surface

Microsoft served up something of a surprise this morning by announcing the Surface Pro 7+. This new device has a lot of similarities with the previously-released Surface Pro 7, but Microsoft has made a few key upgrades with the Surface Pro 7+. Unfortunately, we regular consumers aren't going to be able to pick one of these up right away, as Microsoft has two distinct markets in mind for the Surface Pro 7+ and we're in neither of them.

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It's CES 2021 this week, kicking off a flood of new product announcements both during the event as well as long after it. One of those that may be happening this month is Microsoft's debut of its next-gen Surface products, namely its pro tablets and laptops. Leaks about the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop 4 haven't exactly been encouraging but this latest leak shows at least one change that could be a bit of a positive.

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Intel's breakup with Apple may only be the start of the chip-maker's problems, with Microsoft rumored to be planning a similar strike out for independence with its own processor designs. While Intel's long-standing rivalry with AMD has given the computing world two main choices for the past decades, industry heavyweights are increasingly looking to Arm-based chips as an alternative.

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Although it still enjoys some popularity as Microsoft's premier hardware product line, it has been quite a while since it has made a big change for its Surface products, especially the oldest of them all, the Surface Pro. It seems that 2021 won't be any different, at least during the early months when Microsoft is expected to launch its next line of portable computers. But while the next-gen Surface Pro 8 will likely see some welcome upgrades, a new leak hints that it won't be spread equally when it comes to LTE support.

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Microsoft suggested today that they'd be increasing availability for Surface Duo in the year 2021. Back in October of 2019, Microsoft first revealed the Surface Duo (and the Surface Neo), and in August of 2020 the Surface Duo was released on a relatively limited basis. According to Microsoft Devices VP Pete Kyriacou, "since introducing Surface Duo in August of 2020, people have asked when we would make this product available outside the US."

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With all that's happening in the Mac market the past weeks, it's almost too easy to forget other manufacturers have their own new wares to show. Intel is, of course, making sure no one forgets by making a lot of noise about its 11th-gen processors and new Intel Iris Xe graphics. One company that has been unusually silent, however, is Microsoft, whose line of Surface products used to be the talk of the PC town. Microsoft seems to be taking a more modest strategy if these leaked photos and information about its upcoming Surface computers are anything to go by.

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Last year, Microsoft promised the future of mobile productivity with the Surface Duo and Surface Neo devices. This year, it delivered on one of those, though some will probably describe it more as having underdelivered. While the Android-based Surface Duo was great in concept, it launched with problems that not even software updates could fix. Despite complaints, it seems that Microsoft is still pushing through with a global launch to bring the dual-screen device to markets outside the US.

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It's almost ironic that Microsoft's own game streaming platform, previously known as Project xCloud, still doesn't support its own Windows operating system. At the same time, it probably makes sense because if it can run well enough on a phone, it will probably run just as well on a more powerful computer. The time for Windows 10 support for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's streaming feature might be nigh and, when it does, it might even support the small number of ARM-based Windows 10 PCs from day one.

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The Surface Duo story has pretty much turned into a tragedy instead of getting a fairy tale ending it should have deserved. That has mostly been due to concerns and complaints about the dual-screen phone's less than durable design and some poor pricing strategy. Despite those factors, Microsoft's first formal Android phone under its own brand is expanding its availability to Verizon's online shelves. Strangely, unlike any other Android phone, you'll have to pay the full price and not even Microsoft's discounted price.

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It's not unusual to find prototypes of older or existing devices being sold online but finding one for a soon to be released product is slightly rarer. That is what makes this particular listing of an alleged Surface Pro 8, a device due to debut next year, a bit intriguing, especially with the hardware it packs. Unfortunately, the listing also brings a bit of bad news if the design is also what the next Surface 2-in-1 will be sporting next year.

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Things seemed to be going well for the Surface Duo despite its somewhat older specs, that was until reviews and reports started coming in that put the dual-screen foldable's price into question. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft appears to have decided to slash the price by a considerable amount barely two months after the product launched. More than the early price cut, however, early believers in Microsoft's promise are now complaining about what seems to be a disorganized and inconsistent policy in how to handle returns and refunds.

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The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go arrives at a time when it feels like everyone needs a computer of their own. The expectations we have of our computers - and the access we need to them - has changed immeasurably this year: a rise in home-schooling, remote-schooling, and working-from-home has in part turned the laptop market into a numbers game. A shared PC or Mac just isn't going to cut it any more, not when multiple members of the same household now each need hours of access.

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