Microsoft announces the Surface Laptop and Windows 10S
- Thread starter jnjroach
- Start date
OP
Official Site - Surface Laptop – The Most Elegant & Personal Laptop Computer
macmee
Active Member
It costs a steep $1,000, has just 4GB of RAM and runs a version of Windows where you're only allowed apps from the windows app store? It also doesn't appear to have USB-C or thunderbolt. They say it's for education but you can't draw, write, annotate on it like a SP4 or SB.
I am honestly struggling to figure out who this is for... couldn't you buy a Dell XPS 13 or the $999 Macbook Air and get double the ram, a full unlocked OS, probably better battery life (lets be honest I love my SP2, SP3 and SP4 but the battery has NEVER been as promised), and something thinner AND lighter than this?
I really want to be wrong here, I really want this device to be a disruptor and heat up competition for ultrabooks but I really think they missed the mark. IMO it lacks a ton of features and is too expensive.
edit: it's been pointed out to me elsewhere that Microsoft's strategy might be to intentionally make this overpriced on purpose because they don't want to under cut their OEMS, and that this laptop is basically just them trying to set a standard for other companies to try and follow. I really hope that's true? Because I definitely don't think this is a good value for customers given the many (even MacBook Air) alternatives.
I am honestly struggling to figure out who this is for... couldn't you buy a Dell XPS 13 or the $999 Macbook Air and get double the ram, a full unlocked OS, probably better battery life (lets be honest I love my SP2, SP3 and SP4 but the battery has NEVER been as promised), and something thinner AND lighter than this?
I really want to be wrong here, I really want this device to be a disruptor and heat up competition for ultrabooks but I really think they missed the mark. IMO it lacks a ton of features and is too expensive.
edit: it's been pointed out to me elsewhere that Microsoft's strategy might be to intentionally make this overpriced on purpose because they don't want to under cut their OEMS, and that this laptop is basically just them trying to set a standard for other companies to try and follow. I really hope that's true? Because I definitely don't think this is a good value for customers given the many (even MacBook Air) alternatives.
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I have trouble understanding the application for this. The security argument seems like nonsense to me, and other than for the most basic of use cases, people generally need more than dumbed down apps designed almost predominantly for a touch screen interface. I have been a student for the past 3 years and have never seen a Chromebook, because people want more than that from a laptop, and at a university level, it is also because it would be unviable. If I had this, I would have been forced to buy an additional computer or trek to the library every time I wanted to check something in SPSS while doing my dissertation.
And as macmee points out, the inking+tablet aspect of the surface was the HUGE selling point for students, and having seen me using it in class, others bought one as well. I would never have considered buying a surface of not for that capability. It was revolutionised my learning.
They better give the onenote app a HUGE overhaul if that's the only option you'll get, because right now, let's just say that it is completely lacking.
Stick regular windows 10 on that though, and I'd be all over it if I was in the market for a laptop. Looks great. But as a current student, it is an irrelevant product as it stands.
And as macmee points out, the inking+tablet aspect of the surface was the HUGE selling point for students, and having seen me using it in class, others bought one as well. I would never have considered buying a surface of not for that capability. It was revolutionised my learning.
They better give the onenote app a HUGE overhaul if that's the only option you'll get, because right now, let's just say that it is completely lacking.
Stick regular windows 10 on that though, and I'd be all over it if I was in the market for a laptop. Looks great. But as a current student, it is an irrelevant product as it stands.
convergent
Active Member
First, you can upgrade to full Windows 10 for free... so if someone buys one and wants to run it as a consumer they are good go to.
Second, the "school" this is designed for is K-12, not a university. That is the market that is being dominated by Chromebooks. In many cases the machines are used in class by many students, so they log in, do their thing, and log out. In other cases they may be handed out for a semester, but they are only for doing specific school things. A university student could just upgrade it to full Windows 10 and they are no longer restricted.
macmee
Active Member
Only for free for the rest of this year. And if this is designed for schools isn't $1,000 pretty expensive? Also since it just has 4GB of RAM, I think a lot of adults wont be interested anyway.
convergent
Active Member
For K-12 school's I believe they will always be able to upgrade for free. Others will have to decide sooner, which most likely someone would know when they buy it whether they want full or S version.
I don't think that Microsoft expects to sell a lot of these to schools... just like Googles Chromebook is more pricey than 3rd parties. Microsoft built the reference platform and OS, and other vendors will be producing really cheap machines that will run this OS to sell to schools. My daughter just bought a Chromebook last night for under $300 because her old Windows laptop finally died and she needs nothing but a browser for what she does. She loves the thing. The hardware she bought is an Intel processor and 4G of RAM, so it could run Windows 10 S. If it were available, she probably would have bought one because she has been using Word, and last night had to switch to learning Google Docs... not a huge change but she'd have bought Windows S over Chrome if it were available for a similar price.
I do believe that many adults will be interesting in the Surface Laptop. It will appeal to anyone that has bought a Macbook and is priced similarly.
The thing to remember is there are two things here... the new OS targeted at schools; and the hardware which can be used by anyone. Now if they will just upgrade the SP and SB, Microsoft will have a more flexible line of computers than Apple has!
Microsoft has announced the latest edition to the Surface lineup, Surface Laptop, at its #MicrosoftEDU event in New York today, as well as Windows 10 S.
Writing in the official Windows blog, corporate vice president of Microsoft Devices, Panos Panay, said, “We built Surface Laptop to do two things: refresh the classic laptop form factor that our customers, especially college students, have been asking for; and make a Surface that works seamlessly to showcase the best of Windows 10 S.”
Panay went on to say that Surface Laptop, which Microsoft is pitching primarily at students, “perfectly blends fabric and function, power and portability, beauty and performance. It does all of this without compromising on the things we know are important to higher education students: battery life, display quality, storage, and portability."
According to Panay, Surface Laptop brings together some of the best aspects of the Surface range, such as the versatility and portability of the Surface Pro, the performance advantages of Surface Book, and the creativity of Surface Studio. The result is, he said, “a meticulously crafted laptop that is tailored to Windows 10 S. It is thinner, quieter, more powerful, and more personal because of every hard won lesson of the last five years.”
Surface Laptop is 2.76lbs and 14.47mm at its thickest point, and is the thinnest and lightest laptop with the longest battery life in its class. It can be opened with one finger to reveal the 13.5” PixelSense Display, made from edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Its LCD touch screen is the thinnest of any laptop, with 3.4M pixels, and every pixel colour calibrated to produce vibrant colours.
The processor specs are impressive, boasting a 7th Generation Intel Core processor and, at 14.5 hours, 4 more hours of battery power than a 13” MacBook Pro.
The Alcantara-covered keyboard and soft palm rest are designed to enhance typing comfort and look really luxurious in the introductory videos.
Surface Laptop has been designed for, and is powered by, Windows 10 S, the new Windows 10 variant that was also launched by Microsoft at the education event today, and which is basically Microsoft’s rival to Chrome OS, working exclusively with apps from the Windows Store.
As a limited-time launch offer, Surface Laptop comes complete with an offer of a free 1-year subscription to Office 365 Personal and 1TB of free OneDrive online storage.
Surface Laptop will be available from June 15, starting at $999 USD. You can pre-order it from today in 20 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Poland, and Sweden.
Source: Introducing Surface Laptop, powered by Windows 10 S - Microsoft Devices Blog
OP
It is free to upgrade to Pro till the end of the year, if you upgrade after it will be $49USD. This competes against the MacBook and Google Pixel Chromebook. If you are looking for Tablet or Hybrid you are not the market - this was targeted at people who want a traditional laptop and judging from the reactions of Brad Sams, Paul Thurrott, MJF and Donald Rubio even Joanna Stern - its a hit.
I would love if every college student inked in OneNote - truth is I work with so many millennials who I've converted to using OneNote but all of them type in it...
Overall security happens because of the Containerized nature of UWP Apps and Centennial Bridge Applications (Win32 Apps converted to run in the UWP Wrapper), the apps do not get access to the OS and don't spread TSRs and cleans up code-rot...
