Microsoft’s latest offering in the Tablet sphere is one that the company claims “can replace your laptop”. Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is arguably the tech giant’s most innovative product ever. The product will be launched in India in January first week, as told to Gadgets 360 by Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India.
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So what makes the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 such a killer Tablet? Well, quite a few things. Let’s start with the specifications.
Specifications – Microsoft Surface Pro 4
The Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3 inch PixelTouch display with an aspect ratio of 3:2 but the company has made sure that the Tablet doesn’t feel any smaller than any of the previous iterations of the Microsoft Surface Pro series Tablets. This has been achieved by reducing the bezel width on the Tablet. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
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The Surface Pro 4 also boasts of Intel’s sixth-generation Core M processor that can be configured to either Core i5 or Core i7 options. The Surface Pro 4 can also be configured for up to 16 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD (starting at 128 GB). The Tablet has 4 USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, a Fingerprint scanner, and 2 4K Mini DisplayPorts. It also boasts of an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front facing camera.
Microsoft says that the Surface Pro 4 will last up to 9 hours on a single charge. Last but not the least the Surface Pro 4 is powered by the Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OS.
All the other cool stuff that the Surface Pro 4 offers
Based purely on the specifications one can safely assume that the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 could potentially be a suitable laptop replacement device. However, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has more to offer.
The Surface Pro series was the first to introduce snap-on keyboards for Tablets. When the series made its debut in 2012, it was touted as the Zune of Microsoft’s hardware attempts. The system software on the initial Surface Tablets, Windows 8 and Windows RT, couldn’t match up to the hardware innovation, which, in wake of the iPad’s monstrous success, led to the Surface series being largely overlooked, and some would argue, rightly so.
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All of this changed with the Surface Pro 3, which was the first time Microsoft, or for that matter any company, had delivered a Tablet worthy of being considered as a laptop replacement. However, the Surface Pro 3 was only the stepping stone for the Surface Pro series.
The Surface Pro 4 comes with better ergonomics on its snap-on keyboard, also known as the Type Cover, and a larger touchpad with a much better touch experience. The new Microsoft Surface Pen has also seen significant innovation. To start with, Microsoft has improved the storage of the Surface Pen.
The new and improved Surface Pen now magnetically attaches to the edges of the Surface Pro 4 so you don’t have to worry about misplacing it and forgetting it in the car on your way to office. I say office because a number of companies are now comfortable with the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) culture and there has never been a device more handy, easily portable, and incredibly useful for the workplace than the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.
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The storage aside, the Surface Pen is also an improved version of the previous stylus that came with the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Tablet. The Surface Pen has palm detection technology and can take up to 1024 levels of pressure exerted on it during use. The eraser at the back of the Surface Pen also has nifty features. It can be used in single click, double click, and click and hold motions to access certain software on the Tablet.
The new Surface Pen also has something which was sorely missed in the previous stylus – multiple tips – that allow for better drawing, drafting, and writing experiences. These are different functions and require different types of tips. Microsoft recognized this and did a great job of including this feature in the new Surface Pen.
It’s not all hunky dory with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4
While this is a great product there are a couple of drawbacks which can easily be taken care of if Microsoft wants to take care of them. Firstly, while the Surface Pro 4 seems worth all the money, the fact is it is going to drill a hole in your pocket. I know they are calling it the laptop replacement, but it is still a Tablet that doubles up as a laptop and Tablets shouldn’t cost this much.
Secondly, I am not sure what has prompted Microsoft to decide to sell the Type Cover separately. The Type Cover is an integral ingredient to the laptop experience on the Surface Pro 4. The Tablet doesn’t actually double up to a laptop if you don’t have a keyboard so the logic of selling the Type Cover separately, especially after paying a hefty amount for the Tablet itself, makes zero sense at the moment.
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Surely someone at Microsoft can tell the bosses to ship the Type Cover with the Tablet. When that happens, I am gifting myself a brand new Surface Pro 4. Also, the Microsoft app store still doesn’t offer the wide variety that one gets with an Apple device or an Android device. So if you are planning to use this purely as a Tablet and want to enjoy a wide variety of apps, you may want to wait a tad bit longer and allow app developers to bring some much needed options to the Microsoft app store.
Check out this official Microsoft Surface Pro 4 product video from Surface.