In spite of all you say, and in spite of the author confessing to being a Apple fanboy, he's impressed. The fact that Microsoft could orchestrate an event like

In spite of all you say, and in spite of the author confessing to being a Apple fanboy, he's impressed. The fact that Microsoft could orchestrate an event like this, keep details from leaking, announce a product as impressive (even if it's only on paper) and defy partners might be good enough to sing their praise. None of this is 'expected' from Microsoft - hence he's impressed. I see nothing wrong here.