Microsoft held its Surface hardware event today, and there’s quite a few surprising things they announced. Let’s start with the least interesting, which are updates all across its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lines. You know, newer processors, design changes, that sort of stuff. Most interesting is probably that the new 15″ Surface Laptop model comes not with an Intel processor, but an AMD Ryzen chip AMD and Microsoft worked on together.
But the real new thing with the Laptop 3 is the 15-inch model. Not only is it larger — it has a 15-inch screen and weighs 3.4 pounds — but it also has a brand-new processor for Microsoft’s Surface computers. The new chip is an AMD-based Surface Edition of the Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7, with an extra core on the graphics processor over the standard Ryzen chips. It can be paired with up to 32GB of RAM, which is 16 more than the maximum you can get in the 13-inch model. Oddly, the storage options top out at 512GB. (The 13-inch model can be equipped with up to 1TB of storage.)
Microsoft opted for AMD’s Ryzen processors because the company rightfully assumed that on 15″ laptops, people are more likely to do graphics-intensive work than on a smaller 13″ display. It’s also, of course, a huge boost for AMD, and a deserved one for all the amazing progress the company has achieved these past few years.
As a very important and interesting sidenote – Microsoft highlighted the serviceability of its new Surface Laptops, but showing on-stage how by removing four screws, you can remove the entire top cover (where the keyboard rests) to access every internal component of the laptop. This is normal for larger, bulkier, and thicker laptops, but it’s quite rare to see it touted as a selling point for such a thin and light laptop.
The processor inside the 15″ Surface Laptop is not the only processor Microsoft co-engineered with a partner. Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro X, an ARM-based Surface Pro that runs on a processor Microsoft worked on together with Qualcomm.
The new SQ1 processor is a custom Qualcomm processor that runs at 7W to offer great performance. The new Microsoft SQ1 processor pushes 2 teraflops of graphics processing power, and is the fastest Qualcomm processor ever created for a PC. There is also a new AI engine that can enable new class of Windows applications on the new Surface Pro X. On the connectivity front, you have got two USB-C ports and Surface Connect port. Microsoft also mentioned that the new Surface X has removable hard drive.
Moving on, we get to the two most interesting announcements. Before we get into these, I want to stress that these two devices won’t ship until the 2020 holiday season, so we’re talking about early announcements here. The reason for these early announcements will become clear – these are devices that would greatly benefit from 3rd party developer support.
First, the Surface Neo is a dual-screen device that looks very similar to Microsoft’s older Courier concept. It has two 9″ screen connected by a hinge, and it’s running on an as-of-yet unreleased Intel processor.
Like most Surface devices, there’s an intricate hinge that allows the Surface Neo to switch into a variety of modes and the typical high build quality you’d expect from Microsoft’s hardware. There’s also a clever Bluetooth keyboard that flips, slides, and locks into place with magnets, which can be stowed and secured to the rear of the device. There’s even a new Surface Slim Pen that attaches magnetically, and it’s the same stylus Microsoft is using on the new Surface Pro X.
To make the magic between two displays work, the Neo runs on Windows 10X, which is the same as any other Windows 10 version except for the shell – desktop environment, if you will, in Windows parlance – which is designed specifically for dual-screen use. The UI automatically morphs and adapts to various ways of using and holding the device, including showing a trackpad above of beloew the Bluetooth hardware keyboard when it’s magnetically attached on top of the ‘bottom’ display when in laptop mode.
Windows 10X allows you to run classic Win32 applications, but they will be run inside containers, and the operating system will update seamlessly in the background. It seems like Windows 10X might be the containerise-Win32-version of Windows we’ve been talking about for more than a decade now.
Developers who want to make more optimal use of the dual-screen configuration will need to developer specifically for the form factor, which explains why they’re announcing it and Windows 10X ahead of time.
As my girlfriend and I were watching the Surface event, I walked into my office, opened a drawer, and took out my pristine day-one purchase Surface RT, in its original box and wrapping, and showed it to her, just to illustrate that any time Microsoft makes hardware with versions of Windows that aren’t real Windows, I get a little apprehensive.
Second, there’s the long-awaited Surface phone, which you’re not supposed to call a phone. It’s the Surface Duo, and at first glance, it looks exactly like a smaller version of the Surface Neo. However, upon closer inspection of the software, you quickly realise the Duo isn’t running Windows – it’s running Android. Yes, Microsoft worked together with Google to develop a unique Android phone, complete with Google Play Services and everything else you come to expect from an Android phone, albeit with the software is heavily skinned to look like Windows 10X.
This means that a year from now, Microsoft will be selling a device running Google Android, powered by a Linux kernel – a consumer hardware device from Microsoft based on Linux. I know the world has changed, but this realisation still blew my mind.
These are some solid device announcements from Microsoft, and throughout the event, the sense of confidence from the presenters was palpable. There was subtle jab after jab at Apple – about keyboards, the lack of trackpads on the iPad, the lack of servicability on Apple’s laptops – and overall it felt like Microsoft really believes in these products, which hasn’t always been the company’s strong point.
Sounds really interesting, but I don’t get why the 15″ laptop lacks a numpad.
A lot of 15″ laptops lack a numpad including Lenovo Yogas and MacBooks – my guess is because if you add a numpad, you end up with an offset keyboard, and 99% of your typing would be on the keyboard.
Steve Ballmer would be rolling in his grave…. if he was dead.
For me the Neo is probably the most interesting development.
Newer shinier faster PCs do not offer me much, although the 15″ with better capabilities for CAD/Graphics would be of some interest but only if it comes with suitable battery life. One day I might actually be able to replace my desktop with a portable and not have to carry around a 17″ techno-weight and backpack sub-station disguised as a laptop.
The Neo format is something I’ve considered for sometime as useful, I saw eInk/ePaper prototypes a few years ago and they really caught my eye, and as a big consumer of offline reference materials and technical drawings I’m all for an eBook reader that handles and behaves like an open book. I hope they’ve made the display proportionally metric and not something silly like legal, foolscap or quarto!
For me working is often having an open tablet or secondary display besides a laptop, That might be portrait or landscape. So the appeal of Neo is obvious, especially if I can throw/flick screen clippings, quotes or URLs between devices.
Windows Subsystem for Linux, the new Terminal, the interesting hardware design of the Surfaces and the Surface Book, acquiring Xamarin for easy Android and iPhone development with C#, making Visual Studio really compelling and then giving it away for free (to certain size groups), opening the code and contribution process for many of their (currently smaller) tools on GitHub, and the Surface desktop – These were all calculated moves to have a net ready to capture creatives and developers as the Mac hardware stagnated and the software quality started to suffer. It’s a good net. The Surface Pro X and the 15″ Surface Laptop add to that.
The Duo and the Neo? These are direct shots at Apple’s consumption oriented products. Suddenly it’s Microsoft introducing new compelling consumer designs while Apple just adds more camera bumps to the back of a black rectangle.
It seems the repairability has already been downgraded to needing Microsoft authorized repair shops with special tools only they can get. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-will-still-make-it-hard-for-you-to-repair-its-1838713748 They even told reporters doing it themselves will void the warranty afterwards. This is probably about their 0 repairability score from ifixit and being unable to sell refurbished units rather than right to repair.