Microsoft has unveiled the latest generation of their Surface Pro 2 in 1 – the Surface Pro 4. It brings on board the latest Intel Skylake processors and Windows 10 in a thinner and lighter yet more powerful form factor that starts at US$ 899.
The Surface Pro is indeed a really interesting device and one that has a lot of potential. This is the reason why Apple and Google have “borrowed” a lot from its design for their own devices such as the iPad Pro and Pixel C respectively. The Surface Pro 4 looks very much identical to the Surface Pro 3 from last year however, it does manage to pack a larger 12.3″ screen in the same footprint.The display has 5 million pixels (2160×1440 pixels) that translates to roughly around 267PPI.
It is also thinner at 8.4mm compared to the 9.1mm of the Surface Pro 3. One of the methods it does this is by ditching the fan for a silent operation. The reduction in size doesn’t compromise on performance however as the Surface Pro 4 is 30% faster than the Surface Pro 3 and 50% faster than the Macbook Air. The display is a new technology that Microsoft is calling PixelGlass that has 1024 different pressure sensitivity levels. There is a new Surface Pen to properly utilize that and it can attach magnetically to the device. It also has an eraser tool now. There is an 8 Megapixel camera at the back and a 5 Megapixel camera at the front. It supports Windows Hello face authentication using the camera as well as a fingerprint sensor for authentication.
Likewise, the Type Cover for the Surface Pro 4 is also lighter and thinner but features a larger trackpad and more space between keys, thus making it easier to type. There is a new Surface dock as well that has 4 USB 3.0 ports, 2 Display Ports (Upto 4k) and an ethernet port. Both the Type Cover and new dock are backwards compatible with the Surface Pro 3 as well. The device will support upto 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and will start at US$ 899 when it becomes available from October 26th onwards.