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Microsoft's New Surface Pro Features Faster Intel Kaby Lake Processor, 13.5 Hours of Battery Life (thurrott.com)

Posted by msmash on from the surface-refresh dept.

On the sidelines of Windows 10 China Government Edition release, Microsoft also announced a new Surface two-in-one laptop. The latest addition to company's hybrid computing line up, the "new Surface Pro" sports an improved design, and houses a newer processor from Intel. From an article: The new Surface Pro features the same 3:2 12.3-inch PixelSense display as its predecessor, providing a resolution of 2736 x 1824 (267 ppi) and 10 point multi-touch capabilities. Surface Pro is based on faster and more reliable Intel "Kaby Lake" chipsets in Core m3-7Y30 with HD Graphics 615, Core i5-7300U with HD Graphics 620, and Core i7-7660U with Iris Plus Graphics 640 variants, which should make for a better experience. As with the previous version, the Core m3 version of the new Surface Pro is fanless and thus silent. But this is new: The Core i5 versions of the new Surface Pro are also fanless and silent. And a new thermal design helps Microsoft claim that the i7 versions are quieter than ever, too. The new Surface Pro is rated at 13.5 hours of battery life (for video playback), compared to just 9 hours for Surface Pro 4. That's a 50 percent improvement. urface Pro can be had with 4, 8, or 16 GB of 1866Mhz LPDDR3 RAM. The new Surface Pro is built around the USB 3-based Surface Connect connector and features one full-sized USB 3 port and one miniDisplayPort port. Microsoft also announced a new Surface Pen (sold separately), and claims that the new pen is twice as accurate (compared to the previous version). No word on the pricing but it will be available in all major global markets in the "coming weeks." The new Surface ships with Windows 10 Pro. (Side note: Earlier Microsoft used to market the Surface Pro devices as tablets that could also serve as laptops. The company is now calling the Surface Pro laptops that are also tablets.)

39 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Laptops that also serve as tablets? by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

    Take 2 and call me in the morning

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  2. 13.5 hours? Nice but... by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    just think how much longer the battery will last with Linux installed. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:13.5 hours? Nice but... by Khyber · · Score: 1

      There's a history of installing Linux on many Windows-based laptops only to receive better battery life.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    2. Re:13.5 hours? Nice but... by ReneR · · Score: 2

      Unfortunately Linux suspend / resume is annoying on the Surface's as M$ is not implementing the regular suspend-to-ram state in ACPI. On Windows they only use the connected standby always on state with just as much peripherals suspended as they can. And on Linux I get spurious wake ups in that state from whatever, and even if not the sleep time is not that great :-/ https://t2-project.org/hardwar...

    3. Re:13.5 hours? Nice but... by markdavis · · Score: 1

      If it is even reasonably possible to install Linux on it and have it actually work properly. I haven't researched it, but I am going to guess it would be an unfortunate nightmare..... so a "Surface" is likely never going to be on my radar.

    4. Re:13.5 hours? Nice but... by FunkSoulBrother · · Score: 1

      From the first few lines of the linked article on running OS X on Surface Pro 3:

      What is not working:
      WIFI
      Bluetooth
      Touchscreen : Alex.doud is currently coding touchscreen and trackpad drivers for the Surface Pro 3's i2c controller.
      Sleep
      Trackpad gestures

      RO-fucking-L

    5. Re:13.5 hours? Nice but... by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Old T2150 laptop, 3GB RAM, 60GB SSD - 4 hours on 7, 7 hours on Linux, doing the exact same thing - streaming video off Youtube in FireFox.

      That was like five years ago, loser.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  3. Oh, just stop it. by rickb928 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    My used (to me) Surface Pro 3 surpasses my expectations, and I'm used to Dell Latitude top of line laptops. Screen is lovely, touch works, i5/8GB/256GB model does all I want. KVM, Virtual PC, etc all work. Really. Battery life is fine, even for a used unit.3rd party chargers are weak, but heh.

    If only I could justify the $.

    The only complaints, big ones, they still don;t put a keyboard (Type Cover, $129+) in the box, purchased separately, and now no Surface Pen ($60). Cheap.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    1. Re:Oh, just stop it. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Likewise, but I am hoping that one day when my SP3 slips out of my hand and shatters the screen, or gets stolen by some TSA mobster from my luggage after being forced to check it in, I'm hoping on that day my dollars can buy a replacement with even better specs.

      Good enough is reason not to upgrade a working device.
      Not good enough is reason not to replace a broken device.

  4. Too bad, was expecting some sort of overhaul by Eloking · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, like Windows Operating system, MS has accustomed us to overhaul every two version so I thought the Surface Pro (5?) would have move changes. Sadly, it's simply a Surface Pro 3 v3 (and the Surface Pro 4 was the v2). Talking about this, scapping the numbering is dumb and now I will have a lot of trouble to find support for my "old" Surface Pro (the first). Well, not as dumb that Surface Pro One at least.

    Better battery and CPU/GPU are to be expected, nothing amazing there.

    New LTE support (only for latter model) are interesting, but data over LTE cost a little too much here to be useful (I something create a Wifi with my cellphone and and, after a quick web browsing while drinking my coffee, I had over 50mb used because of the habits of MS and it's program to automatically use the internet for anything.

    Not including the pen anymore is a bad decision imho because it's the killer feature this product. If you're not using the pen, then buying this over another Ultrabook with similar spect at almost half the price doesn't make much sense. Also, the pen is too easy to lose (it took me about a year to lose mine) so I do think that MS should find a way to "dock" the pen on the tablet more firmly. The magnet that I saw on the Surface Pro 4 isn't enough. Oh yeah, and since the pen is quite pricey (50$-60$) + the keyboard at 130$, it's also a subtle way to make the Surface Pro a little more expensive that the labeled 799$. In reality, the real cost of the most basic Surface Pro (new) is really 1000$.

    Still only one USB 3 port. MS seriously need to step down and add USB-C to their Surface product. Since it's pretty clear that the USB-C will become the new standard, I don't want my brand new Surface Pro to be obsolete in 2-3 years.

    The i5 version is now fanless....well I don't particularly care about this and I usually prefer a laptop that blow hot air instead of a laptop that become hot itself.

    Kudos to MS for calling them "Laptop" now. Compared to "real" tablet, the Surface Pro is doing a very bad job for, well, "tablet" uses. Hardware is good, but the Apps availability difference is just too big.

    So, yeah, an "ok" upgrade but I'll kept my Surface Pro (the first) for now.

    --
    Elok
    1. Re:Too bad, was expecting some sort of overhaul by Eloking · · Score: 1

      How's life at Bombardier? Still quaking in your shorts every day waiting to be offshored?

      Well AC, a lot happenned in Bombardier but I'll prefer that you remove your mask if you want to talk with me about personal stuff.

      --
      Elok
    2. Re:Too bad, was expecting some sort of overhaul by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I something create a Wifi with my cellphone and and, after a quick web browsing while drinking my coffee, I had over 50mb used because of the habits of MS and it's program to automatically use the internet for anything.

      The default profile for LTE in Windows 10 is to have it set as a metered connection. But this is one of my pet peeves too. With WiFi I have the option of setting it metered though the settings are buried as usual. But with Bluetooth, a method of connecting my phone that is far preferable I don't ... and those damn 50mb from no where are precisely what lead me to dig into the registry to find out how to force everything to be metered in the first place.

      Not including the pen anymore is a bad decision imho because it's the killer feature this product.

      Agreed, but then not including the keyboard was one of the dumbest decisions they ever made. If given the choice I would say by default don't include the pen. If given every choice, I say increase the price by $100 and include it all per standard since that's what the vast majority of customers purchased anyway.

      so I do think that MS should find a way to "dock" the pen on the tablet more firmly.

      You have an SP3 right? My partner has an SP4 and based on playing with that it's a huge step up. Just personal opinion but the magnetic latch works beautifully. Mind you with a small carry case this all becomes moot.

      The i5 version is now fanless....well I don't particularly care about this and I usually prefer a laptop that blow hot air instead of a laptop that become hot itself.

      It's not just a preference. All these high end ultra thin things thermally throttle out the whazoo. The fact that the i5 now is fanless would make me question what its sustained performance numbers will be like. Slapping in a Kaby lake is no good if all that happens is it heats up and slams on the emergency break earlier.

      So, yeah, an "ok" upgrade but I'll kept my Surface Pro (the first) for now.

      As I replied to someone else I was eagerly awaiting another one. Not because I intend to upgrade what I have, but because technology has a finite life (and my SP3 already has a lovely bend to the screen so I'm expecting a crack to form any day). I hate spending money on the same thing twice. :-)

    3. Re:Too bad, was expecting some sort of overhaul by Eloking · · Score: 1

      I got the SP1, the first original one that I pre-ordered because my Eee Slate EP121 (one of the first prototype of a laptop with a digital pen) just died about a years after I got it and I wanted to continu to take note on OneNote during my classes. The magnetic dock of the SP4 isn't bad but it doesn't need a big hit to undock.

      Still, as it still going strong after 4 years I'll wait for the SP6 since this one isn't good enough

      --
      Elok
  5. Re:Does it boot linux? by slazzy · · Score: 1

    No but it "Plays for sure"

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  6. Re:Thermals by nomadic · · Score: 1

    By building their own hardware I think Microsoft got a (logical) performance increase. My Surface Pro 4 with an i5 and 4 gigs of RAM seems as fast as my well-cooled desktop with its significantly faster i5 and 16 gigs of RAM (and dedicated graphics card).

  7. New Surface Pro? by EnsilZah · · Score: 1

    So what, they're bored with the simple incremental numerical naming scheme already?

    Are they rebooting the franchise?

    1. Re:New Surface Pro? by ReneR · · Score: 1

      yeah really hate this, like with the iPad where nobody knows what generation they are on and can refer to it properly, ... :-/!

  8. But, ..? by ReneR · · Score: 1

    Did they also fix the headphone out audio quality? Measured it the other day, and the signal did not look pretty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  9. Re:Thermals by ReneR · · Score: 1

    Marketing (bullshit) argument. There is nothing they can wire differently with this monstrous Intel platforms. Everyone is basically shipping Intel reference schematic + whatever add-on glue their price / sales point requires. What should they be able to save between the CPU and chipset glue?

  10. The right question is? by ruir · · Score: 1

    Does it run *BSD?

  11. Re:Thermals by itsme1234 · · Score: 1

    Correct. If anything Microsoft has a history of messing up the drivers so you get all kinds of nasty stuff: crashes when connecting/disconnecting the keyboard, in-use drivers that Microsoft's own update process can't update, poor battery life, etc.

  12. TB3? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

    Call me when these come with a fucking thunderbolt 3 port. The ability to have an extremely thin and light laptop/tablet when mobile, but connect to an eGPU for gaming (or any other graphically intensive task) would be fantastic.

    side note, why has Intel gone out of their way to gimp eGPU adoption? =/

    1. Re:TB3? by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      Because as much as people say they will use it, it is a SUPER niche thing that only a handful of people will ever implement. The only people that would want this are laptop owners that dont have a gaming laptop or gaming desktop but are gamers. Its not a something that will bring in new people to the market, it will only serve a tiny fraction of the existing market.

      --
      Good-bye
    2. Re:TB3? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      Well no, it opens people up to buying a portable* laptop without having to compromise (as much) on 3d capabilities, while not having to buy a separate computer.

      (Or in my case, i have a gaming computer in my living room. Which is great for games that are played with a controller, but for mouse/keyboard titles it's cumbersome at best.. I also have a laptop, and a spare video card. This situation cannot be all that rare, can it?)

      But really, that line of thinking is silly; throwing in a TB3 port on a ultra-portable cannot possibly cost *that* much more to manufacture, but would add some flexibility.. and who knows, maybe the eGPU thing would be more popular if there were more options to utilize it.

      *intentional.. gaming laptops are not usually very portable.. heavy, overpriced behemoths.

  13. 2736x1824 by sexconker · · Score: 1

    I'd rather kill myself than stare at a 2736x1824 screen.
    WTF kind of sense does that make? Absolutely everything will scale like ass.

    Couldn't go for 2880x1920? That's still in your dumb 3:2 aspect ration but lets people scale 1920x1080 content at 1.5x, which isn't great but is a hell of a lot better than the 1.425x the 2736x1824 screen needs. At 2880x1920, 4K goes down at 0.75x, but at 2736x1824 it's an absurd 0.7125x.

    Going to 2880x1920 is less than 11% more pixels than 2736x1824, but it would make a world of difference for displaying video and games.
    Especially at such a low density (267 pixels per inch, which itself would be slightly improved by going to 2880x1920).

    1. Re:2736x1824 by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Since when has scaling been an issue? Also scalling at 1.5x vs 1.425x makes zero difference. You will end up with arbitrary pixels misaligned either way.

      Not that it matters at these screen resolutions.

      Not that it matters for video content which is rarely pixel perfect anyway.

      Not that it matters for any desktop applications which scale just fine to any arbitrary number.

      Know what does matter? 3:2 screens. Vertical screen resolution for the win.

    2. Re:2736x1824 by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Scaling is always an issue.

      1.5x (3:2) can be done much more cleanly than a 1.425x (57:40). It also works nicely with the macroblocks sizes in encoded video.

      And if you want to play an old game on an emulator? You're gonna have a bad time regardless! NES is 256x224 for NTSC games, for example. In both of these instances you would want to run at 8x native with a black border all around. It's not quite full screen but it won't look like ass.

      If you can't tell that there are hideous issues with scaled content, maybe you need glasses. On a 4K or even QHD phone I'd agree it's not an issue for video. In part because they have nice scaling factors (though any non-integer scaling would still be an issue for pixel art), but mainly because of the 5-6" screen size. We're talking about a screen here that's got half the density. It's gonna look bad.

    3. Re:2736x1824 by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      You bring this issue up, yet I did my numbers when reading the summary and found it's double a 1368x912 resolution. Means a highly usable 1378x912 linux desktop with 200% scaling (Gnome 3, Cinnamon only offer 1x, 2x and 3x. I suppose KDE does the same).

      That's a nice working area, while small enough that things should be still readable. Lots of 2560x1440 on the market at smallish size (e.g. 14"). This would only do a virtual 1280x720, very lacking. Even a 2560x1600 panel would only allow a virtual 1280x800, which is more usable but this panel gives about 100 such "area pixels" more in both directions.

      Windows itself might be used with 200% scaling, I don't know if that's better than non integer ratios. Everyone hates Win 8/10 right?

      Video scaling is quite a minor issue in that it's fairly rare to read native res video on a PC unless everything you have is 1080p. Or try using some random wifi find it nice when you get 360p video and the better sound it has than 240p and 144p. Or go play 720p and 1080p on a 1680x1050 monitor :)

    4. Re:2736x1824 by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      1.5x (3:2) can be done much more cleanly than a 1.425x (57:40).

      Please do some math. When interpolating there's no difference between the two. When not interpolating the difference is only that the grid of incorrect pixels will line up equally across the screen.

      And if you want to play an old game on an emulator?

      Yeah definitely a killer use case for a Surface Pro. We should change the design to suit that one customer who may do this when he's bored.

      If you can't tell that there are hideous issues with scaled content, maybe you need glasses.

      Quite the opposite what I need is pixel perfect content which basically doesn't exist in the video world, not the least because of the damage caused by chroma subsampling, but also because the vast majority of content isn't dependent on single pixels and instead blurred by motion, noise, lens effects or moves across the screen masking the problems. If you think you would be able to tell the the difference between the two screens then forget glasses, I have a bridge to sell you.

      though any non-integer scaling would still be an issue for pixel art

      Is this the same person as the one playing emulated games or are we adding a second customer to the pool of people this actually matters to?

    5. Re:2736x1824 by sexconker · · Score: 1

      1.5x (3:2) can be done much more cleanly than a 1.425x (57:40).

      Please do some math. When interpolating there's no difference between the two. When not interpolating the difference is only that the grid of incorrect pixels will line up equally across the screen.

      You have no fucking clue what you're talking about. Bad scaling is incredibly obvious at the PPI they're using, and it is absolutely exacerbated by complex scaling factors. Most scalers are tuned explicitly for 3:2 (see 1280x720 to 1920x1080) and have been for ages (see 480 to 720).

    6. Re:2736x1824 by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I didn't say bad scaling isn't obvious.

      I said it doesn't matter for video content, I said it doesn't matter for applications, I said it doesn't matter for the vast majority of the things that Surface Pro users will be doing on their devices, and it doesn't matter using one non-ideal value vs another.

      Reading comprehension is important.

  14. Wonderful the better to... by evolutionary · · Score: 1

    collect your data with my dear....

    --
    "Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
  15. still lacking this new amazing "hinge" technology by xeno · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Still with the flaccid keyboard?

    I regularly fly through SEA, native habitat of the traveling microsoftie, where one can observe both variations of the species -- salesdroids and geeks -- going through all sorts of contortions to compensate for the flaccid member protruding from the front of the surface. In the boarding area you can see the surface balanced on one thigh with front edge of keyboard pressed against bellybutton while the kickstand still sloooooowly slides back over the knee. On the plane, you can see the kickstand retracted or dangling in empty air as the tablet leans against the seat in front, while the softie hugs the keyboard ever closer. On Alaska Air's first class side-mounted tables, the whole thing collapses front and back, unless the silverback of the softie species places it atop a firm leather pad cover from a recent Ignite or TechEd, turned at an angle for a little extra space. Only in the comfort of its home conference room or spacious ergonomic standing desk can the Surface both recline its torso and flop out its full flaccid glory to be appreciated for... the normal functionality of other laptops.

    In all seriousness, the surface line is a nice showpiece, but the OS makes it a mediocre tablet, and the floppy+kickstand mess makes it a profoundly handicapped laptop that takes up more room front-to-back than a typical 17in laptop. And they don't seem to be promoting the version that does have a good hinge system. FFS, it doesn't matter how much battery life the damn thing has if the ergonomics are so infuriating that I'd rather use a chromebook -- which iirc still connects to gogo internet for free.

    --
    I think not...(*poof*)
  16. Re:Thermals by nomadic · · Score: 1

    Marketing? Seriously? I have both machines. I literally have both machines next to me right now. It has nothing to do with "marketing."

  17. Welcome to the Microsoft slashdot .. by najajomo · · Score: 1

    Nine mentions of Microsoft and ten mentions of Windows on the front page ..

    1. Re:Welcome to the Microsoft slashdot .. by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, this place is a real haven of Microsoft lovers.

      If anything, it's click-bait to get the angry dweebs to come in and foam at the mouth angrily over their 20-years outdated Microsoft hatred.

    2. Re:Welcome to the Microsoft slashdot .. by najajomo · · Score: 1

      "If anything, it's click-bait to get the angry dweebs to come in and foam at the mouth angrily over their 20-years outdated Microsoft hatred."

      Microsoft, the company that put computing back 20 years and made letters and numbers dangerous.

  18. Linux by stooo · · Score: 1

    Does it already run Linux ?

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    aaaaaaa
  19. It "sports" a new design by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

    The word "sports" serves very well as an indicator of someone who is paid to write an advert, giving up any pretence of speaking or writing like a normal human being. Or maybe it's just camouflage for someone who has no talent for copywriting.