NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Exciting time for consumers as Microsoft reveals new Surface Pro 4, Lumia flagships and an impressive Surface Book laptop
What happened at Microsoft’s hardware launch in New York was almost what we expected would happen, but of course Microsoft gave us some added extras. We saw the unveiling of the long-awaited Surface Pro 4 tablet, stern competition to the iPad Pro – as we have discussed today (full specs included). We also saw the unveiling of the two Lumia flagship phones, the 950 and 950 XL, as well as a more affordable Lumia 550.
But there was much more on show, even if the above have arguably been the most talked about devices so far. Microsoft seemed pretty thrilled to reveal what it has been working on. As Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group, put it, “I’ve been using these devices for months and couldn’t wait to share them with you today.”
Microsoft’s sleek, eye-catching fitness tracker, The Microsoft Band 2, was introduced. As the previous leaks showed, Microsoft has gone for a much more curved look. Besides the aesthetic change, the features are what we would expect: heart rate monitor, exercise tracking, calorie counter, email, text and calendar notifications, and it will also check how well you are sleeping.
One of the aforementioned added extras, and a big one at that, was Microsoft’s Surface Book, what the company called the, “ultimate laptop”. What will be a sure rival to Apple’s Macbook Air comes with a removable keyboard, transforming it into a 13.5 inch PixelSense touchscreen tablet that can be used with a Surface Pen. It carries a 6th generation Intel Skylake processor, has up to 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage. Full specs, as well as a comparison to the Surface Pro 4, can be seen here. Starting price is $1,499, including Surface Pen. The Surface Book is now available for pre-order.
The Surface Pro 4, with a starting price of $899, is also available for pre-order now and shipping also starts October 26th. As for the new Lumia 950s Microsoft says they are coming soon, thought to be November. Redmond hasn’t said anything about the cost as yet.
The new devices weren’t all that was revealed. Microsoft announced a Windows 10 update for Xbox to be rolled out in November, as well as the news of a developer kit (around $3,000) for its augmented reality headset, HoloLens. This should be made available in the first quarter of 2016.
Photo credit: Laurie Chipps via Flickr
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