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Tag: Surface

  • Microsoft Surface tablet that iPad aspires to be when it grows up is a whopping $412 off

    Microsoft Surface tablet that iPad aspires to be when it grows up is a whopping $412 off

    We have almost made it to the end of the year and surely deserve to treat ourselves to a little something with a lot of power. The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is one device that fits this description and the best part is that it’s currently on sale.
    The Surface Pro 8 is a versatile portable device that easily morphs from a tablet to a laptop. It is very lightweight, ultraportable, and sturdy, and sports a 13-inch screen with a fluid refresh rate of 120Hz. The screen has a tall aspect ratio so there is more vertical room for viewing articles and working on text documents. There is also a kickstand for multiangle viewing.

    The Intel 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor powers the variant that Amazon has discounted. It provides ample performance for everyday tasks, including moderately heavy workloads, so it’s easy to recommend to students and professionals.

    There are two USB-C ports with support for USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, ensuring fast data transfer rates.
    Microsoft promises a battery life of 16 hours, and while it may not last this long for everyone, it will easily get you through a whole workday. The tablet’s cameras and microphone are also impressive and the device also has the Windows Hello facial recognition system.

    What makes the Surface Pro 8 special is that it comes from a company that has a long history of making productivity-centric devices. Microsoft has successfully taken the best bits from laptop and tablet form factors for the ultimate portable experience, giving the Surface Pro 8 an edge over other top 2022 tablets.

    The Core i5 model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage has been marked down by 34 percent, meaning you can currently get it for $787.99 instead of $1,199.99.
    That’s a seriously chunky discount for a modern-looking standalone productivity machine with a beautiful screen and promising battery life. This deal has been going on for a while and other variants have already sold out, so get this model while you can.
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  • Microsoft is reportedly working on a chip for its Surface devices

    Microsoft is reportedly working on a chip for its Surface devices

    Microsoft could be working on its own chips for future Surface devices, a LinkedIn job listing suggests. It reveals that the company is looking for a Director of SoC Architecture.

    Although the LinkedIn post by no means proves that Microsoft is working on a custom chip, it’s appearance roughly coincides with a rumor about Microsoft and AMD’s collaboration on an Arm processor for laptops. Apparently, it will lead to better graphics performance than Qualcomm silicon manufactured on older architecture. Per that report, the chip will use last year’s Cortex-X1 core and mRDNA 2 GPU, and it will feature an Exynos modem for 5G connectivity.

    Here is what the job listing says:

    Are you passionate about building cool devices and technologies? The Surface team is lighting up Microsoft experiences with the next generation of devices. A fundamental part of our strategy is bringing productivity and mobility together through devices that enable new experiences – helping people and organizations unlock their creativity, passion, and potential.

    Bloomberg said back in December 2020 that Microsoft was working on in-house chip designs for server computers that run its cloud service and was also exploring a chip for powering some of its Surface computers. At that time, the chip design unit was allegedly reporting to the head of the Azure cloud business, and not Surface boss Panos Panay.

    Microsoft has seemingly also poached processor engineers from Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.

    The Surface Pro X that was announced in October 2019 is fueled by a custom chip known as the Microsoft SQ1 that the company jointly developed with Qualcomm.

    An in-house chip will help Microsoft reduce its reliance on third-party vendors and it will also give it greater control over performance and costs.

    This is something some of its industry peers are already doing. Apple is highly likely to announce its second-generation Arm-based chip tomorrow for the new Macs and possibly next year’s iPad Pros. Google has also made an in-house chip for its 2021 flagship smartphones.

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  • Ex-Nokia and Apple camera expert joins Microsoft’s Surface Team

    Ex-Nokia and Apple camera expert joins Microsoft’s Surface Team

    Ex-Apple employee Ari Partinen announced on Twitter that he has joined the Microsoft Surface Imaging team. A well-known name in the mobile camera industry, he’s worked for Nokia from 2017 to 2014 as an Image Quality engineer and later as the Lumia Photography Lead. After that he was hired by Apple for their camera team as a Senior Imaging Engineer from 2014 to 2015 and a Senior Manager of camera validation and testing from 2015 to 2018.

    Ari Partinen has worked on some incredible camera performers in the past. His work on the Nokia 808 PureView and its Windows Phone successor, the Lumia 1020, is his most notable accomplishment. Both devices were innovators in the camera department with their 41MP cameras breaking the limits of how good a phone camera could be.

    Since leaving Apple, he has been working as a Senior Manager at AAC Technologies, an electrical and electronic manufacturing company, until now.

    The Surface lineup has not been the greatest in the camera department. The Surface Duo had a disappointing 11MP camera on the front and none on the back. The device also had some other major flaws in the software, performance and battery departments. The Surface Duo’s starting price of $1,199 and the lack of 5G support didn’t help the company’s new mobile endeavor either.

    With the dual-screen device’s successor already in development, Ari Partinen could bring big improvements in camera performance in the Surface Duo 2. It is not yet clear if he is going to work only on the Duo or also on other Surface devices, like the successors to the well-known Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Book 3 devices.

    The Nokia devices that Ari Partinen has worked on had innovative cameras, more megapixels and greater zoom performance. These achievements meant a jump in picture quality, especially in pixel quality, zooming and low-light performance. Many of the concepts these cameras experimented with are commonplace in high-end phones today.

    The Surface Duo 2 is expected to improve on its predecessor’s shortcomings, like the poor camera, software and battery performance. The lack of 5G is also expected to be addressed in the next generation of the device. It is not yet known when the device is going to be announced.

  • Microsoft offers free keyboard and Surface Pen with select Surface Pro 6

    Microsoft offers free keyboard and Surface Pen with select Surface Pro 6

    It’s been raining sweet deals of late at Microsoft and third-party retailers like Best Buy on both 2018’s Surface Pro 6 and fifth-gen models released the previous year, but if you don’t want to make any processing power compromises, today’s the day to pull the trigger and score a discount of up to $259.

    Five different Surface Pro 6 variants are currently eligible for a pair of cool freebies on their manufacturer’s official US e-store. If you’re wondering what this fast five has in common, the answer is actually quite simple: a state-of-the-art 8th Generation Intel Core i7 chipset. That makes this tablet a very worthy replacement for essentially any conventional laptop out there, so it’s definitely fitting (and nice) that Microsoft lets you bundle these powerhouses with a keyboard and Surface Pen at no extra cost.

    You can get the complimentary stylus in your favorite color from a quartet of options including black, platinum, cobalt blue, and burgundy, while the gratis keyboard can be an older Surface Pro Type Cover model, normally worth $129.99, or a newer, fancier Signature Type Cover in platinum, blue, or burgundy, which separately fetches $159.99. All in all, after also taking the $99.99 retail value of that productivity-enhancing Surface Pen into consideration, you’re looking at maximum savings of around 260 bucks.

    Of course, you’ll have to cough up a pretty penny to get a Surface Pro 6 with Intel Core i7 inside in the first place and qualify for the two extremely valuable and popular gifts. We’re talking at least $1,499 if you can “settle” for a 256GB SSD/8GB RAM configuration and up to a whopping $2,299 for a Windows 10 tablet/laptop hybrid pulling out all the stops, with 16 gigs of memory and a full 1TB of storage space.

    The most “affordable” model on sale today is available in black and platinum paint jobs, while the costliest version can only be purchased in platinum. Finally, black and platinum models with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage will set you back $1,899 a pop in combination with a pen and keyboard that you need to add to your cart before checking out.

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  • Microsoft Surface Family unveiled in Singapore

    Microsoft Surface Family unveiled in Singapore

    Microsoft Singapore has opened a Surface Store at the Harvey Norman Millenia Walk Flagship Superstore, featuring the full range of the technology.

    New devices include Surface Book 2, Surface Laptop and Surface Studio, which will join Surface Pro already available.

    The line-up will be available for commercial customers via Authorised Device Resellers including AsiaPac Distribution, JK Technology and UIC Asian Computer Services.

    “The new Surface Store is a commitment to deliver a one-stop experience for customers to experience the ultimate Windows devices,” says Microsoft Singapore Windows and devices business group lead Veronica Chiu.

    Shipping with Windows 10S, Surface Laptop starts up and runs faster with InstantOn and an OS optimised for sustained performance.

    A feature of the store is its Surface Concierge service which offers customer support regardless or where or when they bought their Surface device. Microsoft plans to add extra concierge services over time.