Microsoft is rolling out its thinnest and lightest Surface tablet yet, and in doing so is abandoning ARM-based chips and the specialized Windows RT operating system it created to run on them.
The new Surface 3 returns to Intel with a quad-core Intel Atom x7-Z8700 processor (the big brother Pro 3 runs on Intel's i3, i5 or i7 chips). The major advantage of using Intel's core is that Surface 3 comes with a full version of Windows 8.1, and therefore a free upgrade to Windows 10 in a few months. The RT products, not well-loved by Windows fans, were discontinued in February.
Some of the details began leaking out last week, after Microsoft began giving journalists some hands-on time with the new device. There will be no showy press event with executives striding around on a stage this time out, just a press release explaining the changes.
I had a chance to preview the device, which will hit stores May 5, and even though my time handling it was brief, some of its features stood out.
The Surface 3 is essentially a shrunk-down Surface Pro 3: it has a 10.8-inch screen, weighs only 622 grams (the Pro 3 is comparatively beefy at 800 grams) and comes with 64 GB or 128 GB internal storage. One area it improves on big brother is in the rear-facing camera, now an eight megapixel sensor to the Pro's five. Another interesting detail is the addition of a micro-USB port for charging; abandoning a custom connector makes it more interoperable with a user's existing cables and third-party charging stations.
Gone is the resistance-based kickstand of the Pro 3 (which adds weight but allows the screen to sit at almost any angle) – the Surface has just three pre-set angles to snap to. The speakers pumped out some deep, impressively loud sound for a tablet. Some subtle changes to the Type Cover make hammering the keys a little quieter, without losing the satisfying snap-back feel. But, of course as good as that cover is, it's an extra item to purchase (as is the Surface Pen), which hurts the $639 entry-level price tag. It stings to pay an extra $180 or so for the add-ons that turn the Surface 3 into a useful productivity device. On the plus side, purchasing a Surface will get you a year of Office 365 subscription free.
Microsoft's "tablet that replaces your laptop" has occupied a strange position in consumer tech: too expensive for a tablet, more expensive than a cheap laptop but not as powerful as a similarly expensive premium PC. But Windows 8.1 is a very fast and fluid operating system, though I did have the maddening experience of losing two hours of work when a random OneNote refresh erased all traces of my document. Still, going back to Windows 7 on my work desktop made me a little sad, and Windows 10 promises to be better still.
It is very interesting to me that Apple's latest laptop, the almost-portless 12-inch Retina MacBook, is similarly slim and small and perhaps a little underpowered. The Surface was one of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's last hurrahs, a template device meant to act as an industry example for PC makers who were not doing much to challenge Apple's iPad. After a few years and mostly disappointing sales, these devices finally feel more like the future of Windows than a sideshow, and perhaps even Apple is taking some cues from the format.
Now, if only Microsoft would throw those keyboard and stylus peripherals into a package deal.
Shane Dingman