There are big internal upgrades to the device, including an upgrade to Intel’s 7th Generation processors: Kaby Lake, so more battery life and power output from the same battery capacity. Both hinge and pen sensitivity has been improved as the 'next generation'. Ditto the front camera, which was talked up at the event. Importantly, it has also been described as the 'lightest Surface Pro yet'.
Upgraded, versatile, and exceptionally powerful, with iconic Surface design. Meet the new Microsoft #SurfacePro. #MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/o1RQjzlySE
— Microsoft Surface (@surface) May 23, 2017
Also shown in the video are new coloured Alcantara-covered Type Covers and Surface Dial compatibility. Confirmed specs of the Surface Pro (2017) are:
- 12.3" PixelSense Display, 2736 x 1824 resolution
- 10-point multi-touch
- Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure and tilt detection
- Stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
- 3.5mm headset jack
- 7th Generation Intel® Core™ m3, i5 and i7 chipsets (depending on model)
- 4GB, 8GB or 16GB 1866Mhz LPDDR3 RAM (depending on model)
- SSD up to 512GB
- MicroSD card reader (SDXC compatible)
- Wi-Fi: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible
- Bluetooth 4.1
- Optional LTE
- TPM chip for enterprise security
- Xbox Wireless built-in
- Windows Hello face sign-in camera
- 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
- Thickness: 8.5mm
- Weight: 770g
- Battery life: Up to 13.5 hours
All good to see. Are you a Surface Pro fan?
Of course, the thing still missing in the Surface line-up (now that the 'Pro' is just that and the 'Laptop' exists) is a Surface Phone. Place your bets here....!
From the press release:
The new Surface Pro is gorgeous. The design, the clean lines and curved edges are beautiful to see and touch. Surface Pro continues the iconic look and feel of previous Surface Pros, but has been completely redesigned from the inside out. We’ve optimized every millimeter, with over 800 new custom parts and used 99% of the space inside the device – to give people exactly what they need to work and create anytime, anywhere.
You can leave your charger at home because Surface Pro is packed with up to 13.5 hours of battery life.*** That’s 50% more than Surface Pro 4 and 35% more battery life than an iPad Pro. From home to work and back again, Surface Pro is there for you. This is a powerhouse laptop with 2.5 times more computing performance than the Surface Pro 3 and 1.7 times the compute of iPad Pro. The improved Surface Pro hinge has a full 165-degree range of motion, letting you immerse yourself in “Studio Mode”, an angle inspired by the Surface Studio, perfect for writing, sketching, and drawing on the go...
Surface Pro’s high-resolution 12.3” PixelSense™ Display with 267ppi and 3:2 aspect ratio went further this time. Surface Pro’s PixelSense Display has an impressive 50% more pixels than a 12” MacBook. We developed custom silicon, the PixelSense™ Accelerator, to really enhance color. Your colors will be more vibrant, precise, and impactful than ever before, and just like with Studio, we’ve provided a color-switcher, so you can go from SRGB to enhanced color in seconds.
The advancements in battery life, performance, pen and ink aren’t the end. We wanted to ensure Surface Pro was a transformative device – so we also have added LTE Advanced, available in units shipping later this year. This combination of performance, battery, sleek design and LTE has never been done before in this light and thin of a package. Now people can work, study, and collaborate online, from anywhere...
...With the new Signature Type Covers, you get the best Surface Pro keyboard ever, delivering a high-quality scissor mechanism to provide you a consistent and stable typing experience, with 1.3 mm of key travel for faster and more accurate typing. Typing on the new Signature Pro Type Covers is easier, more, comfortable, more accurate, better sounding, and easier to do without looking than the MacBook and iPad Pro.
Luxurious Alcantara® material covers the new type covers. The improved keyset for a laptop-class typing experience and enhances the natural allure and warmth of Surface Pro. The soft touch feel helping you immerse yourself in your work.
The new Signature Type Cover is available in three rich tone-on-tone colors to match your personal style: Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue. The Alcantara® fabric is treated with a high-performance polyurethane coating to resist spills, which means the fabric is not only soft and inviting, but also easy to care for.
Finally, we know there is a time for creating on the go and there is a time when you need to be back at home base. Using Surface Dock, you can easily turn Surface Pro into a full desktop workstation with up to two 4K monitors and four additional USB ports.
Surface Pro and Surface Pro Signature Type Cover are available for pre-order later today and will ship on June 15th worldwide; Surface Pen will be available in the coming weeks****. Surface Pro starts at $799.99 USD.