The 'Surface Laptop' announced

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Not phone-related, but at an event in New York today Microsoft launched another 'Surface' branded device, the (rather unimaginatively named) 'Surface Laptop'. This is nominally aimed at students, but at $1000 I do wonder which schools will be able to afford it. Anyway, it'll be a long time before it's available in the UK, no doubt. There was no 'mobile' news, but you have to wonder where this expansion of the 'Surface' brand will end...

There's a typical 2017 'ultrabook' metal clamshell design, with multiple colour options including Platinum, Burgandy, Cobalt Blue, and Graphite Gold.

Specs include a 13.5" PixelSense display and a (claimed) 14 hour battery life. The  'Surface Laptop' is 14.5mm thick and its thinnest side is just 9.9mm. Weight is 2.76lbs, and the device is scheduled to arrive in the USA stores on June 15th.

From Microsoft:

  • Feel the warm, luxurious touch of our Signature Alcantara covered keyboard and palm rest, and enjoy a comfortable typing experience like no other. The wonderfully soft, incredibly durable Alcantara fabric-covered keyboard is specially treated to resist spills, stains, and absorption, and wipe clean.

  • Surface Laptop is all about beautiful details and ease of use that make computing a pleasure — right down to a refined design that lets you open your laptop with one hand.

  • Bright and easy to read, enjoy razor-sharp resolution for photographs, videos, reports, and presentations on the vibrant 13.5” PixelSense Display with interactive touchscreen. It’s the thinnest LCD touch screen display on any laptop.

  • Enjoy a crisp, clear audio experience for your favorite music, shows, and more thanks to Omnisonic Speakers with radiant omnidirectional sound and Dolby Audio Premium.

  • Surface Laptop features a compact aluminum shell for extreme portability and durability that lasts. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 helps protect your laptop screen.

Good to see a new member of the Surface family anyway. The Surface Pro range is too constricting for my day to day use, while the Surface Book is way to big and expensive, leaving this as the preferred option for many later in the year?

In terms of the education market across the world and the new stripped-down 'Windows 10 S', the bulk of hardware will come from Microsoft partners, of course, I'd expect to see cheaper, lighter W10S netbooks at $400 or less in due course. Though plastic, of course!

BUILD is next week and we expect to hear more about Windows 10 on ARM chipsets and Microsoft's plans for mobile then.