can't wait to buy surface pro 4

[InspectHerGadget]

I've lost interest in Broadwell products. It seems each new iteration brings less to the table.

It is a good thing too maybe as replacing products each year is good for manufacturers but bad for consumers.

I think the technology is plateauing. It will be interesting to see though what Microsoft can tempt us with but it has to be more than modest increases in CPU and battery performance.

I bought an iPad Air 2 recently as there was sufficient temptation to make me sell my iPad Air I had bought one year before. It wasn't just performance improvements but the touch ID, and an improved screen that did it.

The SP3 is already highly optimised. I'm seriously wondering what Microsoft will do to tempt owners of the SP3 to upgrade.

 

[GreyFox7]

I bought an iPad Air 2 recently as there was sufficient temptation to make me sell my iPad Air I had bought one year before. It wasn't just performance improvements but the touch ID, and an improved screen that did it.

Well that counter to reviews that said there really wasn't any reason to upgrade to the Air 2 if you had an Air so these decisions can be somewhat subjective.

So will W10 be a better upgrade than iOS 8? If MS adds a finger print reader to the SP4 will it convince you to upgrade? What if they double the ram and storage and make it faster? what other features might? another 1.5 hours of battery life?

I think there will be a bigger performance increase due to less throttling in the i5/7 models?

You might see a Core-M with 12+ hours of battery life... that would appeal to some but not everyone although many corporations may go for that.

IDK if Intel will really release Skylake in time for inclusion in anything you will be able to buy in 2015.

 

[InspectHerGadget]

Well that counter to reviews that said there really wasn't any reason to upgrade to the Air 2 if you had an Air so these decisions can be somewhat subjective.

Well, definitely subjective. Anyone with an Air will notice this hollow sound when they tap the screen. It sounds cheap and they fixed that which was another reason I upgraded.

It will be interesting to see what they put in the SP4 but we have another five months to wait before they even announce it.

 

[BearFlag]

Check out this ultrabook refresh from Dell also...
http://www.windowscentral.com/hands-new-dell-xps-13

I think MS should follow the Dell XPS 13 and try to fit a bigger screen into the same dimensions for the SP4.

 

[zhenya]

It's possible they could drop the Broadwell chip into the existing device and basically call it a day for the next generation. Mild spec bumps are not unheard of.

What will really tempt me to upgrade is if they can shave another 30% or so of the weight and thickness. Fanless would be ideal. But I still want my 256/8GB at a minimum. I think I'd prefer if they kept the dimensions and increased the screen size - this screen is good, but it still doesn't QUITE feel like a full sheet of paper. Lastly, I really, really want 10+ hours of battery. That's the threshold at which I feel like a device becomes truly untethered, where you can have confidence to bring it on even extended journeys without carrying the power cord - which then makes the device feel so much more mobile.

 

[InspectHerGadget]

The next MacBook Air has evidently been on an extreme wait loss diet. Mind you the form factor is limited by having to get rid of 15W of heat.

 

[GreyFox7]

Running with the rumor that an SP4 could have a Xeon CPU

The next MacBook Air has evidently been on an extreme wait loss diet. Mind you the form factor is limited by having to get rid of 15W of heat.

Yeah, but will it bend?

Oh the wailing with only 1 port.
Not just 1 USB port but 1 Power/USB port and it's Type C so none of your peripherals will connect without an adapter. A Hub will be a must lest you be forced to choose charging vs plugging in your USB stick. well maybe the charge cable with include a USB piggyback connector to leave you with 1 port.

Still no touch screen, just a simple clamshell design, nothing innovative, Core-M performance with fanless throttling. No fingerprint reader.

Maybe OWC will start selling MacBook Air motherboard upgrades for older models with something exciting onboard. and screen upgrades... and OS upgrades...

 

[kevinlevrone]

It's possible they could drop the Broadwell chip into the existing device and basically call it a day for the next generation. Mild spec bumps are not unheard of.

What will really tempt me to upgrade is if they can shave another 30% or so of the weight and thickness. Fanless would be ideal. But I still want my 256/8GB at a minimum. I think I'd prefer if they kept the dimensions and increased the screen size - this screen is good, but it still doesn't QUITE feel like a full sheet of paper. Lastly, I really, really want 10+ hours of battery. That's the threshold at which I feel like a device becomes truly untethered, where you can have confidence to bring it on even extended journeys without carrying the power cord - which then makes the device feel so much more mobile.

My prediction is that there will not be a Broadwell-based SP4. Such a device needs a motherboard redesign, it is not drop-in. The main problem is that if they release the Broadwell SP4, they will be really late with the Sky Lake which will probably be launched in September and will feature massive improvements besides the computing power improvements ("wireless everything").

I also think that SP4 will be launched with Windows 10 on board, and this also points out to an autumn release, for which Broadwell would really be too late.

On the other hand, there may be other Surface products in pipeline, smaller or bigger than the SP3. These may release with Broadwell around the time MacBook Air is released.

As for my preferences, I would really like a cheaper Surface Pro without digitizer (I just don't need such a device) and smaller screen bezels but the same overall dimension. As for the cooling, I really don't have any preference as for active and passive. I predict that active cooling will still be used in the future, it's the only way you can have consistent performance in a small form factor.

 

[InspectHerGadget]

Running with the rumor that an SP4 could have a Xeon CPU

Yeah, but will it bend?

Oh the wailing with only 1 port.
Not just 1 USB port but 1 Power/USB port and it's Type C so none of your peripherals will connect without an adapter. A Hub will be a must lest you be forced to choose charging vs plugging in your USB stick. well maybe the charge cable with include a USB piggyback connector to leave you with 1 port.

Still no touch screen, just a simple clamshell design, nothing innovative, Core-M performance with fanless throttling. No fingerprint reader.

Maybe OWC will start selling MacBook Air motherboard upgrades for older models with something exciting onboard. and screen upgrades... and OS upgrades...

I'm not saying that the MBA will be my next laptop. It won't be. I also think you can go too far with miniaturisation. I don't like non-standard ports. Eventually USB-C may become a standard but it will be a while yet. If they go too thin then they would have to use a Broadwell M with much lower power requirements. Apple may just do this as well as the Air is the ultra portable part of their range but I'm not sure.

 

[zhenya]

My prediction is that there will not be a Broadwell-based SP4. Such a device needs a motherboard redesign, it is not drop-in. The main problem is that if they release the Broadwell SP4, they will be really late with the Sky Lake which will probably be launched in September and will feature massive improvements besides the computing power improvements ("wireless everything").

I also think that SP4 will be launched with Windows 10 on board, and this also points out to an autumn release, for which Broadwell would really be too late.

On the other hand, there may be other Surface products in pipeline, smaller or bigger than the SP3. These may release with Broadwell around the time MacBook Air is released.

As for my preferences, I would really like a cheaper Surface Pro without digitizer (I just don't need such a device) and smaller screen bezels but the same overall dimension. As for the cooling, I really don't have any preference as for active and passive. I predict that active cooling will still be used in the future, it's the only way you can have consistent performance in a small form factor.

I kind of agree and have been basically thinking on the same lines, but Broadwell is a pin-for-pin drop in for Haswell which could potentially mean the update is trivial and keeps the device interesting to new buyers over the summer and fall period until a Skylake version could be ready. I kind of have a hard time imagining Microsoft letting the SP go more than a year without an update.

 

[GreyFox7]

I kind of agree and have been basically thinking on the same lines, but Broadwell is a pin-for-pin drop in for Haswell which could potentially mean the update is trivial and keeps the device interesting to new buyers over the summer and fall period until a Skylake version could be ready. I kind of have a hard time imagining Microsoft letting the SP go more than a year without an update.

My understanding is the support chips are different for Broadwell so while the socket is the same the components are different and would not just drop into an SP3 board.

Id expect significant firmware revisions as well with better power management.

 

[zhenya]

Yeah, I'd suspect that it would require some change, but revising the system board and updating the firmware should be doable without significantly impacting the schedule of the bigger bump for the next generation. The biggest impact of the pin compatibility is that the chip will fit in the same physical space so the redesign of the board should be trivial.

It just doesn't make sense that Microsoft would release 3 revisions in 18 months and then nothing for over a year. If they ran into problems with the next generation or Intel was late with Skylake it could tank the entire project.