# Microsoft Surface Pro 4 & "Surface Book" Announced



## Jdiggity1 (Oct 6, 2015)

*Surface Pro 4*

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9...o-4-tablet-announced-specs-price-release-date

Summary:


Thinner (8.4mm)
Lighter
More Powerful
Larger 12.3" display with 267 PPI @ 2,736 x 1,824 (3:4 ratio)
Fingerprint Sensor
Front-facing 8mp camera for facial recognition
New Surface Pen with eraser on the end - 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, attaching magnetically to the side of the tablet
Up to 16GB RAM and 1TB Storage
Intel 6th-gen processor M3, i5, and i7
"50% faster than Macbook Air"
Hybrid cooling
Improved keyboard 'type cover'
Six spec configurations ranging from:

Base model: 128GB, M3, 4GB RAM $899 (USD)
Top model: 512GB, i7, 16GB RAM $2199 (USD)
User customisations available for pre-ordered units

For the U.S., it will be available October 26th, starting at $899 (USD)
For Australia, it will be available November 12, starting at $1349 (AUD)



Hands On: http://www.techradar.com/au/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-4-1290285/review


*Surface Book*

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/microsoft-introduces-surface-book-a-laptop-for-surface-fans/

Summary:


13.5" screen, 6 million pixels 267 PPI
7.7mm thin
Intel Skylake CPU
Dedicated Nvidia GeForce GPU with GDDR5 Memory
PCIe SSD
"Twice as fast as the 13" Macbook Pro"
Screen can be flipped 360 degrees on dock hinges
Backlit keyboard
2x USB 3 + SD slot
12-hour battery life
The thinnest and lightest i7 PC available!

Base-model features i5 CPU, 128GB SSD, 8GB RAM

For the U.S., it will be available October 26th, starting at $1499 (USD)
For Australia, it will be available November 12, starting at $2295 (AUD) (bloody hell..)


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## prodigalson (Oct 6, 2015)

omg, I'm furious! haha I JUST bought a Surface 3. GAAAH!!


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## Zhao Shen (Oct 6, 2015)

Dayum. Microsoft is really hitting hard on the innovation side of things. Also love how well-done their promo vids were.


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## muk (Oct 6, 2015)

If prices are coming down on the Surface 3 StaffPad starts to look really tempting.


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## MaestroRage (Oct 6, 2015)

prodigalson said:


> omg, I'm furious! haha I JUST bought a Surface 3. GAAAH!!


I bought a SP3 this early September. You should have 14-30 days to return it depending on where you bought it. I would STRONGLY recommend doing that and upgrading!

The book though... man that book is killing me. I might sell my SP3 and use that to fuel that purchase.


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## Pietro (Oct 6, 2015)

I have to say, that Microsoft is doing a hell of a job recently. Those new phones, tablets, new OS and now an ultrabook really should change the way people see the company. They still need to work on the ecosystem, apps and devices working together, but I dig the overall direction.

Made me think if I will be getting a new iPad next year or perhaps Surface instead.

- Piotr


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## Zhao Shen (Oct 6, 2015)

Pietro said:


> I have to say, that Microsoft is doing a hell of a job recently. Those new phones, tablets, new OS and now an ultrabook really should change the way people see the company. They still need to work on the ecosystem, apps and devices working together, but I dig the overall direction.
> 
> Made me think if I will be getting a new iPad next year or perhaps Surface instead.
> 
> - Piotr


And maybe it's my simplistic OCD shining through, but as the metallic squares sank into place in their logo... Agh. So satisfying.


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## prodigalson (Oct 6, 2015)

MaestroRage said:


> I bought a SP3 this early September. You should have 14-30 days to return it depending on where you bought it. I would STRONGLY recommend doing that and upgrading!
> 
> The book though... man that book is killing me. I might sell my SP3 and use that to fuel that purchase.



Unbelievably, I bought my Surface EXACTLY 30 days ago...you have to laugh. haha.


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## MaestroRage (Oct 6, 2015)

It's not the end of the world still man. Go try to give it back, give 'em the puppy eyes and tell them you want to upgrade to a more expensive or shiny product. They might bite. Failing that on ebay the SP3's are still going for about 70-85% what they were worth. You could sell it while it's still worth this much and top it off to get a better product.

That said there's the age old question of what is your want, and what is your need. I'm honestly dying to get the book, but honestly for me it's not a NEED. I don't think i'll be producing on this thing too seriously. It's neat to jot down ideas while you're mobile but unless you're DJ'ing (which you can still do really well with a SP3) I feel that us audio folk are throwing too much power where it's not needed.

I use my SP3 to cut and edit files in Adobe Audition while i'm on the subway. So I can't really justify getting the book because the SP3 is doing the job incredibly well.


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## Jdiggity1 (Oct 6, 2015)

Yeah, chin up prodigalson. The SP3 is still a great bit of tech. It's only a year old! You'll still get a few good years out of it.

While the new surface products look fantastic, honestly I think I'm more excited about the new Lumias.
Windows 10 on a cell phone?? You're carrying a damn PC in your pocket! Surface stylus support is surely the next step.


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## prodigalson (Oct 6, 2015)

yes yes, I mostly speak in jest.

It always smarts a bit when you drop some money on a new product only to have a new model be released within weeks. 

But yes, the Surface 3 is great.


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## Guy Rowland (Oct 7, 2015)

Pietro said:


> I have to say, that Microsoft is doing a hell of a job recently. Those new phones, tablets, new OS and now an ultrabook really should change the way people see the company. They still need to work on the ecosystem, apps and devices working together, but I dig the overall direction.
> 
> Made me think if I will be getting a new iPad next year or perhaps Surface instead.
> 
> - Piotr



Yeah, I think they're finally emerging from the huge hole into which they dug themselves. Terrific to see great design under the Windows banner. Tempted by the Surface Book, it's on my "look at it properly next year" list. Hate my laptop with a passion, but there's been a terrible lack of good alternatives until now.


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## kdm (Oct 7, 2015)

The Surface Book does look very impressive. I have a SP3 as well, and paid close to what the Surface Book is selling for just 3-4 months ago, but don't regret it one bit, despite there being a new release this soon (there were rumors of it when I bought my SP3, but this is how tech works - wait 6 months and whatever you bought will be superceded by something else).

I had looked at laptop options, MacBook options, and even an iPad, but StaffPad swayed me towards the Surface and the full OS, multiplatform approach sold me on it. It's been a great buy. Even with the new SP4 and SB, I see more of an evolution of capabilities rather than obsolescence of the previous Surface product and technology, which is a rather great place for us to be as customers. 

I too agree, MS looked like they were floundering for a while, but the Surface and true multi-platform Windows 10 shows they were planning rather far ahead when we thought they were falling behind. I'm very pleased with both. Really making work, and life with devices much easier (Windows phone, Surface and desktops here).


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## neve (Oct 7, 2015)

First with Surface, now with Book, Microsoft is winning me back. Their stylus is one of the best out there, and StaffPad is great. Microsoft 10 is also correcting the mistakes in 8, and free upgrade from Windows 7 onwards. 

I'm really glad to see this because I was getting a bit disappointed with how things were going as Apple has become more and more a lifestyle brand. The Yosemite update was a disaster for me, my video drivers went totally crazy and I had to take my MBP to apple care, where I saw longer queues than I had ever seen in Apple before. I really get the impression that as they focus on their fashion adventures Apple is no longer innovating as it used to as far as creative professionals are concerned.

So, it's great to see that Microsoft is taking the initiative!


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## kdm (Oct 7, 2015)

More evidence of a more proactive user-focused initiative at MS - there was a Microsoft developer/team manager on the Gearslutz forum a while back as 10 was released talking with users about audio/video functionality, and asking for feedback on any problems with audio devices and applications.


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