Microsoft teases new Surface Pro Type Covers

[THeEmpire.01]

https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/22/15674036/microsoft-surface-pro-type-covers-alcantara-teaser

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Microsoft is widely expected to launch a new Surface Pro device tomorrow, and the company’s Surface chief has taken to Instagram today to post what appears to be a teaser. Panos Panay simply posted an image of four Surface keyboards, with the caption that there are “30 hours to go” until Microsoft’s Surface event in Shanghai. The Surface keyboards appear to be new Type Cover colors in alcantara, the same fabric that’s used on Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop.

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Microsoft’s teaser comes just days after a Surface Pro leak revealed the new device looks very similar to the existing Surface Pro 4 model. Evleaks posted marketing material of what is claimed to be just a “Surface Pro” without any numbering. The new tablet / laptop hybrid doesn’t appear to include a USB-C port, just like the Surface Laptop. 

Microsoft’s Surface event will take place in Shanghai tomorrow morning, and the company has promised “updates and more information” over at its news site for exact timing and potential live streaming details.

Well the new Surface Pro is either going to be some form of a spec update with a bit of a design refresh, or its going to be something completely different than in the leaks. And honestly whats Microsoft's problem with USB-C?

[randomhkkid]

Please fix for night mode

[randomhkkid]

Did a quick comparison and the image posted above all but confirms the previous leak.

 

[Ezio Auditore]

Tell me if I got this right. 

Surface pro is a laptop with underpowered specs and is also overpriced. Just realized that in a perfect world it means the same thing. Also they are targeted at education although I don't know which student has the money to buy them and if he does then I don't think he needs to go to school. How does this make sense? 

 

[GoodBytes]

I doubt that the design will change with the Surface Pro 5... If anything, it will have PCIe NVMe SSD. But I think it will be identical to the Pro 4 in every way, with Kaby Lake. I think they'll work on a redesign with USB-Type C and maybe OLED panel when Intel would have an interesting CPU.. In addition, most of Surface focus went to the Surface Laptop,

[DarkBlade2117]

17 minutes ago, Ezio Auditore said:

Tell me if I got this right. 

Surface pro is a laptop with underpowered specs and is also overpriced. Just realized that in a perfect world it means the same thing. Also they are targeted at education although I don't know which student has the money to buy them and if he does then I don't think he needs to go to school. How does this make sense? 

 

 

 

I think you'd be surprised at what students will buy if they get suggested them.... I go to a community college. Ya people here aren't dirt poor but they sure as hell aren't driving new cars or have a ton of designer clothing but they will without a doubt buy the latest Macbook despite cost for it. Me? I bought a $200 laptop with 4GBs of RAM, 500GB HDD and a Celeron. I've never known anyone to do anything more demanding than have Youtube open with a spreadsheet open.

[Drak3]

8 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

I think they'll work on a redesign with USB-Type C and maybe OLED panel when Intel would have an interesting CPU.

Oh, so never.

[mynameisjuan]

2 hours ago, Ezio Auditore said:

Tell me if I got this right. 

Surface pro is a laptop with underpowered specs and is also overpriced. Just realized that in a perfect world it means the same thing. Also they are targeted at education although I don't know which student has the money to buy them and if he does then I don't think he needs to go to school. How does this make sense? 

 

 

 

First is the Pros are not targeted at students. And just because a student can afford a $1000 laptop why the hell does that mean he doesnt need to go to school? Have you seen the amount of students with Macbooks? They are well over a $1000.....

 

Second is its not overpriced and everyone that has a Surface Pro says nothing but good things about them. They are underpowered because of the amount of space and the layout of the device, but even then it barely throttles and is still very capable. 

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, huilun02 said:

Whats with their hard-on for fabric typing surfaces? Stains and dirt, especially anything oily, is going to be near impossible to remove.

Comfortable. It feels nice. Looks different, Cleaning is not hard per se. It is the same as cleaning fabric in a car. Worst come to worst, use car upholstery cleaner (couple of dollars). They'll remove oil, food stains, makeup and dirt. The fabric, like in car, isn't like cotton, where it absorbs everything in a room, including odors. If you spill wine, you can remove it without any staining if you are fairly quick, and not let it stand there. It has some repellent properties.

[randomhkkid]

33 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Comfortable. It feels nice. Looks different, Cleaning is not hard per se. It is the same as cleaning fabric in a car. Worst come to worst, use car upholstery cleaner. They'll remove oil, food stains, makeup and dirt. The fabric, like in car, isn't like cotton, where it absorbs everything in a room, including odors. If you spill whine, you can remove it without any staining if you are fairly quick, and not let it stand there. It has some repellent properties.

Can confirm, had mine for 18 months and with no to little care it doesn't look bad

[79wjd]

1 hour ago, mynameisjuan said:

First is the Pros are not targeted at students. And just because a student can afford a $1000 laptop why the hell does that mean he doesnt need to go to school? Have you seen the amount of students with Macbooks? They are well over a $1000.....

 

Second is its not overpriced and everyone that has a Surface Pro says nothing but good things about them. They are underpowered because of the amount of space and the layout of the device, but even then it barely throttles and is still very capable. 

I wouldn't say "nothing but good things", I own a SP3 that I got dirt cheap for hamd taking notes and my experience with it as a laptop is pretty shitty. There keyboard and trackpad are terrible and while the SP4 improved on it, even then it's still pretty mediocre at best. Using it on your lap is a complete mess because you have to try and balance a flimsy keyboard and the stand on your lap, which is a PITA. And lastly windows just isn't a great OS for a touchscreen, which I often find myself using because the trackpad is so terrible. Now, as a tablet for taking hand written notes, it's great.

[mynameisjuan]

6 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

I wouldn't say "nothing but good things", I own a SP3 that I got dirt cheap for hamd taking notes and my experience with it as a laptop is pretty shitty. There keyboard and trackpad are terrible and while the SP4 improved on it, even then it's still pretty mediocre at best. Using it on your lap is a complete mess because you have to try and balance a flimsy keyboard and the stand on your lap, which is a PITA. And lastly windows just isn't a great OS for a touchscreen, which I often find myself using because the trackpad is so terrible. Now, as a tablet for taking hand written notes, it's great.

I should of clarified on talking about the SP4 specifically, SP3 was a fail. Look at all the reviews for the SP4, there is a reason the SP5 or updated SP4 is not changing much because there is not much to change since the SP4 is such a good design. 

 

The keyboard and track pad are fine and if you are primarily typing on your lap, thats what laptops are designed for. This is primarily a tablet with a keyboard and no amount of change will fix that. 

 

And how is windows not a touchscreen OS? I can handle anything in 10 on a touchscreen with no issues, especially since 8 since that OS is specifically designed to support touchscreen functionality 

[79wjd]

13 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

I should of clarified on talking about the SP4 specifically, SP3 was a fail. Look at all the reviews for the SP4, there is a reason the SP5 or updated SP4 is not changing much because there is not much to change since the SP4 is such a good design. 

 

The keyboard and track pad are fine and if you are primarily typing on your lap, thats what laptops are designed for. This is primarily a tablet with a keyboard and no amount of change will fix that. 

 

And how is windows not a touchscreen OS? I can handle anything in 10 on a touchscreen with no issues, especially since 8 since that OS is specifically designed to support touchscreen functionality 

Everything I said above applies to the SP3 as well. And a lot of people buy a SP with the intention of using it as a laptop, and as far as I'm concerned it offers a laptop experience that's worse than that offered by a $300 laptop. And it's a hybrid, it's not just a tablet; I don't use mine as a laptop as I have an actual laptop, but that's abnormal. 

 

Because Windows just sucks on a touch interface compared to iOS/Android. And windows' terrible scaling doesn't help with that. The UI simply isn't particularly good for touch.

[ttam]

It's just a strong portable platform. Much easier to use a Surface, that's say on your network domain, in a portable situation. I haven't had any performance decreases with them ever and people comparing them to $300 laptops just need to shush it because I can say for 100% they have never used one outside the demo at Bestbuy.

 

We use surfaces hooked up to docks as workstations, powering 2 to 3 screens no problem.

[79wjd]

1 minute ago, ttam said:

It's just a strong portable platform. Much easier to use a Surface, that's say on your network domain, in a portable situation. I haven't had any performance decreases with them ever and people comparing them to $300 laptops just need to shush it because I can say for 100% they have never used one outside the demo at Bestbuy.

 

We use surfaces hooked up to docks as workstations, powering 2 to 3 screens no problem.

Those people that are comparing them to $300 laptops aren't comparing them in regards to their performance but rather in their functionality as a laptop -- in which case the SP line offers a pretty mediocre experience. 

[ttam]

2 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

Those people that are comparing them to $300 laptops aren't comparing them in regards to their performance but rather in their functionality as a laptop -- in which case the SP line offers a pretty mediocre experience. 

Functionality wise it's far from mediocre. It keeps up with my workstation load when it's needed for portability. Much easier to use than a laptop.. how do you get more functional than that? 

 

Once again it goes to peoples only use of it as a demo at Bestbuy.

[79wjd]

47 minutes ago, ttam said:

Functionality wise it's far from mediocre. It keeps up with my workstation load when it's needed for portability. Much easier to use than a laptop.. how do you get more functional than that? 

 

Once again it goes to peoples only use of it as a demo at Bestbuy.

Usability-wise it's mediocre for a laptop. Performance-wise it's perfectly capable. For stylus use, it's great, which is what I said. 
 

I own a SP3 -- the trackpad/keyboard are shit (and the SP4 still isn't much better) and having to balance a flimsy keyboard and a stand on your lap make it worse than a cheap $300 laptop for use as a laptop. 

 

As a note taking/drawing tablet, it's great. As a laptop, it's mediocre because of the typecover/stand. As a tablet, it's mediocre because Windows isn't a great touch UI compared to iOS/Android.

[mynameisjuan]

8 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

Usability-wise it's mediocre for a laptop. Performance-wise it's perfectly capable. For stylus use, it's great, which is what I said. 
 

I own a SP3 -- the trackpad/keyboard are shit (and the SP4 still isn't much better) and having to balance a flimsy keyboard and a stand on your lap make it worse than a cheap $300 laptop for use as a laptop. 

 

As a note taking/drawing tablet, it's great. As a laptop, it's mediocre because of the typecover/stand. As a tablet, it's mediocre because Windows isn't a great touch UI compared to iOS/Android.

If you judge a laptop based on how well you can type on your lap then you are judging the wrong thing. Almost all the time people have the laptops on a table, desk or whatever surface and the SP4 works great. Yeah a dedicated LAPtop will work better on your lap but on a table the SP4 is amazing. And this doesnt just apply to the SP, any tablet with a removable keyboard has this balancing issue. Keyboard is good and trackpad is decent. 

 

And stop comparing a desktop based OS to a touchscreen only based OS. Windows touchscreen is still capable and I have not run into any issue with it. 

 

I get you hate your SP3 but people love the SP4, Id take my SP4 over any laptop

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

If you judge a laptop based on how well you can type on your lap then you are judging the wrong thing. Almost all the time people have the laptops on a table, desk or whatever surface and the SP4 works great. Yeah a dedicated LAPtop will work better on your lap but on a table the SP4 is amazing. Keyboard is good and trackpad is decent. 

 

And stop comparing a desktop based OS to a touchscreen only based OS. Windows touchscreen is still capable and I have not run into any issue with it. 

 

I get you hate your SP3 but people love the SP4, Id take my SP4 over any laptop

That's far from true. A lot of people use laptops on their laps quite often. On a table, it's good, but the keyboard/trackpad are still at the level of a $300 laptop -- they're far from what you would get on an XPS 13, MBP, or a Thinkpad.

 

I won't stop comparing it because people like to argue the tablet aspect of the SP lineup. The day people stop talking about it as a tablet is the day I'll stop comparing it to one.

 

I don't hate my SP3, I find it amazing when I'm using the stlyus, it's just mediocre in basically any other aspect.

[Doobeedoo]

No USB Type-C though lul also cover is fuzzy urm no.

[randomhkkid]

20 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

That's far from true. A lot of people use laptops on their laps quite often. On a table, it's good, but the keyboard/trackpad are still at the level of a $300 laptop -- they're far from what you would get on an XPS 13, MBP, or a Thinkpad.

 

I won't stop comparing it because people like to argue the tablet aspect of the SP lineup. The day people stop talking about it as a tablet is the day I'll stop comparing it to one.

 

I don't hate my SP3, I find it amazing when I'm using the stlyus, it's just mediocre in basically any other aspect.

Do you have the SP4 keyboard? It's a substantial upgrade from the SP3 keyboard especially in the trackpad department. 

 

I've had mine for 18 months and whilst its not the greatest for prolonged lap use, it's far from bad. The main problem of it digging into the legs can be addressed with a thin book or folder. I've come from a Macbook Pro Unibody and a Y700 and prefer the type cover, personal preference thing more than a fact (as is the case with basically everything).

 

[Commodus]

As a Mac user, I've learned that "overpriced" is usually a codeword for "I don't actually understand why the device is priced the way it is."

 

The Surface Pro costs more than a similarly-specced ultraportable because... you're only looking at the base specs.  Most ultraportables don't have pen-capable touchscreens; most don't have optional detachable keyboards, or custom display ratios, or bloatware-free loadouts.  If you're just shopping for a laptop that will handle the essentials, sure, it's overkill.  But the whole point is that the Surface Pro does more than the essentials.  It's the tablet you can use to both edit a large Photoshop project and watch Netflix on the couch.  If you don't need the flexibility, fine -- just don't hate on people who can appreciate it.

[Dabombinable]

10 hours ago, Commodus said:

As a Mac user, I've learned that "overpriced" is usually a codeword for "I don't actually understand why the device is priced the way it is."

 

The Surface Pro costs more than a similarly-specced ultraportable because... you're only looking at the base specs.  Most ultraportables don't have pen-capable touchscreens; most don't have optional detachable keyboards, or custom display ratios, or bloatware-free loadouts.  If you're just shopping for a laptop that will handle the essentials, sure, it's overkill.  But the whole point is that the Surface Pro does more than the essentials.  It's the tablet you can use to both edit a large Photoshop project and watch Netflix on the couch.  If you don't need the flexibility, fine -- just don't hate on people who can appreciate it.

Its understandable with Apple devices...since you can get the exact same specs+similar (or better) build uality for less. The Apple iPad "pro" is a good example of overpriced since you have to pay for all accessories separately...

[Commodus]

11 hours ago, Dabombinable said:

Its understandable with Apple devices...since you can get the exact same specs+similar (or better) build uality for less. The Apple iPad "pro" is a good example of overpriced since you have to pay for all accessories separately...

But that's not really true, and that's the whole problem.

 

Hey, it's great that your ASUS/Dell/HP costs $300 less.  But I notice that you're using a much slower SSD.  Also, your display isn't as color-accurate, so it hurts photo/video work.  And oh, how quaint, only one Thunderbolt port!  Then there's the unrealistic battery life claims among many Windows PC makers, the shoddy trackpads, the bloatware, the terrible technical support... it adds up.  And this isn't even considering the ridiculous prices for 5K Windows displays -- you might pay more for just the screen than a 5K iMac owner pays for their entire computer.

 

I'm just fine with Android and Windows, and there are definitely phones and PCs that either do some things better or are "good enough" for much less.  It's just a lot of the "overpriced!" shouting comes from people who only look at a handful of criteria (usually CPU, graphics and storage size) and declare those to be the sum total of a device's worth.

 

Also, I don't know that the iPad Pro is really overpriced, although the current model is getting long in the tooth.  How many other mobile OS tablets are as fast or undercut it on price?  Even the Galaxy Tab S3 isn't all that hot.  My main beef is simply that Apple is trying to pitch it as a PC replacement for some people when it only really fits that bill under narrow conditions.  I don't know that Apple needs to go full-on Surface Pro and release a touchscreen 2-in-1 Mac, but iOS needs to grow more to make the iPad Pro feel like it could replace a laptop.