Focus on Microsoft Surface conference: AI dominates, hardware concessions

September and October every year have always been a time for technology companies to release intensive new products, and this year is certainly no exception. Following Apple’s autumn launch, another major technology giant, Microsoft, also held this year’s autumn new product launch. press conference.

On September 21st, New York local time, Microsoft launched a series of new products such as Surface Laptop Studio 2, Surface Laptop Go 3, Surface Go 4, Surface Hub3 and so on. However, hardware may not be the focus of this conference. At the conference, Microsoft also announced an update to the Windows 11 operating system, the core of which lies in its generative AI assistant-Copilot.

It is also worth mentioning that just before the release of these new Surface products, Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer and president of Windows and Device Experience Division, had just left Microsoft and was absent from the day's event. press conference. According to reports, he will be heading to Amazon to run the Alexa and Echo teams.

On the other hand, many Surface accessories, such as Surface headphones, Surface Duo, Surface Laptop SE and other product lines have also been canceled one after another

Microsoft’s “Machete Department” appears again

The updated contents of the four major product lines are: surface treatment

Surface Laptop Studio 2 in sketchpad mode, photo/Microsoft

As a new generation of creative workstation launched by Microsoft, Surface Laptop Studio 2 adopts basically the same design as the previous generation and supports switching between three modes.

It can be the traditional notebook mode or the screen can be laid flat Tablet mode, or drawing board mode with the screen tilted.

On this basis, Surface Laptop Studio 2 uses a 14.4-inch touch screen with a screen resolution of 2400 x 1600, a pixel density of 201 ppi, a screen ratio of 3:2, and supports 10-point touch and 4096 Level pressure sensing, supports 360-degree flipping and folding. It also has a built-in 1080p camera and two-way microphone, and supports Windows Hello facial recognition login.

The processor is equipped with the 13th generation Intel i7 H series, as well as NVIDIA RTX 4050 or 4060 GPU, which can be configured with enterprise-level RTX 2000 Ada series graphics cards, can be configured with up to 64GB RAM and 2TB storage. It is also equipped with speakers that support Dolby Audio, a trackpad that supports adaptive touch (20% larger area), and a Surface Slim Pen 2 digital pen that supports vibration feedback.

In terms of interfaces, Surface Laptop Studio 2 continues to be equipped with 2 C ports that support Thunderbolt 4 technology, 1 headphone jack and 1 Surface Connect interface that can be used for docking and charging.

At the same time, Microsoft also A traditional USB-A port has been added, as well as a MicroSD card reader.

In terms of price, Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $1,999, which is higher than the previous generation’s $1,599. The price of the National Bank has not been announced yet, but the official website shows that pre-sales will start on October 10.

Surface Laptop Go 3, Photo/Microsoft

Surface Laptop Go 3 is an entry-level laptop equipped with a 12.4-inch touch screen and weighs only 1.13kg. It is equipped with an Intel i5 processor, up to 16GB of memory and 256GB of storage space. Microsoft claims that the processing speed is The previous generation increased by 88%, and the battery life reached 15 hours.

In terms of price, the starting price of Surface Laptop Go 3 is US$799, and the National Bank will also have to wait until October 10 for pre-sale.

Surface Go 4 commercial version, picture/Microsoft

At the meeting, Microsoft also released the commercial version of Surface Go 4 (2-in-1 notebook) for business users, but it is said that the consumer version will be launched soon. In terms of specifications, the commercial version of

Surface Go 4 has changed from the previous 2-core Intel Pentium processor to the slightly more powerful quad-core Intel N200 chip. At the same time, Microsoft has canceled the 4GB memory version and supports 8GB memory and up to 256GB storage.

The Surface Go 4 business version is also equipped with a 10.5-inch touch screen display, Battery life is 12.5 hours, an increase from the 11 hours of battery life provided by Surface Go 3, and can also be combined with the display Connect, pair the keyboard and use it as a laptop, or use it like a tablet with a touch screen.

Surface Hub 3 is a product launched by Microsoft

Finally there is a giant touch screen computer Surface Hub 3, equipped with a 4K PixelSense display, available in 55-inch and 85-inch versions, supports rotation between landscape and portrait, and the system will automatically Implement smart layout with built-in 4K camera and array microphone.

Surface Hub 3's product performance will be greatly improved, with CPU performance claimed to be increased by more than 60% and graphics performance increased by 160%. In addition, it also improves support for advanced ink, allowing up to two users to write or draw on the touch screen at the same time. Deep integration with Microsoft Teams Rooms.

Windows enters the AI ​​era

At the press conference, Microsoft announced that it will release Windows 11 major update 23H2 on September 26. The update includes a redesigned File Explorer, a new Ink Anywhere function for stylus users, major improvements to the Paint application, Native RAR and 7-zip file support, new volume mixer, and more. Of course, the most important thing is the AI ​​assistant Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Picture/Microsoft

Microsoft 365 Copilot will be available in early form as part of a free Windows 11 update starting on September 26, and will also appear on Bing and Edge browsers at a later date. Starting on November 1st, the AI ​​assistant Microsoft 365 Copilot will be fully rolled out to enterprise customers, priced at $30 per person per month.

Microsoft officially positions it as an "everyday artificial intelligence partner". It is directly integrated on the taskbar on Windows and can be started through the Win C shortcut key. Microsoft believes that Copilot will integrate the network environment with intelligence and users in a unique way. of work data and what you are currently doing on your PC to provide better assistance and a simple, seamless AI assistant experience.

Aaron Woodman, vice president of marketing for Microsoft Windows, said Bringing Copilot to the operating system will be significant because it will enable people who may not have used artificial intelligence before to use artificial intelligence. .

Rewrite the content without changing the original meaning. The language needs to be rewritten into Chinese and the original sentence does not need to appear

In fact, it is not only Microsoft's Microsoft 365 Copilot, but also Intel, NVIDIA, Google, Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi...You will find that major companies in the field of personal computing terminals are trying to integrate large models and generative AI into notebooks Computers and smartphones are our most important and mainstream daily computing devices.

Microsoft has taken the lead in seizing new opportunities in this trend, gaining priority access through cooperation with OpenAI, and occupying more of the cloud computing market by lowering the price of enterprise software products. On the other hand, Microsoft makes full use of cloud computing resources of large-scale models on the consumer side and integrates them into almost every product, becoming a model for the first batch of generative artificial intelligence products

For Windows 11 and even other operating systems, the paradigm shift brought by the large model seems to be irreversible. With the arrival of Microsoft 365 Copilot, the way we interact with personal computers is also likely to be disruptive. Variety.

Surface brand founder Panos Panay, photo/Microsoft

The emphasis on AI and the tepid hardware business have also destined Microsoft’s attitude towards Surface to change. As the founder of the Surface brand, it is said that Panos resigned because he could not accept Microsoft's new Surface strategy.

The signs of change have actually been there for a long time. Microsoft has previously mentioned that it will abandon Microsoft-branded accessories and focus on high-end Surface products. Later, media reported that Microsoft has cut off many niche or experimental hardware products, including the Surface Headphone originally scheduled to be launched this year. 2. The Surface Studio All-in-one and Surface Duo product lines have also been cut off.

In the notebook product line, the Surface Laptop SE 2, originally planned to be released in the spring, was canceled at the last minute. Microsoft once considered launching an 11-inch Surface Pro, but ultimately chose to give up

Up to now, the Surface product line has all focused on computers, including Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Surface Laptop Go, Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Hub and Surface Go, some for the consumer market, and some For enterprise customers, some for educational users.

Perhaps Microsoft may still try some experimental Surface hardware in the future, but obviously, at least in the next two or three years, Microsoft's focus will be AI.

The above is the detailed content of Focus on Microsoft Surface conference: AI dominates, hardware concessions. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!