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Xavier Zymantas, XYZ Media Group
Jul 2, 2018

Microsoft to go postal on Surface line


Microsoft is going postal on its Surface line of products, upping the ante and further distinguishing its premium line of products from their competitors. After what seems like a magic run for the Surface family from 2015 to 2017, 2018 only saw minor bumps to the Surface product specifications. Now its time to go postal.

Microsoft to go postal on Surface line

Upgrade no more

After nearly a year with only a minor spec bump, there will be no more upgrades to the Surface line. Don't fret, this is for a very good reason.

Going postal

Microsoft is now ready to go hard or go home when it comes to its home-grown Surface devices. They're out to beat Apple, and they're doing it with products that people want to buy, stacked with new features. Here's all the details to hand:

Surface Laptop

As the entry point to the Surface family, the Surface Laptop was - um - very not Surfacey enough from the beginning. It was a boring laptop with a snazzy magnesium shell. It relied on hubs and docks to add ports, and people buying a premium laptop don't want to rely on hubs and docks, especially not a $300 Surface dock.

The new Surface Laptop will receive:

  • New generation Bluetooth

  • New generation Wifi

  • A first-ever Sim Card slot

  • Revised Surface Connect power/dock port

  • USB C ports

  • No USB A ports

  • New Intel processors at the i5 and i7 level

  • Longer battery life

  • A fully rotating hinge.

Surface Pro 6

The new Surface Pro (6) will receive:

  • New generation Bluetooth

  • New generation Wifi

  • New generation WiGig display sharing

  • eSim and a Sim Card slot

  • Revised Surface Connect power/dock port

  • Multiple USB C ports

  • No USB A ports

  • New Intel processors at the i5 and i7 level

  • Longer battery life

  • A slightly-modified body

  • A UHS-compliant SD card slot

There will be no Core i3 version, and m3 version will be retired.

Surface Book 3

The top-tier portable Surface Book 3 will receive:

  • New generation Bluetooth

  • New generation Wifi

  • New generation WiGig display sharing

  • eSim and a Sim Card slot

  • Revised Surface Connect power/dock port

  • Multiple USB C ports

  • No USB A ports

  • New Intel processors at the i5 and i7 level

  • Longer battery life

  • A stiffer fulcrum hinge to address screen wobble

  • A new Surface Pro-like kickstand for using the clipboard on its own without the keyboard attached

  • A UHS-compliant SD card slot

  • An included USB C to USB A adapter in the box

Surface Studio 2

The desktop-bound Surface Studio was almost obsolete on its launch, having specs from a 2015 laptop hidden in its base when it was released to much acclaim. The screen was the showstopper, but the slow processor and awfully old graphics chips stopped it selling at retail.

When we see the new Studio 2, we'll get:

  • The same massive PixelSense screen

  • The same adjustable hinge

  • A horizontally-wider base

Ports including:

  • No USB A ports

  • Multiple USB C ports

  • Multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports

  • New generation Bluetooth

  • New generation Wifi

  • New generation WiGig display sharing

  • New generation graphics card internally

What we wont get in the new Surface Studio 2 is.... anything else.

No processor, no ram, no hard drive, no solid state drive... because it's designed to be a dock and a screen, that connects to your current Surface device for processing power. Count on it using Thunderbolt for docking duties and Surface Connect to do power delivery and low bandwidth (USB) sharing duties.

Keyboards and Mice

New Surface-branded keyboards and mice will sport USB C ports for recharging removable batteries.

New Surface Dock 3

Finally we're in for a new Surface Dock.

Compatible with previous and new Surface devices, the new dock will sport USB A, USB C, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, Ethernet, power delivery, and smartphone charging.

Launch

Wait for Microsoft to launch everything at an event to be held in August 2018.

Until next time,

Xavier Zymantas XYZtech

XYZ Media Group

Xavier Zymantas

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