After weeks of speculation and rumors, the much awaited Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) (or as many speculated it to be: Surface Pro 5) is finally here. Announced yesterday at an event in Shanghai, this all-new Surface Pro has much to offer! The device comes out as the latest “laptop” from Microsoft. Here’s everything that you need to know about it:
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) Specifications
Microsoft’s gen next Surface Pro tablet comes out with a 12.3 inched PixelSense display. It comes with a 165 degree hinge which Microsoft claims will not break even if bent too far. Thanks to the 165 degree hinge, it can be used in a nearly flat setup.
What really baffles us about this device is the way Microsoft has branded it. Microsoft calls it their “most versatile laptop.” However, what’s baffling here is that the company recently released a product called the Surface Laptop. That was primarily named so because Microsoft wanted to establish it as their laptop, and the Surface Pro as their tablet. However, the new Microsoft Surface Pro again comes out as a laptop. Ugh!
The Microsoft Surface Pro runs on Windows 10 Pro, and offers a free 30 day subscription of MS Office. It comes in a Wi-Fi only model, as well as a 4G LTE model which will be priced in at a higher rate. This device comes out with a new Intel seventh-generation Kaby Lake processor, with a fan-less design on the Core m3 and Core i5 models. The base model starts at $799.
Microsoft has especially been touting the battery life of the Microsoft Surface Pro (2017). With 13.5 hours of battery promised, it is almost 50% more than that of the Surface Pro 4. “This isn’t just a processor change,” claims Microsoft’s Panos Panay. “We did take Kaby Lake, it’s the latest generation, of course. But it’s the integrated SSD on the motherboard. It’s the fundamental architecture changes that we do in Windows and Surface. It brings 13.5 hours of battery. It’s lighter than the previous generation product, and it’s more powerful with no fan.”
Microsoft is also promising improvements to the way sleep works on their new Surface Pro device. Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book users had complained that battery life tends to drain while the devices are in sleep. However, Microsoft has fixed this with the Surface Pro as well as the earlier released Surface Laptop.
Design wise, the device now has rounded corners, making it more comfortable to hold as a tablet. Microsoft is also including the support for the Surface Dial with the Microsoft Surface Pro (2017). Users can use the dial in the exact manner that they do with the Surface Studio.
A new Surface Pen is also a part of this new Microsoft Surface Pro (2017). The Surface Pen now supports 4096 levels of pressure and ‘Tilt’. Tilt will detect the angle of the pen to enable shading and better accuracy for inking. However, this year, the Surface Pen would not be included in the box and users would need to pay an additional $99 to purchase it.
