Core77

Microsoft's Beautiful, Design-ey New Surface Pro

The design mantle is no longer Apple's

By Rain Noe - May 24, 2017

in Tech | Object Culture

Now that Apple has slowed down on innovative design, it's great to see that Microsoft is picking up the slack. Yesterday they put out a video of their new Surface Pro, and the thing looks amazing:

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I'm digging not only that they've developed their own style for the video—remember that stretch of time when all people did was try to look like Apple's videos?—I'm also loving the outside-of-the-box thinking here. Every laptop requires the hinge between keyboard and screen to support the latter, but here the kickstand does the supporting, taking the burden off of the keyboard connection. I'm not sure if using it would prove irritating—in a café, for instance, you'd need more free table space behind the screen—but I'm impressed that Microsoft is willing to take these kinds of experimental risks.

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I'm also very curious to see, and try using, the "next generation hinge" in person.

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We all know that Apple does things on their own terms, and typically will not react to a competitor's product by trying to one-up them. That is a shame and, these days it seems, to their detriment.

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Ryan McGoldrick

7 years ago

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Eh, I wouldn't buy into a company that puts the FORMAT option which you may use once a year next to the Eject disk option which you would use multiple times a day. not to mention all the advertisement option crap windows has included in their software these days.
I lack to see the innovation, a hinge? a cylindrical stylus? a marketing video that copies nearly identically what apple released months before they did, a porous surface to enclose your device in that assists in holding dust particles and other dirt/grime vs a hard surface which is easier to keep clean.

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- Mike Heck
  
  Ryan McGoldrick
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Yes, much better to drag it to the "Trash" icon to eject it.
  
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Jonathan Turner

7 years ago

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This looks dope. Microsoft is definitely stepping up. Obviously there will be comparisons to Apple. The real question of it being well designed is sustainability. Apple has worked hard over the years to improve upon the sustainability of their products. Can anything in the Surface be upcycled? How many hazardous materials are used in the Surface? Good design isn't just looks and usability. Sustainability comes before all, no?

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A A

7 years ago

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I would prefer Surface Pro over Ipad Pro since it can run computer softwares such as Adobe Creative suite or Solidworks

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Joe Crane

7 years ago

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As a whole the Microsoft ecosystem gives no real competition to Apple. Cloning the overall aesthetics of competitors products is just not enough when your software is inferior in every ways possible. "Give the r&d budget that went to that hinge to your Windows dept."

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- Steve W.
  
  Joe Crane
  
  7 years ago
  
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  I think youre mistaking Windows Mobile for ACTUAL Windows which absolutely dominates the market for Ecosystem... the iPad/iPadPro are hilariously incapable compared to this device
  
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Ryan McGoldrick

7 years ago

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPRkcczXCY

There are many similarities between the Windows video released 2 days ago and the Apple video from October of last year.

For innovation I leave you this,

http://www.core77.com/posts/50069/What-Does-Apples-Liam-Robot-Mean-for-the-Future-of-E-Waste-Recycling

I just don't see how this can be called innovative or that they have developed their own style.

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- Steve W.
  
  Ryan McGoldrick
  
  7 years ago
  
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  Lol recycling is innovation now? What a sad world we must live in if you consider that innovative
  
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  - Ryan McGoldrick
    
    Steve W.
    
    7 years ago
    
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    Recycling parts from your product back into the product range where possible and ensuring precious metals are not lot is innovative when you have a device with so many components.
    
    Also this being done in house and not outsourced is rather interesting.
    
    this was a response to the overall article suggesting Apple isn't innovative anymore.
    
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Steve W.

7 years ago

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All of their devices have been so beautifully designed in the past 4-5 years, they really arent playing around anymore.

I really want to pull the trigger on a Surface Pro LTE later this year, but i want to see if there is a Surface Book refresh in the pipeline first. If not then this is absolutely the device i need for design.

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- Steve W.
  
  Steve W.
  
  7 years ago
  
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  lol Apple fans are clearly upset that the Surface Line is the best rated tablet device on the market by a wide margin over the iPads now
  
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ThirtySomething Nerd

7 years ago

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I'm pretty sure I've seen that hinge in bandsaw tables. I think they call it a trunnion.

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