 66 aired due to Steve Jobs rejecting some for being too funny. Long played the relaxed, pleasant guy surprised by the complexities and messiness of a PC. In all, Apple aired 66 of the ads.
In recent years, Huawei and Intel have also used Long in their ads after his stint with Apple. In perhaps the most cringeworthy example, Qualcomm has now hired Long to pitch its new Snapdragon chip in ARM PCs.
Long plays a Mac user who is fed up of all the alerts he receives on a Mac and searches for an ARM-powered PC to replace it. The ad was shown during Qualcomm's two-hour long keynote on its new PC chip.
The tech industry is known for its dynamic nature, and this shift in allegiance from Apple to Microsoft and Qualcomm marks an exciting time in the world of technology.