How Microsoft Jumped on Apple’s Laptop Stumbles

Starting about three years ago, Microsoft hardware chief Terry Myerson began showing a slide during meetings with the board, executives and his own team. It depicted a classroom full of college kids—all using Apple products. Myerson’s message was simple enough: the company needed to make drastic changes or risk losing the next generation of customers to its long-time rival.

On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. unveiled a sleek, lightweight laptop that looks every bit as good as anything Apple has built. The machine, which boots up in seconds and features a new version of Windows, is the latest product to appear under the Surface brand, which already sells a popular line of tablets and an all-in-one desktop. Myerson is betting the new laptop will go a long way toward persuading Mac loyalists to give his company a try. Microsoft is targeting college students it believes are eager for a premium $1,000 laptop that they can use for four years without worrying that it will become obsolete before they graduate.