Microsoft Releases New Product Lineup
O n May 6, Microsoft announced their newest Surface products on their website: the Surface Go 2, the Surface Headphones 2, the Surface Earbuds, the Surface Book 3, and the Surface Dock 2. Microsoft is attempting to revolutionize both the audio and computer industries, but have they succeeded? Let’s take a closer look at their brand new products.
Surface Go 2
The Surface Go 2, starting at $399, is Microsoft’s attempt at getting more student consumers or just anyone who needs a tablet and laptop all at one affordable price. You can have either an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or 8th Gen Intel Core m3 processor, the latter having an additional LTE option, 4 or 8 GB of RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 615, and 64 or 128 GB of storage. Although the internals are far from perfect, they are okay for the price, and besides, consumers don’t purchase the Surface Go for its performance. With a 10.5 inch PixelSense (1920 x 1280) touchscreen, this computer can be used as a tablet to play mobile games and as a computer to run your average browsers and computer applications. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with the detachable Surface Go Type Cover or the Surface Pen, but when you buy them externally (the cover for $129.99 and the pen for $99.99), the experience is much better. As for ports, it has a single USB-C port, a headphone jack, a Surface Connect port for charging, and a MicroSD card reader. It contains a 5MP front and 8MP rear-facing camera and a Windows Hello face authentication camera as well. According to Microsoft, it can last up to 10 hours before losing all power. The Surface Go 2 is just an updated version of the original Surface Go, but it is still a great deal, as it is portable, light, and packs a punch.
Surface Book 3
The Surface Book 3, starting at a whopping $1,599.99, is Microsoft’s most premium portable workstation, beating out the likes of the Surface Go 2, Surface Pro 7, and the Surface Laptop 3. With a beautiful amalgam of high-quality hardware and creative features, the Surface Book 3 is the dream laptop of many tech-savvy consumers. The device contains a detachable 13.5 (3000 x 2000 resolution) or 15-inch (3240 x 2160 resolution) PixelSense touchscreen, the same cameras found on the Surface Go 2, and support for the Surface Pen and Surface Dial (sold separately). The smaller device can have either a 10th generation i5 or i7 processor, while the larger laptop only contains the i7 option. As for RAM, the 13.5-inch laptop can have 8, 16, or 32 GB of RAM, while the 15-inch model only has 16 and 32 GB options. The i5 option for the 13.5-inch laptop Intel Iris Plus graphics, the i7 option for the 13.5-inch laptop has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 MaxQ graphics, and the 15 inch has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti MaxQ graphics. Microsoft also offers a plethora of SSD storage options, with the smaller device having 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB storage options and the larger device having all of the same options along with a 2 TB options, so there is no need to fear the dreaded day when your storage is full. The laptop has very good connectivity too, with 2 USB-A ports, one USB-C port, a headphone jack, 2 Surface Connect ports, and an SD card reader for those who need more storage. Battery life is also great, as Microsoft claims that the 13.5 and 15-inch models last up to 15.5 and 17.5 hours, respectively. Although the Surface Book 3 seems to be almost perfect, it carries a hefty price, as it’s price ranges from $1,600 to $3,400! Despite this price tag, the laptop is great and for those who can afford it, it is a great laptop that can be used for practically anything.
Surface Headphones 2
The Surface Headphones 2 are Microsoft’s newest pair of over-ear wireless headphones. Priced at $249.99, $100 less than the original Surface Headphones, they provide quality at a more affordable, but still premium, price. As for the structure of the headphones, they contain a 40 mm driver in a light gray or matte black chassis. It contains a 3.5 mm audio input jack, a USB-C port for charging, power and mute buttons, rotating dials on both sides of the headphones, one for the volume and one for controlling the noise cancellation, and touch controls on the sides for play/pause and next/previous track. It also has two microphones for great voice quality during calls and Cortana inside of the headphones, so you can ask questions via voice and not have to open your phone. Microsoft claims on their website that the headphones have a battery life of up to 20 hours, and when the battery dies, it can be fully charged in less than two hours, so battery life should not be that much of a problem. Another feature these headphones have is dual device support, which means that you can pair these headphones to two different devices via Bluetooth and you can easily switch between them. For $250, you get the headphones, a carrying case, the charging cable, and a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm audio cable. Overall, the Surface Headphones are a great pair of headphones and whoever purchases them will be getting a great deal, especially if they are purchasing them to connect them with other Surface devices.
Surface Earbuds
With the recent popularity of truly wireless earbuds from a plethora of companies, some being the Airpods Pro from Apple, the Galaxy Buds+ from Samsung, and the Powerbeats Pro from Beats by Dre, Microsoft realized that it was now their turn. The Surface Earbuds are Microsoft’s first and only premium wireless earbuds, and starting at $199.99, they are not for the average person. The design is minimal yet peculiar, as they are simply light gray circles, which look a little odd but mostly appear sleek. They come with three sizes of ear tips, so for those who have different shaped ears, the earbuds should still be able to fit. The earbuds have touch controls that allow you to control your audio with simple swipes and summon Cortana, and they have a dual-microphone setup on each earbud for clear call quality. Inside the earbuds is a 13.6 mm driver that should provide an ample amount of bass while still retaining good sound quality. If you want to work out in them, not to worry because they have an IPX4 water resistance rating, so sweat will not damage the earbuds. The battery life is great, as according to Microsoft, the earbuds have a total of 24 hours of battery life with the charging case (the earbuds themselves last 8 hours, and the charging case holds enough battery for two more 8-hour charges). Also, a 10-minute charge via USB-C (a nice touch) provides up to an hour of battery life. Unfortunately, these earbuds do not have noise cancellation like the $249 Airpods Pro or Sony’s $198 WF-1000XM3. Overall, these are some great earbuds, especially for those who tend to work with Microsoft Surface products frequently, as these earbuds connect with them seamlessly and have additional features for Microsoft Outlook. Would I recommend them? Only if you have Surface products. If you don’t you can purchase Galaxy Buds or Airpods for a lower price, but it all depends on the products you already use.
Surface Dock 2
Microsoft’s Surface Dock 2 is their dock meant especially for their Surface products, which have a select number of ports. This new dock provides four USB-C ports (two with a power delivery of 15W and two with a power delivery of 7.5W), two USB-A ports, an Ethernet jack, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The Surface Dock can even connect to two 4K displays at 60Hz. Unfortunately, it has no Thunderbolt 3 ports, so you cannot connect external GPUs for enhanced gaming capabilities. I know it’s not as exciting as the other products because it’s a dongle, but if you have a Surface device, especially the Surface Pro or Surface Go, this actually may be a very useful product.
Microsoft’s new Surface products are all great, and Microsoft is starting to build a strong work ecosystem. For example, you could be working away on a Surface Book 3 while listening to music on the Surface Headphones 2. If you are already in the ecosystem, then any of these products will be great purchases, and you will not complain. Although the coronavirus has shaken up the tech industry, at least products are still being launched.
