This week Microsoft unveiled their new Surface Pro 3 to the press in New York. To the uninitiated, this might not seem like big news. Lots of companies launch new products, and nothing is more current than the sort-of-tablet-sort-of-laptop hybrids every company wants you to covet.
But Panos Panay, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer, is confident that the company’s new product is a no-compromise device that will extinguish your interest in owning a tablet and a laptop – because this is both those things and neither.
Here’s what you need to know.
The Surface Pro 3 has a 12” screen – making it slightly larger than a tablet and slightly more compact than a laptop – and it’s lightweight design still makes it easy to carry around. It’s only just thicker than an iPhone.
It’s being marketed as a pro-laptop with tablet capabilities, not the other way around, evident in the fact it has a powerful core processor and can run powerful apps like Photoshop.
It’s slim and flat, but thanks to the kickstand and new magnetic keyboard attachment you can use the device just like a laptop, but with the advanced mobility of a tablet device.
Most importantly, the Surface Pro 3 is not a mass-market consumer product, like an iPad. It’s impressive capabilities aim it squarely at a professional audience, hence the $799 price tag.
You can also drop the device without it taking any damage, thanks to a strengthened chassis. Perfect for the clumsy, the overly-nonchalant or anyone partial to a drink.
So, the big question is, should you buy it? The Surface Pro 3 is for people who take their tech very seriously, not a casual crowd, and it’s setting very high standards for the industry with this launch.
And crucially, the lines between what a laptop does and what a tablet does are getting blurrier. If any tablet is going to make you forget your laptop, it’s probably this.
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