This is Microsoft's new Surface Laptop with Windows 10 S

Megalith

Megalith

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Microsoft’s EDU event will kick off in about an hour, but their big reveal has already been leaked: their next Surface device will be a laptop called…gasp...the “Surface Laptop,” and it looks the company has gone traditional. This one won’t have any detachable parts and will ship with Windows 10 S, which will only run Windows Store apps. You might be able to upgrade it to full Windows, though, so it’s actually, uh, useful.

The Surface Laptop is a 13.5-inch clamshell device. It doesn't detach, as it's designed like your traditional laptop. It's rocking a PixelSense display, and comes bundled with Windows 10 S, Microsoft's upcoming edition of Windows 10 that's locked to the Windows Store. The Surface Laptop will be available in four colors, including Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, and Graphite Gold. Judging by the leaked renders, it appears the Surface Laptop is rocking just three or possibly four ports. One USB port, one DisplayPort and a headphone jack. It may also include an SD card slot. It's also rocking Microsoft's own proprietary charging port, that appears to be unchanged from the one found on the likes of the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.
 
depends on the price point and hardware really. I never thought chromebooks were a thing people wanted but those sold like mad

You'd be amazed how many people only use a few basic things, all of which you can get from the store or your 365 account

And, if you can load full Windows on it then it comes down to price again
 
For the business user only one USB port is a key negative. My brother has a Surface Pro 4 and he rails against having to carry a USB hub.
 
Before the (assumption here) pre engineering hardware update dis this go by the internal code name MacBook air?
 
vegeta535 said:
This going to flop like the RT. No one wants a computer that is locked to the windows store only.
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Vaulter98c said:
depends on the price point and hardware really. I never thought chromebooks were a thing people wanted but those sold like mad

You'd be amazed how many people only use a few basic things, all of which you can get from the store or your 365 account

And, if you can load full Windows on it then it comes down to price again
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this. it's supposed to compete with chromebooks. i'm curious about the pricing.
 
Quartz-1 said:
For the business user only one USB port is a key negative. My brother has a Surface Pro 4 and he rails against having to carry a USB hub.
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Huge negative, along with...where the F is my 4G LTE!!
 
Is that mouse set decor, or does it come with the laptop? It doesn't seem like a good shape for a portable's mouse.
 
Hmmm, this doesn't look like a bad package, they start at $189. Good centralized tools.
 
Can I put Linux on it?? :)

Being locked into the Microsoft Store would be hell for me. I've yet to find a single store app I'd want to use.
 
These will be hacked to get the full Win10 installed on them lickety-split.
 
Quartz-1 said:
For the business user only one USB port is a key negative. My brother has a Surface Pro 4 and he rails against having to carry a USB hub.
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Plus you'll need to carry a display port to HDMI adapter to plug into the office TV/Projector at a meeting/demo.
You'll also want to carry a USB to Ethernet adapter for when wireless is to slow, and a physical Ethernet connection is available.
 
It's like if Microsoft could physically open our mouths and shove the windows store down our throats - they would.

Couldn't be more disinterested. A giant laptop - not even a tablet - that does what my phone does - but doesn't have as good of a selection of apps. ;)
 
jeremyshaw said:
Given the price, I wonder if it is running on ARM, like Windows RT was...
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Shit, I hope not. They'd be much more marketable (and faster) with at least an Atom...and an Apollo Lake 4c/4t with x64 capability would be sweet.
 
If this is their follow on to the surface book.. Wow they fucked it up.
If these are affordable chrome book competitors for k-12, then they aren't so bad unless priced stupidly.
 
vegeta535 said:
This going to flop like the RT. No one wants a computer that is locked to the windows store only.
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What the hell does that even mean? With Surface RT it made sense since it was running on ARM-based processors and wasn't a "full" Windows OS. Is this another version of RT, or can you still install others apps on it? That's confusing, and just like they did with RT (which was a huge fucking mistake) they are going to confuse consumers and I foresee a lot of these being returned in a time when there are $200 laptops out there that run full Windows 10.

"Although the Surface Laptop comes preloaded with Windows 10 S, we expect users will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro if they so wish, unlocking the ability to install desktop programs from outside the Windows Store."

Okay so this clears it up... basically it is Windows RT all over again. Wtf man... The only reasoning I can think of for this is that the Windows Store is really struggling to gain any traction (it has been garbage for years now) and they are trying to find ways to push it. What a waste, and again this is going to confuse a lot of people and will be returned a lot.
 
godunder said:
They also said any windows S can be upgraded to pro if required by a user.
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My concern is that masses of people will buy these devices that are purpose-built to run Windows S at very low cost (i.e., Chromebook level hardware). Then they'll load Windows Pro and it'll run like crap. Then they'll blame MS and call the hardware crap.

If you need something to run Windows Pro, buy a laptop built for it. If you need a Chromebook, buy a Chromebook. It's the damn "Netbook" problem all over again.
 
SeymourGore said:
Why would they charge $999 for it and still not include full Win10?

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/microsoft-makes-a-regular-old-laptop-the-surface-laptop/
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Fair point, but you're paying for the hardware with these devices, not Windows. It's free to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro through the rest of the year according to the link you provided.

SeymourGore said:
Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I'm not seeing the Surface Laptop being priced low (just the partner devices @ $189).
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I wasn't expecting that because I don't think Microsoft's intent is to sell cheap Surface devices, at least for now.
 
Bandalo said:
My concern is that masses of people will buy these devices that are purpose-built to run Windows S at very low cost (i.e., Chromebook level hardware). Then they'll load Windows Pro and it'll run like crap. Then they'll blame MS and call the hardware crap.
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Good point and that's why these devices won't be available much in retail I'm guessing. The idea of them is something that's locked down and centrally controlled. Plus there's no reason why a developer can't just package a Win32 app and put it in the store.

Bandalo said:
If you need something to run Windows Pro, buy a laptop built for it. If you need a Chromebook, buy a Chromebook. It's the damn "Netbook" problem all over again.
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If you take these Windows 10s and install a Chrome browser, that's essentially a Chromebook, if most of what one needs is in a web browser and not tied to Chrome then Edge works.
 
By restricting Windows 10 S devices to running Store apps only, Microsoft's pitch is that the devices will be more reliable, secure, and manageable, as all the apps in the Store will be verified.
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Bull fucking shit. No way in hell are all the apps in the Store verified. Has Microsoft seen their store? It's been a huge issue since it launched on Windows Phone. If that's their verification process and it makes it more reliable and secure, count me out.

I love the Surface line, but no way would I run Windows 10 S. Even in a school environment. Give me AppLocker and I'll whitelist the shit that the school approves. It'll be much easier than trusting Microsoft and their Store.

If their Store was more reliable and they actually did verify the apps in the store, I'd be more for it. But, that's been a huge complaint of mine since Day 1 and I, along with many many others, have brought it to Microsoft's attention. Always the same thing "We're looking into it...".
 
Ur_Mom said:
Bull fucking shit. No way in hell are all the apps in the Store verified. Has Microsoft seen their store? It's been a huge issue since it launched on Windows Phone. If that's their verification process and it makes it more reliable and secure, count me out.

I love the Surface line, but no way would I run Windows 10 S. Even in a school environment. Give me AppLocker and I'll whitelist the shit that the school approves. It'll be much easier than trusting Microsoft and their Store.

If their Store was more reliable and they actually did verify the apps in the store, I'd be more for it. But, that's been a huge complaint of mine since Day 1 and I, along with many many others, have brought it to Microsoft's attention. Always the same thing "We're looking into it...".
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Whatever issues there are with the store those apps are far less likely to have malware issues.
 
Shotglass01 said:
Wow, MS made a laptop.............and put Windows on it. Color me impressed. :rolleyes:
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And that's exactly what a lot of Surface users have wanted for some time. It's not meant to be impressive, just responding to requests for a laptop.
 
heatlesssun said:
Good point and that's why these devices won't be available much in retail I'm guessing. The idea of them is something that's locked down and centrally controlled. Plus there's no reason why a developer can't just package a Win32 app and put it in the store.

If you take these Windows 10s and install a Chrome browser, that's essentially a Chromebook, if most of what one needs is in a web browser and not tied to Chrome then Edge works.
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Well, devs don't want to sell in the Windows Store unless they have to. Why give MS a cut of your profits if the user can "sideload" the app easily? If those cheap machines are only available in those controlled environments, it'll avoid this problem. But they're going to see some of these leak out on eBay.

Chromebooks are a bit of a different beast IMO. They're awesome for what they are, given their performance on low-end hardware. I think the WinS + Chrome combo might be too much overhead, and you'd take a performance hit on the low-RAM, low-CPU based ChromeOS.
 
gee a unified ecosystem like android and ios... who could have imagined this might happen.
 
Bandalo said:
Well, devs don't want to sell in the Windows Store unless they have to. Why give MS a cut of your profits if the user can "sideload" the app easily? If those cheap machines are only available in those controlled environments, it'll avoid this problem. But they're going to see some of these leak out on eBay.

Chromebooks are a bit of a different beast IMO. They're awesome for what they are, given their performance on low-end hardware. I think the WinS + Chrome combo might be too much overhead, and you'd take a performance hit on the low-RAM, low-CPU based ChromeOS.
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I don't think you split in app purchases with Microsoft if you use your own payment process. Plus anyone can build an appx without using the store though I don't know if that applies to Windows 10 S devices. I think a Windows that doesn't have to deal with Win32 isn't a bad thing but Windows is so tied to it that I get that it would be a tough sell but low budget education environment I think makes some sense. It's not Windows RT v2, sort of a half step but still with the ability to get access to Win32 apps if a developer wants to push their app through the store.
 
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