There are many versatile Windows laptops that boast great performance, extreme power and decent battery backup. Joining the ranks is the new Surface Laptop 4, the latest entrant from the house of Microsoft that touts a massive upgrade in battery and performance from its predecessors. This Surface rendition is very nicely priced and is billed as a competitor to the M1 chip-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro.
There's no shortage of Windows 10 laptops, and plenty of high-end, design-led choices there too, yet Microsoft's Surface Laptop 4 still stands out. For this fourth-generation there's clearly evolution where it was needed, rather than revolution for its own sake, and while the result isn't an entirely clean sweep it still makes for a compelling alternative to what Apple is doing with its M1-powered MacBooks.
Microsoft is giving Xbox a content upgrade, with Xbox Series X/S getting a quality boost in the Apple TV app, new Spotify video podcast support, and new Xbox Game Pass controls for Surface Duo. The new Dolby Vision support for Apple TV+ means a big uptick in contrast and colors, assuming you have a TV or projector that can handle the standard.
The two-screen Android device called Microsoft Surface Duo just had a price gut. It's had its guts ripped out at a whopping 50% off, down to around $700 from its original $1400 USD. This isn't the first time the device's price has been clipped, and it probably won't be the last.
Microsoft has launched a new version of its Surface Pen stylus for schools, with the Classroom Pen 2 promising to be half the price as well as harder to lose. The new Pen 2 is intended to be used with the Surface Go and Surface Pro, and now matches the regular Surface Pen with a silver finish.
Microsoft teased us with new Surface news, and now we know just what that is: the new Surface Laptop 4, delivering a choice of two screen sizes and both AMD and Intel processors. Successor to last year's Surface Laptop 3, the new notebook sticks with the styling - including four different finishes of metal and Alcantara - but drops in 11th Gen Intel Core or exclusive AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition processors based on Zen 2 architecture.
Partly due to the pandemic and perhaps partly due to some behind-the-scenes management problems, what would have been Microsoft's leap forward into the future of computing became an uneasy half step instead. The Surface Duo, while admirable, received mixed reviews due to software issues and design problems. Its larger Windows 10X counterpart, however, may have more or less been canceled by now. Microsoft has yet to officially admit that the Surface Neo has been scrapped but, at least for now, we can dream of what could have been thanks to this hands-on video of a nearly naked prototype.
When LG launched its second screen case for the LG V50 ThinQ nearly three years ago, one of its advertised use cases was to use one of the two screens (usually the heavier main one) as a dedicated controller for games. That was actually an idea pushed by the first ASUS ROG Phone and its TwinView Dock but, like LG's implementation, it required a separate accessory to work. With a built-in second screen, the Surface Duo is almost perfect for that scenario, and, after nearly two years, that is finally coming via the Xbox Game Pass app, a.k.a. xCloud game streaming.
What would have been Microsoft's redemption in the mobile market has, by now, almost gone completely silent. In addition to launching at an inopportune time in the middle of a pandemic and global economic crisis, it also launched with slightly dated hardware that didn't do justice to its price tag. Despite that and the mixed feedback that the Surface Duo received, Microsoft seems to still be on track with a successor which insiders have reportedly claimed to be launching later this year with at least one "confirmed" upgrade.
Yet another leak has surfaced surrounding Microsoft's upcoming Surface Laptop 4, which is expected to launch with a design very similar to the Surface Laptop 3, as well as both Intel and AMD hardware options. According to the latest report, the Surface Laptop 4 option featuring AMD hardware will sport special 'Surface Edition' processors.
Some say that timing is everything and the Microsoft Surface Duo is perhaps a testament to that. Had it launched a year earlier than it did, some of its lapses wouldn't have been so glaring, especially in the hardware department. Those could be addressed by a Surface Duo 2 and, judging by some job listings, Microsoft might indeed be heading in that direction, though, again, its success will depend on when the Surface Duo 2 will hit the market.
Microsoft has had many hardware ambitions, few of which actually bore long-lasting fruits. It's quite reasonable, then, that some were cautiously optimistic about its most ambitious one yet, the dual-screen Surface Duo. It was also unsurprising when Microsoft's actual implementation and post-sales performance left much to be desired, like its promised regular updates for the Android device. Case in point is the Android 11 that is still fortunately coming but probably just a month before Android 12 becomes available.