Microsoft Tops Up Its Surface Range

Microsoft has revealed its new Surface offerings, the Surface Pro 4 tablet and the all-new Surface Book convertible laptop.

Both devices are powered by Skylake processors and offer up to 1TB storage, with Microsoft making some considerable claims on the performance front.

The Surface Pro 4 is apparently a third faster than its predecessor, and no less than 50 per cent faster than a MacBook Air. The Surface Book also boasts a discrete Nvidia GPU, and Redmond claims it is twice as fast as the MacBook Pro.

The Pro 4 is a 12.3in tablet with a PixelSense display that boasts a pixel density of 267 ppi – in other words, it’s hugely sharp (with a resolution of 2763 x 1824). The touchscreen technology has also been honed to make it more responsive, and Microsoft has improved the stylus too.

The pen now has an eraser on the end, and can differentiate between no less than 1024 different levels of pressure. It also has a battery life of a full year.

The Type Cover has also been worked on and the new version has backlit keys and an improved typing action, along with a bigger and more responsive touchpad.

The Surface Book (pictured above) has a 13.5in screen with a resolution of 3000 x 2000, giving it the same pixel density of 267 ppi, and this convertible notebook uses a nifty looking ‘dynamic fulcrum’ hinge which allows the screen to be easily detached (when the company demonstrated this onstage at the New York launch, this looked very slick).

As a laptop, it looks like a premium device with a machined aluminium chassis, and Microsoft claimed that this is the fastest 13in laptop which has ever been made. It doesn’t disappoint on the battery life front either, with a claimed 12 hours of longevity away from the power socket – although we’ll have to see how that stands up to the scrutiny of reviews.

As you’d expect, the Surface Book isn’t cheap, and will start at $1499 (£985), with the Surface Pro 4 range beginning at $899 (£590). Pre-ordering kicks off today, and the new hardware will be available on October 26.

Of course these machines carry Windows 10, and at the event, Redmond noted that its new operating system was now on 110 million devices across the globe – and 8 million business PCs are now apparently running the OS.