Microsoft Oct 2019 event highlights: New Surface lineup; foldable dual-screen devices unveiled

At its annual hardware event in New York, tech giant Microsoft unveiled Wednesday the new Surface lineup including two new foldable dual-screen devices to unlock a new era of mobile creativity, new Surface Earbuds and a range of accessories. Five of the new products are available for pre-order in select markets while the dual-screen devices will be available in 2020.

The new Surface lineup comprises of Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7 and Surface Pro X accompanied by a new Surface Slim Pen dock. Other products include the Surface Earbuds with intuitive touch controls and all-day battery life and three new color variants for Arc Mouse, namely Lilac, Soft Pink, and Sage, in addition to the existing black and silver color options.

Surface Laptop 3

In addition to its signature Alcantara finish, the Surface Laptop 3 now comes in new machined aluminum all-metal finish and 13.5-inch or 15-inch display variants with 2256 x 1504-pixel resolution and 2496 x 1664-pixels respectively and 3:2 aspect ratio. Both the models come with an all-day battery life with fast-charging capabilities (80 percent charge in about an hour).

The 13.5-inch variant is powered by the 10th Generation Intel Core processor coupled with 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM. Connectivity options include USB-A port, USB-C port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The 15-inch model is powered by the new AMD Ryzen Surface Edition processor coupled with 8GB or 16GB DDR4 RA. Both the products will be available in five memory configurations: 8GB+128GB; 8GB+256GB; 16GB+256GB; 16GB+512GB; 16GB+1TB storage variant.

The 13-inch Surface Laptop 3 model is priced starting at USD 999 and the 15-inch variant at USD 1199. Both models are available for pre-booking and will be released on October 22.

Surface Pro 7

The ultra-light and versatile Surface Pro 7, the follow-up to the Surface Pro 6, features a 12.3-inch PixelSense Display with 2736 x 1824-pixels resolution and an aspect ratio of 3:2. The Surface Pro 7 is powered by the 10th Generation Intel Core processor coupled with 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM and comes with an all-day battery life. 

The device is equipped with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera with a 1080p full HD video. Connectivity features include WiFi 802.11ax; Bluetooth Wireless 5.0; USB-A; USB-C port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

The Surface Pro 7 is available for pre-booking in Platinum, Matte Black color options and seven memory configurations priced at:

• i3 4GB/128GB at USD 749
• i5 8GB/128GB at USD 899
• i5 8GB/256GB at USD 1,199
• i5 16GB/256GB at USD 1,399
• i7 16GB/256GB at USD 1,499
• i7 16GB/1TB at USD 2,299

Surface Pro X

The Surface Pro X features a virtually edge-to-edge 13-inch PixelSense Display with 2880 x 1920-pixels resolution and 450nits brightness. The 2-in-1 laptop is powered by the Microsoft SQ1 processor built on Qualcomm technology coupled with 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM and comes with an all-day battery life of up to 13 hours and fast-charging capability ( charges about 80 percent in just under an hour).

Connectivity features include Wi-Fi 5: 802.11ac; Bluetooth Wireless 5.0; Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE Modem; LTE Advanced Pro; GPS and GLONASS; USB. Additional features include 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 10-megapixel rear autofocus camera and 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium support.

Starting November 5, the laptop will be available for purchase in four memory configurations, priced at:

• 8GB+128GB storage model at USD 999
• 8GB+256GB model at USD 1,299
• 16GB+256GB model at USD 1,499
• 16GB+512GB model at USD 1,799

The detachable keyboard of the new Surface Pro X also features a dock to securely store the new rechargeable Surface Slim Pen. Priced at USD 144.99, the pen is compatible with a wide variety of Surface devices like Surface Book, Surface Go, Surface Studio, Surface Pro 7, to name a few. The redesigned Surface Slim Pen is available for pre-order and will be released on November 5. 

Alongside the new Surface lineup, Microsoft also introduced two breakthrough foldable dual-screen devices, namely, the Surface Neo and Surface Duo for seamless multi-tasking without having to switch between devices. Both the devices will hit markets in the holiday 2020 timeframe.

Surface Neo

The Surface Neo features two 9-inch screens connected by a revolutionary 360-degrees full-friction hinge which when opened turns into a 13-inch display. The device runs on the new Windows 10x OS, designed and optimized specifically for dual-screen devices and is compatible with a detachable keyboard, Surface Slim Pen and wireless mouse. 

Starting at the end of 2020, Windows 10X will be available on dual-screen and foldable devices including the Microsoft Surface products and Windows ecosystem partners including ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, the company said in a blog post.

Surface Duo

The Surface Duo features two 5.6-inch screens that unfold to an 8.3-inch display and is much similar to the Surface Neo. Additionally, Microsoft is partnering with Google to bring together cutting edge hardware and Android softwares and services into a single mobile form factor.

Surface Earbuds

The voice-enabled Microsoft Surface Earbuds offer intuitive touch features and immersive Omnisonic sound for music and calls. The earbuds come with all-day battery life and wireless charging case and are priced at USD 249.