Microsoft Debuts New Dual-Screen Devices, Updated Surface Laptops and More

[dontwalkhand]

I’m more annoyed that they have decided to do Android vs. Just putting that new Windows 10X on the new Duo phone. I’m sure if they plan on waiting a year, they can get enough app developers, as well as develop their own great first party apps to get it off the ground. Yes that may also involve sucking up to Google for access to YouTube, which was missing on WP10.

Thinking about it more, I am very excited, as it’s a workable ecosystem, other than the current Apple/Google duopoly.

 

[ARMX86]

 can make a fanless 15” MacBook for competing with surface laptop 3. Kudos to the Microsoft hardware team for doing some amazing work 👍🏻

 

[Precursor]

I will definitely be buying a Surface Neo. The dual screen is what should come before a foldable single display. The OS and UI need to mature enough before single foldable displays become the norm.
I am heavily invested in Apple ecosystem, but I can access my iTunes, Apple Music etc. from Windows now so I might make the switch depending on how good the Windows 10 X or Windows Lite turns out to be.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Like they did with the first suface pro and surface book? Get real, they look different and people loves to see different things, out of ordinary ...but with time...like even microsoft they come to the Apple's roots
Remember, the device to change your laptop was the motto for surface pro....after that they came and introduce the ultimate laptop (but but i thought surface pro should replace our laptops)....and after that they came with a standard laptop but with alcantara...now with aluminiu because...Apple knows better..but others love to take/try a different road...Now dual screens with a hinge like some sony's or ZTE..no need for that...we need a quick answer/call screen not to be bother to open the hinge 360degree to answer a freacking phone call...again anti-intuitive...but hey looks cool for the teenagers in class i guess
Innovating these days, people misinterpret and forget its core definition

We are also seeing iPad pros being marketed in a way as MacBook replacements. This is the future I believe.

 

[KevinN206]

User-replaceable SSDs. Does this imply less overall IO performance? Apple solders flash storage to the Mac motherboards with custom controllers and I was under the impression that this enables greater IO bandwidth.

Reduces cost and upsell to increase profit margin. And of course, if the SSD fails after warranty, then logic board replacement = $$$. Why buy a $200 SSD when you can replace the entire board for $600?

 

[dontwalkhand]

What a funny feeling to be excited about hardware!

The same warm feelings we used to get from new Apple products. Though I love my 11 Pro, I’m only loving it because of how fast it is coming from the 10. I know the phone has the best cameras ever, etc etc etc. But it’s just more of the same. It doesn’t do anything newer than my 6s Plus couldn’t do. the 6s Plus can even use all the new Apple services like Apple Card, and TV+ just fine.

 

[smulji]

 can make a fanless 15” MacBook for competing with surface laptop 3. Kudos to the Microsoft hardware team for doing some amazing work 👍🏻

Fabless? No way Apple can make a fanless x86 15” MB with the same level of performance as Surface Laptop 3. Especially being that thin. Only way Apple may be able to pull it off is they design their custom ARM processor designed from the ground up for MacBooks & designed within a 7w to 9w power envelope.

 

[Zune55]

After long time some exciting stuff from Microsoft. Neo, Duo and Surface Pro X are really tempting. In commercial Duo was shown to use as phone but i guess that looks funny. The women was carrying/using 2 devices in commercial, Neo for emails etc and Duo for talking. Wishing Microsoft make them good as they are advertising. Next year its going to be big competition. Probably Samsung would also try to bring something like Neo and Duo.

 

[TonnyM]

Surface Pro is obvious take on iPad Pro, but without amazing touch optimised apps ecosystem and with higher starting price. They got rid off x86 Intel CPU in pro line for ARM based solution so it’s not the same level of performance as previous generations. It’s supposed to be as similar in concept as iPad Pro, but people looking for a really powerful 2 in 1 will be disappointed.
Duo, with chunky bezels doesn’t look futuristic or innovative to me. Just two screens linked together, some people called it foldable, but it’s not.

 

[smulji]

The same warm feelings we used to get from new Apple products. Though I love my 11 Pro, I’m only loving it because of how fast it is coming from the 10. I know the phone has the best cameras ever, etc etc etc. But it’s just more of the same. It doesn’t do anything newer than my 6s Plus couldn’t do. the 6s Plus can even use all the new Apple services like Apple Card, and TV+ just fine.

Innovation isn’t always about doing new things but also about doing current things better.

 

[dontwalkhand]

After long time some exciting stuff from Microsoft. Neo, Duo and Surface Pro X are really tempting. In commercial Duo was shown to use as phone but i guess that looks funny. The women was carrying/using 2 devices in commercial, Neo for emails etc and Duo for talking. Wishing Microsoft make them good as they are advertising. Next year its going to be big competition. Probably Samsung would also try to bring something like Neo and Duo.

In a way Samsung already does. Galaxy Fold, their android tablets, and Samsung even has a pretty nice Windows laptop as well. More competition is a good thing. The more I look into it, the more I’m excited for 2020. I’m sure we will also see foldable iPads as well in 2021.
As for carrying two devices, no different than us here who carries an iPhone and an iPad.

 

[smulji]

Surface Pro is obvious take on iPad Pro, but without amazing touch optimised apps ecosystem and with higher starting price. They got rid off x86 Intel CPU in pro line for ARM based solution so it’s not the same level of performance as previous generations. It’s supposed to be as similar in concept as iPad Pro, but people looking for a really powerful 2 in 1 will be disappointed.
Duo, with chunky bezels doesn’t look futuristic or innovative to me. Just two screens linked together, some people called it foldable, but it’s not.

According to MS, Surface Pro X has 3X more performance per watt than the Surface Pro 6 & is their most powerful Surface Pro. Take that for what it’s worth.

You’re correct that it doesn’t have the touch-optimized app ecosystem that the iPad Pro but if you’re someone whose main use for a device like this is dominated by Office, web, media consumption then this is a great choice, probably even better choice vs iPad Pro. On top of that, the Surface Pro X can drive two 4K external display which can make for a great desktop setup. Plus it has user upgradeable SSD storage right on the back. That is a first for a tablet

 

[ds2000]

Wonder Bra > Wonder Bar

 

[derekamoss]

Nice hardware, terrible software.

Every one keeps saying that but I am running windows on a surface book and it is anything but terrible. Have had it crash maybe once this year and I even tinker with it. My girls MacBook Pro has crashed multiple times in a month especially when browsing in safari. Everything is updated and the only software she really has installed is Spotify and Office. Your opinion doesn't really matter until you have used it for a Lil bit and not just at best buy. T

 

[the-msa]

Honestly, looks like bunch of bling to me. It‘s nice to see large manufacturers trying to be innovative - but just throwing new form factors and see what sticks isn‘t my idea of finding to solutions to problems.

And Microsoft knows this: Windows is NOT made to run on tablets. It‘s terribly clunky to use on those.

someone's gotta try something. if everyone is playing it safe like apple and only reiterate already established ideas, innovation won't happen.

 

[patent10021]

I thought we were trying to get away from folding devices from the 90s? Folding devices certainly are not the future. Didn't anyone watch Minority Report or The Simpsons?

 

[RevTEG]

i admit that this was the first time I’ve ever watched a MS event. The products looked pretty cool but the whole presentation and crowd seem so weird. Almost TV “churchy’’ forced feel instead of a tech event. I felt like I was watching an outdated looking presentation with new tech. Weird looking to me.

the whole brain measuring and flow talk felt weird to me. IDK... never mind.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Microsoft is starting to out-apple Apple... What's going on here ?

 

[bobob]

My favorite part is the earbuds and how they look like gauges

I was thinking it looked more like someone had hammered a large spike into his head.

 

[Alan Wynn]

I can’t even remember seeing the Windows OS for the 3 months I was editing and color grading a feature film in Premiere and Davinci Resolve on my Windows desktop. Once you’re doing work, who cares? The only thing I cared about was that I could upgrade my GPU on a 3 year old desktop (that only cost $1800 to begin with) for $400 and somehow do all of the post production on a full movie shot in 8K RAW. I was even able to keep the footage in RAW for full flexibility all the way until the final colored output to a 4K master.

You have me fascinated. I have been looking to put together some systems for doing an 8K project and I have not been able to get anywhere near that price. What cameras were used? How many hours of footage did you have and how much disk space did it take? You edited this in Premiere Pro and graded in Resolve, using an 8K grading monitor? If so, which one?

Would you post your system specs, so that others can duplicate them?

Other indie filmmakers at festivals have been dumbstruck that I was able to do this, as they usually have to bake their raw footage down to 4K ProRes very early in the process negating most of the benefits of shooting raw to begin with.

I am curious of two things though: 1) as an indie feature where cost matters, what benefit did you get from shooting in 8K vs. the cost of data management for all those extra bits? 2) Why would you not use a proxy workflow, editing in something lighter weight and then do a conform before final color? Premiere has a great workflow for that, and it would mean so much less online disk space to manage, and lower power requirements.

 

[otternonsense]

Any update to the Surface Studio desktop? That design was the true successor to the iMac G4 flowerpot

 

[Shalev Lazarof]

Microsoft, the change for the sake of change company.
the company that tries to mix categories all the time..

is it a tablet or a laptop (surface pro)?
is it a phone or a tablet (surface due)?
is it a tablet or a laptop(Neo with that flipped keyboard and that software trackpad)?

and all that "innovation" is running by windows... that has no app support for years with no rich developers community... the windows store is basically a wasteland...

Microsoft thinks everybody's main feature on a product is office, it is a work tool to write documents and spread sheets..
instead of developing cloud based 1st party day to day user applications that is integrated on the systems, like Apple Music, tv, podcast, notes and so on.. a rich services applications...

Microsoft focus on enterprise just shows how they differ from apple, they are not a full scale consumer electronic company like apple, more like an enterprise one.

 

[Kubat]

I despise Microsoft but this lineup looks sweet. I'm just now in the market for pen-ready tablet for my daughter and surface makes more sense than iPad pro.

 

[futurist101]

I've been a fan of Panos Panay and his leadership in putting out premium devices that could compete with Apple in terms of design, build quality & cost. For me, the problem has always been the software and support side of it.

I remember when Windows 10 mobile was introduced at the 2015 Microsoft event and he was showing us the capabilities of using the phone as a computing device (similar to Samsung's DeX). I was so impressed by the presentation I was willing to give a Windows phone another try after my horrible experience with Windows 8.1 phones and the crappy Microsoft and third party app support. However, two years later they had ended production of all mobile phones and discontinued support for that mobile OS.

From their past history, I have serious concerns whether or not these devices will have any longevity past 1-2 years if the sales are poor. I guess the one advantage they'll have this time around is that the Duo will be running a forked version of Android so the developer support should be there. The Surface Neo looks very appealing to me as a tablet/laptop alternative to my iPad Pro. However, I just don't have the confidence in Microsoft to put out a solid version of that new Windows 10X anytime soon. I hope they prove me wrong because I think those devices are pretty cool hardware-wise.

 

[Chancha]

 can make a fanless 15” MacBook for competing with surface laptop 3. Kudos to the Microsoft hardware team for doing some amazing work 👍🏻

Apple will instead give you a 15" iPad Pro, still running iOS.