Microsoft’s 2019 Surface event: all of the latest rumors, news, and analysis – The Verge

What the heck is Windows 10X?

2019-10-04T12:51:56-04:00

For die-hard gadget lovers, Microsoft's Surface event this week was something of a dream come true. The company resurrected its legendary dual-screen Courier concept as the Surface Neo, then it surprised the world by announcing a dual-screen Android phone. The company finally embraced the USB-C port on its new Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 7, and Surface Laptop 3, and it's even making them slightly upgradable, too.

But if you came wondering about the future of Windows, you might have left a bit confused.

Microsoft did announce a new streamlined version of Windows - dubbed Windows 10X - but it's only for dual-screen devices like the Surface N …

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Panos Panay stops by The Vergecast to show off the Surface Duo

2019-10-03T13:07:43-04:00

On a special episode of The Vergecast, chief product officer of Microsoft, Panos Panay, joins Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and senior editor Tom Warren a few hours after Microsoft's Surface hardware event to talk about the new Surface lineup - including the company's upcoming dual-screen devices.

Panay also talks about why Microsoft is using Android for its Duo device, the company's relationship with Google, and the future of the Surface Neo / Duo form factor. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the conversation.

Nilay Patel: Panos Panay, chief product officer at Microsoft. Welcome to The Vergecast.

Panos Panay: Thanks, man. It's …

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The Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3 are upgradable, but only a little

2019-10-03T13:00:00-04:00

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced a ton of new Surface devices, but one thing you might have missed is that a couple of them are upgradable. Most Surface devices haven't been easy to upgrade or fix, scoring rather poorly on iFixit's repairability scale. For example, the Surface Pro 6 got a one, and the Surface Laptop 2 got a zero. However, Microsoft is trying to make things better in the repairability department with the new Surface Pro X and Surface Laptop 3 by making their SSDs upgradable and easier to access - but that's about as far as Microsoft's effort goes.

On the Surface Pro X, the SSD is hidden behind the kickstand, where there's a …

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Microsoft doesn’t think Windows is important anymore

2019-10-03T12:33:19-04:00

"The operating system is no longer the most important layer for us," was the message from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella yesterday.

Microsoft had a big day for Surface, introducing new hardware for the holiday season and teasing dual-screen devices like the Surface Duo and Surface Neo that are coming next year. But it was Nadella's interview with Wired that really stood out. "What is most important for us is the app model and the experience," revealed Nadella, further cementing that Windows has slipped down the importance list at Microsoft. "How people are going to write apps for Duo and Neo will have a lot more to do with each other than just …

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How to choose between the Surface Pro X and Surface Pro 7

2019-10-02T19:00:00-04:00

If you were in the market for a new Microsoft Surface laptop or tablet, the choices used to be relatively simple - Surface Book for a potent laptop with a detachable screen, Surface Pro for a capable tablet with an optional detachable keyboard, or the Surface Laptop or Surface Go if you don't need as much power and don't care as much about tablet or laptop modes.

Decisions, decisions

Microsoft just blew all that up by announcing the Surface Pro X and Surface Pro 7 portable 2-in-1s on the very same day - not to mention the Surface Neo dual-screen tablet and Surface Duo folding phone. Seriously, let's not mention those last two again 'cause th …

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Microsoft’s future is built on Google’s code

2019-10-02T14:44:25-04:00

Asked for comment on Microsoft's upcoming dual-screen, Android-powered Surface Duo smartphone, here's what we got from a Google spokesperson: "We are excited to welcome Microsoft to the Android ecosystem. We look forward to working together to bring the best of both companies to users."

Translation: "We won."

Ever since Microsoft slunk out of the smartphone market, we've been waiting to see what the company's mobile strategy under CEO Satya Nadella would be. The answer for Microsoft is to win at the app and services layer instead of the operating system layer.

It's possible to make a Microsoft-ified Android phone right now if you like. In …

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How to preorder Microsoft’s new Surface hardware

2019-10-02T14:28:33-04:00

Microsoft unveiled a bunch of new hardware at its event today. The dual-screened Surface Neo and Surface Duo were the biggest surprises, but those won't be releasing until holiday 2020, which is over a year away. Frankly, there was a lot to keep up with, and you can easily catch up by watching our quick recap of the event above, or check out the major headlines right here.

Most of the other Surface products that Microsoft announced onstage are available for preorder now, and will be shipping either by the end of October or in November. Whether you're more interested in the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3, or the Surface Pro X, we've pulled …

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Inside Microsoft’s new custom Surface processors with AMD and Qualcomm

2019-10-02T11:30:00-04:00

Microsoft has just announced its new Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X devices, and neither will come with an Intel processor. The software giant is diversifying its silicon for Surface this year by partnering closely with AMD and Qualcomm, respectively, to create custom processors for its Surface line.

The Surface Laptop 3 has a custom Ryzen Surface Edition processor on the 15-inch model, while the Surface Pro X goes the ARM-powered route with a new SQ1 processor co-engineered with Qualcomm. It's a big change for the Surface line, even if Intel will still power the Surface Pro 7 and the smaller 13-inch Surface Laptop 3 models.

On the AMD …

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Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android

2019-10-02T11:23:53-04:00

Microsoft had one last surprise at its Surface event: a foldable Surface Duo phone that runs Android.

The design of the device resembles Microsoft's just-announced dual-screen Surface Neo laptop, but on a smaller, pocketable scale. The Surface Duo features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, allowing it to be fully unfolded as a miniature 8.3-inch tablet.

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Each display can also run two different apps at the same time, or the Duo can be turned into landscape mode, allowing the second display to be used as a keyboard or game controller. The version of Android on offer here looks heavily skinned, too, to resemble the Wi …

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Windows 10X is Microsoft’s latest stab at a ‘Lite’ operating system, exclusively for dual-screens

2019-10-02T11:18:51-04:00

Windows is a big, bloated operating system by the modern standards of tablet and phone users. This is known. But every time Microsoft has tried to strip it down to something simple, users have (rightly?) revolted. Now, the company is officially trying again with the just-announced Windows 10X, and it looks like it may have learned from its mistakes.

The most important thing you need to know about Windows 10X is that it may actually run traditional Windows "legacy" desktop software, not just apps from the Windows Store or the apps you could run on the web. Right out of the gate, Microsoft's seemingly dodging the huge limitation that made Win …

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