Microsoft sure don’t muck around – overnight in the US they’ve announced a range of new products carrying the “Surface” label and there’s a few we didn’t see coming.
A refreshed Surface Laptop 3 will be available at the end of this month. It will come in two sizes – 13.5 inches and 15 inches starting at $1,699 and $1,999 respectively in Australia.
The keyboard has been refined, it has a 20% larger glass trackpad and both USB-A and USB-C fast charging to get you to 80% in an hour.
In the tablet space Microsoft have gone nuts. A refreshed Surface Pro 7 is now twice as fast with Intel’s latest processor and a retained design style.
The Surface Pro X pushes the boundaries a bit more though, at just 5.33mm thick and around 760grams in weight it’s thin and light.
Microsoft worked with Qualcomm to design their own “SQ1 processor” with 2 teraflops of graphics power – the most powerful Qualcomm processor ever created for a PC.
For the user, you’ll notice an almost edge to edge screen at 13 inches in a device many would think was a 12 inch.
The Surface Pro X also has an accessory keyboard with actually houses your Slim Surface Pen within the case – so it can’t be knocked or bumped off. Quite cool.
Surface Pro 7 starts at $1,249 and the Surface Pro X at $1,699.
But wait, there’s more. Now these two are slated for “Holidays 2020” so goodness only knows what that means for Australia, but Microsoft have shown off a couple of dual screen devices.
These are not “folding” devices, but they sure carry a lot of the features of a Folding device – just that they are separate screens.
The reason for the reveal now is to showcase Windows 10X – an “expression” of Windows 10 – a dual screen version of the operating system.
The Surface Neo has two 9 inch screens with a 360 degree hinge – so you can have it open as a 13 inch combined screen, or folded back or tent-like – whatever you want.
Downsizing further is the Surface Duo – small enough for your pocket.
Two 5.6 inch screens unfolding to 8.3 inches it’s the perfect for bookworms who want the PC experience – or something like that.
This is a bold view into the future for Microsoft, and it’s not giggles, this is for real.
And following on from their over-ear headphone debut, Microsoft is also jumping into the wire-free earbud market too.
Surface Earbuds have touch controls and “amnionic sound”. They look like a mix between Samsung’s Galaxy Buds and those strange things that Will.i.am designed a while back.
No word on Aussie release date or pricing for the earbuds.