Microsoft is one of the biggest names in the industry. The Redmond company has been expanding its business in recent years, providing more products to boost its sales performance. Back in 2012, Microsoft announced its Surface lineup of hybrid tablets to the public and quickly attracted a lot of attention as the company received mostly positive reviews from users and tech experts.
Microsoft has its own ground in the tablet market as the firm is shipping millions of units every year. Surface Pro is now Microsoft’s main focus on the market to take on Android-based tablets and Apple iPads. In reality, the Redmond company is planning to turn its Pro lineup into laptop replacements.
Last year, Microsoft debuted the Surface Laptop following months of endless leaks. The Surface Laptop is aimed toward students out there as it ships with Windows 10 S, a dedicated version of Windows 10 designed for low-cost computers. The Surface Laptop marks Microsoft’s shift to the mid-range segment where it will compete with big names like Asus, Dell, or HP.
At this year’s Back To Black event, Microsoft announced a long-awaited refresh to its Surface Family. Specifically, the tech giant unveiled the Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Studio 2, and Surface Headphones. In reality, we heard a lot of rumors regarding this year’s event prior to the official announcements. Microsoft was previously rumored to announce a Surface phone at the event, but it was nowhere to be found.
In the section, we have created a list of the biggest things Microsoft announced at its event. For some background, Microsoft’s ‘Back to Black’ event took place in New York on October 2. Sources say that the Redmond firm has been working on a new flagship phone, but it remains unknown when we are seeing it.
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Surface Pro 6
Surface Pro is one of the most powerful tablets on the market. Microsoft’s Pro lineup is a bigger deal than you think as it is aimed at replacing traditional laptops. The Surface Pro was first debuted back in 2012 and came pre-loaded with Windows 8 Pro operating system. The Pro quickly gained its popularity with millions of units sold so far.
In 2015, Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 4 with a number of new features and changes. However, the Pro 4 failed to live up to expectations as the company reported a slow sales performance. Last year, Microsoft was rumored to refresh it Pro series, but nothing happened. At this year’s Microsoft event, the Surface Pro 6 took the center stage, but it may disappoint some users who are looking for a Surface device with an overhauled design.
In reality, the Surface Pro 6 looks a lot like the Surface Pro 4 but has been upgraded with Intel’s newest 8th gen processor under the hood. Microsoft claims that the Pro 6 is up to 67% more powerful than its predecessors. The coolest part is that the Pro 6 now features a new cooling system that helps keep the device active for a prolonged period of time.
The Surface Pro 6 features a 12.3-inch PixelSense display with higher contrast ratio, allowing for a better picture quality and more details. Microsoft says that the new device offers a battery life of 13.2 hours, which is pretty impressive. Besides, the new tablet has 16GB of RAM for better multitasking and 1TB of SSD storage. However, the Pro 6 lacks a USB Type-C port, which is a little bit disappointing. The Surface Pro 6 will be available on October 16 starting from $899 for the Core i5 model.
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Surface Laptop 2
Surface Laptop is a series of mid-range laptops that come pre-installed with Windows 10 S. The Surface Laptop lineup serves as Microsoft’s strategic plan to expand its presence in schools. At the event, Microsoft announced the second generation Surface Laptop in an attempt to attract more users at this year’s holiday shopping season.
With the Surface Laptop 2, the Redmond company has upgraded its hardware with an Intel’s 8th gen Quad Core processor. Besides, Microsoft has doubled the RAM memory on its entry-level model. According to Microsoft, the Surface Laptop 2 is now 85 percent faster than the first model and offers an improved battery life of 14.5 hours.
The 13.5-inch screen on the Surface Laptop has a resolution of 2256 x 1504 pixels and supports PixelSense technology. In addition, Microsoft has improved the contrast ratio on the screen to make it brighter.
The Surface Laptop 2 will target mainly students. Sources say that Microsoft will offer discounts and promotions for students later this year as that the company will lower the price of the first model.
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Surface Headphones
We were expecting to see a Surface phone at this year’s event, but instead, we got a new pair of headphones. Microsoft calls it Surface Headphones that will cost $349 at launch. The release of the Surface Headphones marks Microsoft’s first steps into the premium headphone market.
The Surface Headphones can work wirelessly and includes the ability to reduce noise. The coolest part is that the pair of headphones comes pre-loaded with Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant, allowing you to play your music tracks, or read your emails using your voice. However, it remains unknown when we are seeing the new headphones. Microsoft says that the Surface Headphones will see a global rollout later this year.
Are you planning to buy a new Surface Pro later this year? Share with us in the comments below.
