This is Tom with The Verge and Microsoft
has created a real laptop this time.
So they've obviously created the Surface Book
before, but this is a true laptop.
It has a clamshell design. You open it up.
There are no special tricks. The screen isn't going to detach.
There's no kickstand or
anything like that that you normally see
on one of the Surface devices. This is a real
laptop and it's running on Windows 10 S,
which is the company's new operating
system that's designed to only run
apps from the Windows Store. As you
can see it's a premium design. This isn't
a cheap device. It's $999 as a
starting price. And inside Microsoft hasn't
really cut corners with this laptop.
There's an Intel Core i5 processor, the
full one, it's not panelist Core M that
we might seen on other laptops and so
it's fully powered. It has 4GB of RAM
on the base model and 128GB SSD. And the
design, it has an aluminum finish
all around the sort of clamshell outside
the device. And then interestingly Microsoft
has used the Italian fabric
Alcantara, which they've used on the
Surface Pro 4's limited edition
keyboard. And that's actually the fabric
across the keyboard here and right
around by the trackpad. In terms
of the keyboard and it's about one and a half
mil travel, so it feels pretty good. It
doesn't feel like a MacBook keyboard
like the regular 12-inch MacBook and it
feels pretty responsive. And you've got
a touchscreen, like you get on any
Surface devices and it works from the
Surface Pen as well. Some of the really
interesting things that Microsoft has done
with this actual device is that they've
integrated the speakers underneath the
keyboard. And you'll see that there's no
speakers up here, you don't really see a
hinge and there's no real grilles or any
sort of ugliness that you might expect
from a Windows laptop. The actual fan
vents are just out in the back here. It's kind inconspicuous
just out of the way.
On the side, you've got the Surface
connector, so the same one that's on the
Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book.
Also on the other side you've got a
regular USB, a mini display port, and a
headphone jack so there's no USB Type-C here.
I think that's probably the only
disappointing thing from this and
holding it in my hand it just feels.
It feels great. It feels like the
Surface laptop that I've kind of always
wanted Microsoft to do.
So Microsoft reasoning for really introducing this
Surface laptop is to boost its Windows
10 S effort, which is its new operating system
that's designed just to run apps that are
in the Windows store. That doesn't mean
it's not gonna run desktop apps, but
it'll need to be packaged as a special
way and on the Windows Store for this
device to support them. Think of this as a
competitor to Google's Chromebook Pixel.
It's kind of the hero device that's
meant to show off what these devices can do.
There's obviously going to be low-end
devices from PC makers, such as Dell
and HP and all the rest but this is really the
the hero device to show off Windows 10 S.
And Microsoft is promising 14 and a half
hours of battery life on this new Surface
Laptop. We'll have to see if that holds up
in the review but if it does and it's a
pretty good battery life for a device
like this. If anything, I'd say they
could have maybe made the
bezels a little bit smaller on this
display. And you've also got the 13-inch
Pixel sensor display and so you're getting
all that Surface goodness that you would
normally get from the other devices.
You might notice these odd-looking lines
on the side of the Surface Laptop. It's
actually by design it's the antenna line.
So like you would have on an iPhone 7, or
some sort of device like that, all the
Wi-Fi and the Bluetooth and that sort of stuff
is coming out of these on either side
the Surface Laptop, so it kind of spoils the
design but Microsoft has moved these antennas
to the side of the device so they can
wedge the keyboard right up against the
display so it doesn't look like it has a
hinge. Okay so it's a real quick look at
Microsoft's new Surface Laptop.
It's going to be available on June 15th for $999.
And for that you're going to get a Core i5
processor, 4GB of RAM, and 12GB of
storage. And basically I think this is
the Surface Laptop that pretty much
everyone has been looking for, especially myself.
And it feels really lightweight.
It's beautifully designed.
It's just, yeah, I can't wait to
review this and sort see exactly how it
runs in the course we get.
Microsoft is claiming 14 and a half hours of
battery life so if that holds up then
this is going to be a pretty awesome
laptop to use every day.