Microsoft’s new product launch was held on August 23, 2021, and a number of new products were introduced there.
Currently, the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Go 2 are no longer in a position to be used for general home use or learning in educational institutions, so the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Go 3 are probably the ones that are attracting the most attention.
In addition to these two products, what other announcements were made? In this article, we’ll take a quick look at the new Microsoft product announcements for 2021.
Surface Pro 8 Announced
▲Source: Surface Pro 8 product pageThe main attraction is the Surface Pro 8, a popular device that combines the performance of a PC with the ease of a tablet. A brief overview and the main changes are as follows.
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- Windows 11 installed as standard.
- New keyboard with stylus storage and charging capability
Screen size is slightly larger. - Performance has been raised on all models (twice as much as before)
Surface Pro 8 Performance and Price
▲Source: Surface Pro 8 product pageWithout going into detailed specs, here is the lineup that will be available to the general public for the Surface Pro 8.
CPU: Intel Core i5
Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 128GB
Price (including tax): 148,280 yen
CPU: Intel Core i5
Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 256GB
Price (including tax): 153,780 yen
CPU: Intel Core i5
Memory: 16GB
Capacity: 256GB
Price (including tax): 193,380 yen
CPU: Intel Core i5
Memory:8GB
Capacity: 512GB
Price (including tax): 193,380 yen
CPU: Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB
Capacity: 256GB
Price (including tax): 215,380 yen
CPU: Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB
Capacity: 512GB
Price (including tax): 247,280 yen
CPU: Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB
Capacity: 512GB
Price (including tax): 247,280 yen
CPU: Intel Core i7
Memory:32GB
Capacity: 1TB
Price (including tax): 325,380 yen
All of these are currently available for pre-order and are expected to be delivered by November 1, 2021.
As expected, Microsoft has a full range of configurations for both regular users and professionals, and since the lowest-priced configuration for regular users is now a Core i5, it looks like the price has gone up a bit, but that’s not the case.
In the Surface Pro 7, the cheapest configuration was Core i3, but from this time on, Core i3 is only available for corporate customers. Therefore, general users are unlikely to feel the lack of specs even if they purchase the cheapest configuration.
Surface Go 3 Announced
Next up is the Surface Go 3, which is more like a tablet and is often used as a Windows-based iPad.
The following is a brief overview of the Surface Go 3 and the major changes.
- Windows 11 is installed as standard
- Keyboard does not hold a stylus
- Lightest in the Surface series
- All models have improved performance (twice as much as before)
Surface Go 3 Performance and Price
Without going into detailed specs, here is the lineup that will be available to the general public for the Surface Go 3.
CPU: Intel Pentium 6500Y
Memory: 4GB
Capacity: 64GB
Price (including tax): 65,780 yen
CPU: Intel Pentium 6500Y
Memory:8GB
Capacity: 128B
Price (including tax): 85,580 yen
The Surface Go 3 will go on sale on October 5, 2021 when Windows 11 is released ahead of time.
The CPU is not from the Core series like the Core i○, but a cheaper version of the CPU called Intel Pentium.
The Surface Go 3 is just like an extension of a tablet. It works well enough for video viewing and simple document creation, but it is not recommended for those who do heavy work.
Surface Laptop Studio Announced
This is the successor to the product that used to be the Surface Laptop 4, which has been renamed to Laptop Studio. But it’s not just the name that has been changed, it may also include the target audience.
The Surface Laptop Studio is a completely professional computer. Here’s an overview of what it has to offer.
- Windows 11 installed as standard
- Equipped with GeForce RTX 3050Ti
- This gives you plenty of room for gaming and video editing.
- The screen can now be tilted, just like the Surface Pro
- Improved performance on all models (twice as much as before)
I wrote GeForce RTX 3050Ti, which is a so-called “GPU”, a part used for processing games and other applications. Most computers use a GPU built into the CPU (Core i○, etc.), but the Surface Laptop Studio has a different GPU called GeForce.
The Surface Laptop Studio is equipped with a different GPU called GeForce, but it’s thicker than the previous Laptop series.
Another big change from the previous Laptop series is that the Laptop series can also tilt the screen flat.
▲When it transforms to cover the keyboard like this, it is easy to view videos.
▲When the screen is folded down this far, it can also be used for creating illustrations. If you are familiar with the previous Laptop, you may not be able to imagine that this picture is of a Laptop.Surface Laptop Studio Performance and Price
As of now, the Surface Laptop Studio is not even available for pre-order yet. The official store only states that it will be available in the first half of 2022, so we’ll have to wait for more information.
Also, no detailed specifications or configurations have been announced in relation to this. From what we know now, we can assume the following configuration.
- The CPU will be a quad-core 11th generation Intel® Core™ processor.
- NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti GPU
- Up to 32GB of memory
- Capacity up to 2TB
Surface DUO 2 announced
If you haven’t heard of Surface DUO (and I haven’t), it’s an Android-based smartphone.
However, it’s not just an Android device, it also has a variety of plus factors that are typical of Microsoft. Here’s an overview.
- Two-screen smartphone
Optimized for Microsoft 365
Optimized for XBOX games
Can install Android apps from Google Play
5G support
Surface DUO 2 Performance and Price
Just like the Surface Laptop Studio, the Surface DUO 2 is not yet available for pre-order. The official store only states that it will be available in the first half of 2022, so we’ll have to wait for more information.
conclusion
In this article, I briefly explained the contents of Microsoft’s new product launch event held on September 23, 2021.
Although Apple’s event is still fresh in our minds, I hope this article will help you gather some information as there are many people these days who are interested in new products even if they are not familiar with computers and smartphones to some extent.
