Last week, Microsoft proved to all that besides creating cutting-edge software it was also adept at developing superbly designed hardware. To prove this, Microsoft launched a slew of products in its Surface lineup that sent fans drooling and critics struggling to find faults with it.
The new lineup included the Surface Laptop 3, the Surface Pro 7, the Surface Pro X, Surface Earbuds, and the upcoming Surface Neo and Surface Duo. With all that surface to cover, let us get going.
“The next decade will be about creation, and amplifying what we can do as humans,” CEO Satya Nadella said at the Microsoft Surface 2019 event in New York City last week. “It’s that ambition that … underlies the approach to Surface and everything we do today.”
The Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X are available for preorder in select markets. The Surface Neo and Duo are dual-screen devices that will be available for the 2020 holiday period.
The Surface Laptop 3 is the perfect everyday laptop, with the 13-inch version starting at US$999 and going up to the 15-inch version, starting at $1,199. The company claimed that it is the fastest 15-inch laptop currently available.imed.
The Laptop 3 offers fast charging, achieving 80 percent in an hour. It has a larger trackpad, and USB-A and USB-C ports. It has improved cameras, OmniSonic speakers, and dual far-field Studio Mics.
Microsoft has positioned the Surface Pro as the most versatile 2:1 device you can buy, with a 10th-generation Intel Core processor, USB-A and USB-C ports, and a battery with all-day life, and prices that start at $749.
The Surface Pro X has a 4K UHD screen, more than 2 teraflops of graphics processing power, a 13-inch edge-to-edge display, and an always-on feature using LTE. It is 5.3mm thick and weighs just over 760g. It uses the Qualcomm Microsoft SQ1 chipset, which combines the Qualcomm Snapdragon technology with an integrated artificial intelligence accelerator.
The Surface Pro X is the first Windows-based PC to have an integrated AI engine, said Panos Panay, chief product officer of the Microsoft Devices Group. “With Qualcomm, we also redesigned the GPU and other pieces of silicon.” The Surface Pro X runs the full power of Windows, Microsoft Office, and the Edge and Chrome browsers. Its Signature Keyboard includes pen docking and charging for Microsoft’s new Slim Pen.
Microsoft also announced several new features in Office to leverage the capabilities in the new Surface lineup.
The Surface Neo has a 360-degree full-friction hinge consisting of 60 coax cables, and two 9-inch screens with Gorilla Glass 5. Put together, the screens make up a 13-inch display.The Neo runs full productivity apps. It has a removable keyboard and comes with a Surface Pen. It is also compatible with a Bluetooth mouse.
Apps open on the left-hand screen when launched. They can be dragged with a finger to span both screens. Both screens can be used to run different apps simultaneously. The Surface Neo uses the 11th generation Intel Lakefield processor, and will run Windows 10X, an operating system designed to offer Windows 10 functionality on dual-screen devices. The Neo aims to bring back Microsoft as the innovator in hardware, and will help the dual-screen ecosystem, said analysts.
And rounding up the products launched was the foldable Surface Duo, which offers mobile phone functionality with an industry-pushing technology that also pushes possibilities. The Duo has two 5.6-inch screens that unfold to make one 8.3-inch screen. Like the Neo’s screens, they can be arranged in various combinations. The Duo also runs Android apps, thanks to a Microsoft partnership with Google.
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