Microsoft Surface Book, Lumia 950, and Other Announcements from the Windows 10 Devices Event

Almost all market giants have already revealed their strategies for the upcoming Black Friday and holiday season, but one was missing: Microsoft. Once again, New York was the chosen city to host the Windows 10 Devices event, where Redmond's finest, led by Terry Myerson, shared the company's immediate future. New Surfaces, new Lumias, wearable devices, and a spectacular HoloLens set the pace for this extensive keynote.

The first thing Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft's Windows and Devices group, did was, logically, talk about the achievements of the company's latest operating system. Today, Windows 10 has surpassed 110 million devices, of which eight million belong to the business world (a very important detail to keep in mind). But that part of the story is inspired by existing devices, or systems that have been on the market for several years. What brings us here today is about to invade the shelves. Both Apple and Google have done their homework, and if Microsoft really wants to position its services favorably, it needs to offer hardware that lives up to the circumstances.

Surface Pro 4: Refined and Ready

The first entry is dedicated to the new Surface units. On one hand, we have the Surface Pro 4, which optimizes specific aspects of the previous model, including screen size and resolution (12.3 inches, 2,736 by 1,824 pixels), the new Surface Pen with 1,024 levels of pressure and an integrated 'digital eraser', and the brand-new Type Cover with a glass trackpad, 40 percent more surface area, and backward compatibility with the Surface Pro 3. The internal hardware of the Surface Pro 4 is distributed among Core M3, i5, and i7 processors from the Skylake architecture, a maximum of 16 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of solid-state storage.

Surface Book: Microsoft's First Laptop

On the other hand... comes the Surface Book. It's Microsoft's first 'official' laptop, and its goal is to deliver a much more complete experience, featuring a 13.5-inch screen (3,000 by 2,000 pixels), and a keyboard that rivals other laptops. The surprise came when Panos Panay, head of the Surface team, detached the screen from the keyboard. That's right: the Surface Book is actually a hybrid, and its other half (the keyboard) has some very interesting things inside, among which we highlight dedicated Nvidia GeForce video, and enough batteries to enable twelve hours of video playback before they run out.

Just like the Surface Pro 4, the Surface Book uses Intel Skylake Core i5 and i7 chips, maximum RAM is 16 GB, and its internal storage can reach a solid-state terabyte. Both models come with the Surface Pen (which 'sticks' magnetically to the side of the device when not in use), 8 and 5 MP cameras, and of course, Windows 10 Pro as the operating system. The price for the Surface Pro 4 starts at $899, while the Surface Book starts at $1,499, extending up to $2,699. One more thing: if the plan is to turn one of these Surface devices into the definitive replacement for a desktop computer, the new Surface Dock connectivity module offers additional USB, DisplayPort, and Ethernet ports for $200.

Lumia 950 Series: Back in the Mobile Game

Things may be going well on the software side, and Surface hardware looks very attractive without a doubt, but if there's one point where Microsoft needs to regain strength, it's in promoting its Lumia family. After the Nokia fiasco, many declared Redmond's virtual exit from the mobile space; nevertheless, the new Lumia 550, 950, and 950 XL carry other intentions. Both 950 models share several similarities, but the main differences manifest through the screen (5.2 inches for the 950 and 5.7 in the XL) and the SoC (six-core Snapdragon in the 950, eight-core in the 950 XL). In both units, RAM reaches 3 GB, internal storage is 32 GB (expandable via microSD slot), the battery is removable, and we find a fabulous camera combo with 20 and 5 megapixels respectively, accompanied by Continuum support (courtesy of the Display Dock module), the Windows Hello beta, and USB Type-C ports. The Lumia 550 practically had no time during the presentation, and this is due to its resemblance to previous Lumia models: 4.7 inches, quad-core SoC, 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of storage clearly position it in the low-cost territory, debuting next December with a price of $139. The Lumia 950 will hit the scene in November with a price of $549, and the Lumia 950 XL will do its thing with $649 on the tag.

Microsoft Band: A Wearable Upgrade

To close this section (but it's not the last we'll see from Redmond today), we need to mention the updated version of the Microsoft Band wearable. Original rumors indicated that the final name for the new device would be 'Band 2', but that change didn't materialize. The new Microsoft Band offers better protection thanks to curved Gorilla Glass, incorporates barometer functions, and retains compatibility with previous apps. Android, iOS, and Windows Phone are the three platforms that can be paired with the Microsoft Band, and it will arrive on October 30 at a price of $249. Don't go far! There's more from Microsoft on the way...