Everything You Need to Know About the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book

Today at its Windows 10 event in New York, Microsoft unveiled its newest line of in-house produced devices utilizing its newest operating system. In addition to a next generation Microsoft Band, three new Lumia Phones and teasing the HoloLens, the Redmond based company showed off two new versions of the Surface line of devices: the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book.

In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about these new devices.

Surface Pro 4

Microsoft touts its highly anticipated Pro 4 model as being thinner, faster, lighter, and more powerful than the previous version, and offers a better, bigger display. Here is a breakdown of all the main features and performance compared to the Surface Pro 3:

[row] [column span=”6″] Surface Pro 3

• 12″ Display
• 3-Million-Pixel display
• 128, 256, 512 GB Storage Options
• 4, 8 GB RAM Options
• Intel i3, i5, i7 Processor options
• 9.1 mm thickness

[/column] [column span=”6″] Surface Pro 4

• 12.3″ Display
• 5-Million-pixel display (267 ppi)
• 128, 256, 512 GB or 1 TB Storage options
• 4, 8, 16 GB RAM Options
• 6th Generation Intel M3, i5, i7 options
• 8.4 mm thickness
• Internal hybrid cooling system

[/column] [/row] Utilizing the new Windows Hello feature, the device was shown being used to use facial recognition and fingerprint scanning to provide individual users with access to their own accounts. Compared to its major competitor, the Macbook Air, the Pro 4 has tested 50% faster and offers better overall specs in terms of storage and computing power. For added utility, the device now houses an internal magnet for attaching the surface pen, which brings us to:

Surface Pro 4 Accessories

Alongside the actual device hardware and specs, Microsoft also presented updated accessories for the devices: the Surface Pen, Dock and Type Cover. All accessories will be backwards compatible with the Surface Pro 3.

The Surface Pen has been updated with dedicated eraser functions and built in commands primed for note taking on the go, as well as swappable pen tips built for a variety of different activities (drawing, writing, editing, etc.).

Meanwhile, the dock has been reduced from a large plug in station to a simple dongle that offers up a great deal of mobility in its own way. The device includes outputs for up to two 4k displays and four USB 3.0 inputs. This dock was also shown being used to project content from a Lumia phone onto a larger display, effectively allowing the phone to be used as a micro-PC.

Finally, the Type Cover has been made more sturdy, with quieter backlit keys and a larger, glass trackpad area. The trackpad now features greater compatibility for a large set of touch gestures and a biometric fingerprint scanner to its right. Overall the cover offers more in the way of a traditional keyboard in terms of look and feel.

A Surface Laptop

Though there had previously been speculation about a larger version of the Surface, Microsoft’s announcement of a Surface Laptop with a built-in keyboard came out of leftfield. While indeed a full-fledged laptop, the Surface Book’s foldable bottom half can be easily removed to offer a digital clipboard and tablet functionality. This offers a great deal of versatility and portability for the device when being used for many different functions. In addition to adding far greater utility, performance is equally enhanced. Here are the specs of the device, known to us so far:

Surface Book

• 13.5″ screen
  
• 6 Million pixel display (267 ppi)
  
• 12 Hour battery life
  
• 128, 256, 512 GB or 1 TB storage options
• 8, 16 GB RAM Options
• 6th Generation Intel i5 or i7 options
• Intel Graphics HD 520 or NVIDIA GeForce GPU with GDDR5 Memory
  
• SD Card Slot
  
• 2 USB 3.0 Ports
  

The main components of the device are housed within the detachable display (storage, RAM, processor), the “Laptoppy” bits (GPU and ports) are located within the keyboard portion. As a result, users get the amount of computing power they need for each way the device is used.

The book is described by Microsoft as being “once-for-once, pound-for-pound, the best laptop ever made”, and does its fair share of demonstration to prove it. During their presentation, the company showed off the device being used to edit video, play video games, and utilize other GPU intensive applications. Compared to the Macbook Pro, the Surface Book is rated as being two times faster.

Microsoft also noted of the new Surfaces’ release dates and price points. The two new devices can both be preordered on October 7^th and will be available for purchase on October 26^th. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 will start at $899.00, while the Surface Book costs $1,499. These prices do line up with Apple’s for its line of Macbooks, and can be compared as direct competition to the Air and Pro respectively.

As a Microsoft Authorized Device Reseller, Metro CSG can provide bulk pricing for the new Surface devices and will begin accepting pre-orders on October 7^th. To order, please visit our eCommerce site or contact us directly.