Microsoft has recently been making headlines with its successful launch of Windows 10, and its increasing sales and market share in tablets with Microsoft Surface. Today they held their October Windows 10 Devices Event, and they are making headlines again. Here it all is in a nutshell:
Windows 10 has been posting some impressive stats. In only 10 weeks, Windows 10 is now powering 110 million+ devices, has been used to stream 120 years worth of game play from xBox Ones, and has asked Cortana (Microsoft’s version of Siri) 1 billion questions.
What’s so impressive with Windows 10? It fulfills Microsoft’s dream of a cohesive operating system; 1 OS to run all its devices. Windows 10 is on PC’s, laptops, tablets, phones, and xBox. They are calling this the universal experience. Need to be productive on the go? Plug you Windows Phone into a monitor and get a full desktop PC. Wow.
Next up, HoloLens. HoloLens is geared directly at the gamer in the family, immersing the player in a screen of pixels, and brings experiences into your real world. Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition will ship in Q1 of 2016.
This item caught our attention, Microsoft Band. Similar to the Apple Watch, Microsoft Band is promised to make your Windows experience more personal. Microsoft Band, the first device powered by Microsoft Health, helps you achieve your wellness goals by tracking your heart rate, steps, calorie burn, and sleep quality. It also helps you be more productive with email previews and calendar alerts – right on your wrist. They’ve revamped from the previous Microsoft Band, the wrist band is breathable, the glass is curved, and it fits more around your wrist than on it.
Now its time for the nuts and bolts of the devices event. Surface Pro 4, that latest “tablet that can replace your laptop.” Its a little bigger, and a lot faster. Surface Pro 4 has a G5 chipset, designed by
Microsoft. They won’t tell us details, but its 50% faster than a Macbook Air, and 30% faster than its predecessor Surface Pro 3. The screen is 12.3″ across, but the tablets footprint is no bigger, they’ve increase the screen size by reducing the bezel size. It can house up to 1TB of diskspace and 16GB of memory. Its almost a full millimeter thinner than the previous Surface Pro, and the only reason its not any smaller is the USB port. The touch screen is optimized more, and the pen! 1 year of battery life on a AAA battery, they even added an eraser. The little loops that we all have on our Type Covers, yeah those are replaced too with a magnetic pen storage area on the tablet itself.
A new Surface Pro accessory is the docking station, pumping out 4 USB 3.0 ports, two 4K DisplayPort connectors, and Ethernet. The new Type Cover has spaced keys, new glass touchpad, and fingerprint reader. In case you are getting sour because of all this new technology, Windows 10, Microsoft Band, xBox streaming, the Surface docking station, and the new Type Cover all work with the Surface Pro 3 too!
Sign me up!