At the Surface event in New York yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the Windows 10X operating system for dual-screen PCs as well as a slew of new Surface-branded products. The new Surface devices include the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro X, Surface Earbuds, Surface Neo and Surface Duo. The Surface Neo and Duo will arrive in Holiday 2020, while the rest of the lineup will be available this holiday season.
Windows 10X
Microsoft launched the Windows 10X as the Windows 10 for multi-posture dual-screen PCs. The company has specifically said that the software isn’t an OS upgrade over PC users. The interface will debut with the Surface Neo and will also be used by ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo who are also expected to launch their own dual-screen devices.
Microsoft says with a dual-screen PC and Windows 10X, users will be able to “get things done on-the-go faster” and that the system will offer usability for different postures of the dual-screen device. The system will come with similar navigation and functionality of the Windows 10 but will be optimised for mobile use.
Surface Pro 7
The new Surface Pro comes with 10th Generation Intel Core processors up to an Core i7-1065G7 Processor with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD storage. The device comes with a 2-in-1 form factor as its predecessors, has a12.3-inch PixelSense Display with a resolution of2736 x 1824 pixels and can be bundled with an optical keyboard cover. There’s an8MP camera at the back and a5MP front camera, both of which can record Full HD videos at1080p. The device comes featuring1.6 watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium, anAccelerometer, Gyroscope, an ambientlight sensor and a magnetometer. Connecivity options include WiFi, Bluetooth 5,USB-A, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, Mini display port, Surface Connect, Surface Type Cover Port and MicroSDXC card reader. It offers upto 13 hours of battery on a single charge, weighs790 grams and measures292.1 x 203 x 8.3 mm.
The Surface Pro 7 will be available inPlatinum and Matte Black colours from October 22 for a starting price of $749 (approx. Rs 53,500).
Surface Pro X
The Surface Pro X comes running a custom version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Chipset which the company calls the Microsoft SQ1 processor with 2 teraflops of graphics processing power through the Adreno 685 iGPU, up to 16GB RAM and up to 512GB SSD SSD storage. The convertible device comes in at a thickness of 5.33mm and weighs about 760 grams. It features a13-inch PixelSense Display with2880 x 1920 pixels resolution anddocking space for the new Slim Pen. The laptop comes with WiFi, Bluetooth 5, LTE,GPS, GLONASS, USB Type-C,Surface Connect and Surface Keyboard connector ports for connectivity. There’s a 10MP Autofocus camera at the back and a5MP camera on the front, both supporting1080p videos while only the rear camera comes with 4K video recording. The convertible equips 2 Watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium,dual far-field Studio microphones,Accelerometer, Gyroscope, an ambient light sensor and a magnetometer.
The Surface Pro X will start being available from November 5 for $999 (approx. Rs 71,400).
Surface Laptop 3
Microsoft has unveiled the Surface Laptop 3 in 13.5-inch and 15-inch screen models and feature PixelSense 10 point multi-touch Displays with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The 13.5-inch version comes with a 10th Generation Intel Core processors i5-1035G7 and i7-1065G7 with Iris Plus graphics 950.The 15-inch variant is powered by Microsoft Surface Editions of AMD Ryzen 5 3580U orAMD Ryzen 7 3780U withRadeon Vega 9 orRadeon RX Vega 11 Graphics respectively. Both laptops come with8GB/16GB RAM while the 15-inch version has a 32GB RAM model. Storage options include128GB/256GB/512GB on both and an additional 1TB storage model on the13.5-inch version.
The laptops equip full 1.33mm keys, glass trackpad with 20 percent larger area, USB Type-A, USB Type-C,3.5mm Headphone jack, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0 and Surface Connnect for connectivity. The laptops offer up to 11.5 hours of battery life with Fast charging support and can be charged from zero to 80 percent in 1 hour. The new laptop comes in Sandstone and Cobalt colours with tone-on-tone Alcantara and metal finish. Additional features include OmniSonic speakers, front-facing cameras,Ambient light sensor, TPM chip for protection, Windows Hello sign-in and dual far-field Studio microphones for conference calls. The Surface Laptop 3 13.5-inch and Surface Laptop 3 15-inch start at $999 (approx. Rs 71,400) and $1199 (approx. Rs 85,700) respectively.
Surface Neo
Alongside its regular line of laptops and convertibles, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Neo tablet which will run on Windows 10X which the company says is “an expression of Windows 10”. The tablet comes with two screens, both sized 9 inches with a full-friction hinge to connect each other. Both screens combine, the device will be able to offer a full-size 13-inch display for productivity and multitasking. The tablet also comes with support for a removable keyboard and offers compatibility with Surface Pen and Bluetooth mouse. It will be powered by the 11th gen Intel Lakefield processor and weighs around 650 grams. The Surface Neo tablet is expected to be available in Holiday 2020.
Surface Duo
Microsoft has also announced its comeback to the smartphone market with the launch of the Surface Duo dual-screen smartphone. Surface Duo will offer two 5.6-inch screens that unfold to 8.3 inches and will run on Android. The phone is expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 with Google Play and Microsoft Launcher although nothing is certain as of now since the device will debut in Holiday 2020.
Surface Earbuds
The Surface Earbuds are truly wireless earbuds with a directional dual-microphone array that offer voice controls for music. The earbuds come with 8-hour battery life and the bundled charging case offers up to two additional battery cycles. The device offers connectivity support with Android Fast Pair and Windows Swift Pair for faster connectivity. The Surface earbuds also offer Spotify integration with a triple tap on either earbud and let users access Office 365 without interacting with a Windows device. The earbuds can be used to slide through Powerpoint presentations, dictate voice into text on Office apps and translate in 60 languages. The Surface Earbuds will available for $249 (approx. Rs 17,800) later in 2019.