[hakfoo]

Microsoft hasn't been cool in decades. They might have had a week back when Windows 7 came out, and another when Win10 arrived, but that's about it. Apple gets a lot more leeway because they've been effective at presenting themselves as the cool choice for years. It's a pretty impressive feat, since I'd expect an entire generation would associate them with "the crappy computer lab your school district couldn't afford to upgrade, but could lock down to make it even less fun."

As you said, they can do some incredible stuff. I can't debate that VSCode is a spectacular product, and it's winning because it's being politely presented as an option. But when they start every interaction with 'we're going to cram this down your throat until you stop clicking "maybe later"' -- people are not going to be too eager for your products.