jrioux
Active Member
Or they can drop their profit margin?I'm sure Intel could be coerced into giving a break on the price.
Surface 3 successor is actually Core M Surface Pro 4?
- Thread starter Turbo4AWD
- Start date
bronsky
Member
I don't see Microsoft putting a Core M in the Surface 4. Intel continues to improve and promote the Atom. The X7-8700 was just refreshed as the X7-8750 with clocks set 1.6ghz higher, only six months after its release. Apollo Lake will add Gen 9 graphics and power savings. I think Microsoft thinks the Surface 3 is a perfect platform for the Atom, letting the company compete with a high quality tablet priced well below its Pro line. You know, if the S4 gets the pixelsense controller and the new keyboard, I'll be upgrading.
The x7-8750 isn't enough of an upgrade to release an S4, basically it's just a fix release. Apollo Lake isn't the upgrade to Cherry Trail and there's currently no word on the Willow Trail replacement for Cherry Trail but Intel are already behind the competition with these. Atom is still the redheaded step child at Intel and despite recent improvements is still lagging in development.
jrioux
Active Member
Is it likely that MS will install the Z8750 mid-run in the S3? They've done something similar before, no?
With so many cheaper X5 machines being introduced, I'm wondering whether the S3 offers enough more to warrant its significantly higher price. While they are slower and have lower screen resolutions, the Asus T100HA is only $299 with the keyboard and the 64GB Toshiba Click 10 is $369.
I think Intel said no more z8700s after Q2/Q3 2016 so unless MS stops production of the S3 they have no choice but to switch to Z8750s however, it's a very minor change. Base clock rate is the same 1.6 GHZ, burst clock rate increases by 160 MHz to 2.56 GHz from 2.4 GHz and fixes a couple of graphics bugs with alpha blending and ATSC graphics. You wouldn't even advertise the switch.
As far as those cheap devices go from what I have seen they are cheap and that's it.
The shoe that hasn't dropped yet is Willow Trail. Maybe Intel will announce something soon or maybe later. if it's a paltry upgrade like Broadwell was to Haswell that will leave the Atom based non-Pro Surface In a weak position against already announced better SoCs like A9X, Snapdragon 820/8xx, and Samsung latest SoCs not to mention their 2016 upgrades A10X etc...
OR... Microsoft could bust the category wide open with a disruptive strike using an m3.
Even in a 3W SDP implementation the m3 could wipe the floor with the best the competition has to offer.
The non-Pro Surface future with Atom-ness hinges on Intel delivering strong with Willow Trail but will they...
Steven Du Bois
Member
I wholeheartedly agree. Although I am just shy of 40 years old I am also a masters student online...surface 3 works great. However before 30 days was up I went to Microsoft store and returned and bought SP3...waited three days and drove the 50 miles to return it...great machine, don't get me wrong, but for what I need, especially for school the S3 is all I need...As a student I get most of my textbooks electronically now and use the tablet mode to read and notate...the SP3 was just slightly too big and heavy for that purpose, especially with the hefty price tag. The one plus though for a student with the SP3 is the new SP4 keyboard...that I really loved and enjoyed typing, writing , and surfing on it...We can disagree on that
In general I think the buyer looking for a smaller lighter device isn't likely to buy the larger heavier Pro device. To me it's just a performance option for Surface 3 customers and would most likely eat away iPad sales.
Microsoft would not reach the S3 segment with a pro model, therefore you can be assured they will come out with a S4 or possibly a S5 in the future...
I bought my 3 (standard) after the Pro 4 had been announced and agonized over the decision. I had have a great home work station and a really nice desktop workstation at home with dual monitors, plenty of ram, etc. I owned a Mac Air (2011) and an iPad 3 LTE. I'm a lawyer and wanted a single light weight device I could take to court/conferences/meetings to take notes, bang out simple word processing documents in court, occasionally present a simple PowerPoint, use on an airplane, and which could double duty as a tablet. I like the fact that the device was USB chargeable because it meant that I had more charging options. I immediately purchased an Anker ten foot braided USB charging cable to get a little more room when hunting for power.
With respect to the tablet competitors, I strongly considered the new iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4. I rejected both of them for different reasons. I agonized over this decision harder than I do in buying a new car and probably at the level of changing jobs. The larger faster machine has a lot of appeal, but it is on the days that go off schedule that having a companion device is great.
With respect to the tablet competitors, I strongly considered the new iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4. I rejected both of them for different reasons. I agonized over this decision harder than I do in buying a new car and probably at the level of changing jobs. The larger faster machine has a lot of appeal, but it is on the days that go off schedule that having a companion device is great.
