Is Microsoft’s New Surface Pro Ho-Hum? Nope, Just Mature Technology – Fast Company

Slightly less than a half-decade ago, Microsoft made one the most memorable announcements in its history: For the first time, it would design and sell its own PCs, in the form of a new line of Windows tablets known as Surface. And then, for the next few years, the company ignored the skepticswho were legionand not only stuck with the Surface, but used it as a tapestry for experimentation.

The company tried different screen sizes until it settled on the current 12.3. It attemptedtwiceto introduce a lower-cost, non-Pro incarnation of the Surface idea. It took signature Surface design elements like the hinged kickstand and svelte keyboard cover and refined them repeatedly in ways that were instantly noticeable. It identified design weaknesses, such as the wimpy magnetic power connector and dinky trackpad, and fixed them.

But the Surface Pro 4, which was introduced in October 2015, has been on the market for a long time by gadget standards. Earlier this month, Surface honcho Panos Panay told Cnets Dan Ackerman that Microsoft would only release a Surface Pro 5 device when its meaningful and the change is right. That led some folks to conclude that no successor to the Surface Pro 4 was imminent.

However, at a Surface event held in Shanghai today, Microsofts big announcement was a new Surface Pro. In fact, thats what the company is calling it: the new Surface Pro, without a model number. (Apple has been known to take a similar branding approach with iPads, including the new $329 model.)

The new Surface Pro doesnt reflect a fundamental rethink of the Surface Pro 4. But neither is it the sort of thing that tech nerds call a speed bumpthe same old model in the same old case with a slightly faster processor. Actually, theres quite a bit thats new:

One thing you might have expected the new Surface Pro to change remains the same: its approach to ports. It still has full-sized USB ones and a proprietary power connector rather than the more versatile USB-C. That design decisionwhich Microsoft also made for its new Surface Laptopreflects caution rather than a bold willingness to dump aging features. But its also defensible. Especially given that a lot of Surface Pro owners use it for pro-caliber purposes such as design worka group that tends to include people who prefer proven technologies over new standards and the need to futz with adapters.

When it comes to holding flashy media eventsand pleasing the Twittersphereincremental improvements of the sort seen in the new Surface Pro may be too subtle to inspire wild applause. But if this new model closely resembles the Surface Pro 4 in most respects that matter, it doesnt strike me as a failure of imagination on Microsofts part. Its just that the decisions the company made over multiple previous upgrades have resulted in a machine that doesnt require reimagining at the moment.

Which is not to suggest that its impossible to substantially improve the experience it offers. Its just that the most obviously fertile ground may be software-based improvements rather than hardware ones. Even after five years, the Surface Pros combination of tablet, detachable keyboard, and pen is a new idea that cries out for software designed with it in mind.

Indeed, Microsoft has been busy on that front. Its previewing a new app called Microsoft Whiteboard designed to let multiple people write and sketch on a shared blank slate. And when I met with Microsoft executives last week to get a sneak peek at the new Surface Pro, they devoted as much time to showing how Office leverages itwith features like a fancy set of drawing tools availabile across Word, Excel, and PowerPointas they did talking about the hardware.

Its entirely possible that the next new Surface Pro after the new Surface Pro will aim for great leaps forward. In his Cnet interview, Panay made reference to a theoretical Surface Pro Next that sounds like it might be such a device. For now, though, the new Surface Pros emphasis on sensible refinements is a sign that Microsoft has come closer to fulfilling the goals that Panay, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky detailed on stage at the original Surfaces June 2012 launch event in Los Angeles than most people would have guessed. Including me.

Harry McCracken is the technology editor for Fast Company, based in San Francisco. In past lives, he was editor at large for Time magazine, founder and editor of Technologizer, and editor of PC World.

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Is Microsoft's New Surface Pro Ho-Hum? Nope, Just Mature Technology - Fast Company