Cortana Gets Some Fancy New Duds

Android, ARM and AMD

Microsoft’s Surface Event is in full swing and there are some interesting stars in the lineup which are rather different from past Surface devices.   For instance, you can feast your eyes on the 15″ AMD powered AMD Ryzen Microsoft Surface Edition which contains a custom Ryzen 7 chip with Vega graphics onboard.  The 13.5″ model will sport an Intel Ice Lake processor with it’s impressively upgraded GPU for traditionalists, as will the 17″ Pro models.  You will also be glad to hear that USB-C has finally arrived on the Surface but you may not have expected to see a removable SSD!

Next up is a peek at the Surface Pro X, which is ARM powered and sports a new Microsoft SQ1 chipset.  The Qualcomm Snapdragon chip is reported to deliver three times the performance of the previous Surface Laptop 6.  The 12″ high-contrast screen has an impressive 2880 x 1920 resolution and functions as a touchpad with your fingers or with the updated Surface Pen which is smaller than the previous model and is stored in the optional detachable keyboard.  As The Inquirer describes it, think of this as a iPad Pro alternative which runs a fully functional version of Windows.

The Microsoft Surface Neo is the dual screened laptop mentioned yesterday, with a 5.6mm profile and hinge as opposed to the design Samsung has been attempting.  If you aren’t quite happy typing on a flat display you can order an optional keyboard that magnetically attaches to the lower screen to offer a more tactile experience, or just connect it via Bluetooth.  This device will run on an Intel Lakefield chip with Gen 11 graphics and it and it’s Wonderbar will not be available until sometime next year.

Last up is the long awaited Surface Phone, called the Surface Duo as it is a miniaturized version of the dual screen Neo and sports two 5.6″ screens and a hinge to let you use it as a tablet sized phone, or bent completely around to the back so it will resemble a normal phone.  There is no news on the hardware, but a new Qualcomm Snapdragon chip is the most likely suspect.  The phone will run Android, with a skin to make it resemble the Windows X OS running on the Neo and will be available late 2020.

Keep an eye out for more news as we try to keep up with all the announcements.