Microsoft launches new Lumias, Surface Pro 4, and the Surface Book laptop
Yesterday, Microsoft held its big event at which it released new Lumia smartphones (the 950 and the 950XL), as well as a long-awaited update to its Surface Pro 3, aptly called the Surface Pro 4. There was also a new fitness band called the Band 2, but the biggest surprise was perhaps the company’s new laptop – the Surface Book.
The Surface Pro is starting to finally gain some traction, helping Microsoft fly past more than $800 million in revenue in the past year, and it’s refined and honed the concept with its latest model. Thinner, lighter, more powerful (50% more powerful than a MacBook Air, it was claimed), along with a new Surface Pen that attaches magnetically to the side. It was all fairly impressive if you’re interested in Windows laptop/tablet hybrids, and the reception has generally been positive. It’s not a device that I’d ever consider (next purchase, this year’s updated MacBook Pro i7 with 16 GB of RAM and Intel Skylake CPUs), but for many people it could be the laptop/tablet replacement they’re looking for.
More of a surprise at yesterday’s event however was the aforementioned Surface Book. Aside from the name being ever so slightly reminiscent of a MacBook, it does feel like Microsoft is shooting for the Apple demographic here, at least judging by the price. The machine itself is a premium quality (magnesium?) device with a proper keyboard and a hi-res screen (coined PixelSense) that also accepts pen and touch input. Microsoft has also beefed up the trackpad with a larger glass covered model and 5-point multi-touch capability. Some say it’s now on a par with Apple’s, which are generally considered the best you can get.
The specs are also impressive – with decent RAM and storage configurations. However, the most unusual thing about the Surface Book is the hinge mechanism, which allows the screen to detach for use as a tablet. The device’s graphics chip is in the base, which means it’s less powerful in tablet mode but can still be used for the majority of tablet-oriented tasks that users might want. Connecting the screen back to the keyboard allows the full GPU power to be harnessed, though the hinge, while clever, looks rather unsightly and even prevents the lid from closing fully flat. Whether that will put of consumers remains to be seen, but it’s likely that considering the Surface Book’s price (at least $2,500 for one of the more high end models) it’ll be the Microsoft faithful (and enterprise users) who go all in and buy one.
Microsoft said it’s not trying to be a hardware company, but it’s certainly encroaching on Apple’s territory slightly with the Surface Book. At the end of the day though it still runs Windows, and for many (including myself) that’s enough of a deal breaker for such serious money.
