Microsoft has a new mantra: If you build it, they will come.

Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +2.40% is sidestepping the original equipment manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard Inc. HPQ, +0.54% and Dell that have long built PCs for its Windows software to build its own $1,499 laptop. Microsoft — which also introduced two new smartphones, a new Surface tablet and an updated wearable device — is betting that by deploying premium hardware, it will lure more customers into its cloud ecosystem.

It’s an effort by the company to one-up Apple Inc. AAPL, +1.57% and Google Inc. GOOGL, +2.07% , both of which recently unveiled higher-tier mobile devices designed to compete in the workplace. The Surface Book, with a screen measuring 12.3 inches diagonally, is Microsoft’s first laptop and its second device category designed for enterprise-tier use — the Surface line of tablets came first.

“With the mobile revolution, and with Apple and Google competing, Microsoft was in jeopardy,” said Pat Moorhead, the founder of tech consulting company MoorInsights Strategy. “It had to fully integrate in order to create devices that it thought would further its cause.”

The laptop marks a notable escalation of devices for Microsoft as it seeks to increase sales of its software products, Moorhead said.

“This is what this is all about, to get more people using Microsoft 365, OneDrive and Windows 10,” he said.

At a product event on Tuesday, Microsoft said it has racked up more than 110 million Windows 10 users since launching the new operating system at the end of July — a “monumental launch” compared with Windows 8, FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has set a goal of achieving cloud revenues of $20 billion by June 2018, compared with a run rate of about $6 billion this year. He hopes premium hardware spurs software adoption, and Microsoft showed its cards in directly comparing the Surface Book to a Macbook Pro, claiming the Windows machine is 50% faster.

“The device stands out as a powerful competitor to the MacBook and a clear substitute for bulkier Windows machines,” said J.P. Gownder, principal analyst for Forrester Research.

A remaining challenge for Nadella is getting more mobile users on board with Windows 10. The 5.2-inch Lumia 950 and 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL smartphones are an effort in that direction. Microsoft is the third-largest smartphone company in the U.S. behind Apple and Google, according to industry tracker IDC.

The new Lumia phones “at least get Microsoft into the conversation among consumers,” Ives said, though he added that it will be “a long road for Nadella” as Microsoft plays catch-up.

Shares of Microsoft closed up 0.3% at $46.75 on Tuesday, while Apple’s shares ended the day up 0.5% at $111.31. Microsoft has outperformed both Apple and the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the last three months, rising 5.2% versus declines for the other two.