Live from Microsoft’s Surface event in NYC!
Microsoft’s here in the Big Apple to announce a new Surface product or two, and we’re on site to bring you all the latest updates. It’s been a while since MS has announced updates to its tablet and PC lineups, so we’re expecting some substantial news here today. Stay tuned!
Microsoft’s here in the Big Apple to announce a new Surface product or two, and we’re on site to bring you all the latest updates. It’s been a while since MS has announced updates to its tablet and PC lineups, so we’re expecting some substantial news here today. Stay tuned!
So, we’re here!
FYI, you’ll be able to follow along with the livestream here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2014/may14/05-20webcast.aspx
Should be getting started within 15 minutes, but feel free to tweet your predictions in the meantime: we’re @danawollman @zachhonig and @sarahsilbert
Very standard Microsoft music here, Thievery Corporation-ish, Justice-ish but not actually either of those bands.
And also as usual we’re surrounded by fellow journalists from the Verge, Laptop, etc. And everyone’s in a great mood because we spent 45 minutes waiting outside in the sun.
Livestream should be live now. Again, that link is here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2014/may14/05-20webcast.aspx
Interesting observation from @nypxbaxx: https://twitter.com/nwpxbaxx/status/468765361475964928
Zach Honig is on photos. Dana Wollman is our Surface expert and she’ll be bringing you hands-on impressions of whatever’s announced today.
So…Microsoft Surface Mini? Is that the consensus about what to expect?
We’ve definitely heard that rumor on several occasions, and it would make sense, especially to compete with the 7.9-inch iPad mini. (Microsoft’s version is rumored to be 8 inches.)
Wouldn’t it be funny if Microsoft invited us to a “small gathering” and it wasn’t actually a pun, and there was no Surface Mini? Like, wouldn’t that be hysterical?
I really don’t envy the two men standing on stage looking out at all the stress going on in this room. But they seem to be….enjoying it?
“Please take your seat. We will begin in five minutes.”
(That thing where you’re dancing in your seat to the music pre-press conference, and you accidentally keep hip-checking the strangers sitting next to you.)
There’s a scale on stage, which makes us think that we’ll be seeing a comparison between the new Surface and Apple’s product.
“The presentation will begin in two minutes.”
It looks like this presentation is going to begin at 11 on the dot. Microsoft runs a tight ship.
I see one person in this room eating, and one person in this room wearing Google Glass. Yep.
So Dana and I would both love to show up to these events leisurely. Maybe even stroll in 5 minutes till showtime to a reserved seat in the front?
Satya Nadella is here!
“Welcome to our event in New York! It’s great to be on a different coast this time.”
“I want to start by talking about the journey we’ve been on.”
“Mobile first, cloud first” has been the company’s strategy.
He mentions Office 365 for the iPad, corporate-friendly applications. Also: a new data platform for “ambient, intelligent experiences.”
With Windows, the company is advancing with form factor, application — in all ways. Today, we’re looking at hardware.
“Empowering every individual and organization to do more and be more.” That’s the unifying philosophy across all divisions at Microsoft.
Nadella mentions scenarios like doctors making decisions regarding patients, parents keeping organized, students planning trips. MS wants to help with all of that.
“Over a billion users of Office.”
“Software services for productivity” — Microsoft is not alone; it’s joined by Adobe and other companies in bringing solutions to customers.
Sick Tim Cook burn there. #refrigerators #toasters
“We want to build experiences that bring together all the capabilities of our company.”
“The Nokia close gives us the extra strength” to bridge hardware and software to create compelling products.
“Today is a major milestone on that journey. It starts with dreaming the impossible. Can we design a device that combines the best of a tablet and laptop?”
He’s talking about a device that’s equal parts productivity and entertainment; watching a movie and making a movie in one device.
“The privilege to speak after Satya is always an extreme pleasure.” — we dropped off for a moment, but that’s the first thing Panay said.
We didn’t miss much; he’s just talking about the experience of working on the Surface lineup, blood and sweat, growing and learning, etc.
“We design the device for people who use the device every day,” not the weirdos in this room, he says.
We’re seeing a video that shows the types of people and stories that have inspired the development of Surface.
An architect says the Surface can handle the complexity that comes with his job.
The “Get Prepped” app is helping students, says Harvard.
An EKG glove combined with the Surface helps docs save lives.
Steve Gleason, former NFL player, says the device’s eye-tracking technology is important in helping him communicate.
Jeez, all the business applications in this video make me wonder if the larger-screened Surface is actually a thing.
“The marriage of a tablet and powerful computer in one powerful device.”
“Let’s take a step back and deal with some reality.”
“Three years ago, there were people in a room just like this writing stories.” They were talking about the tablet, and how it would kill the laptop, or so Panay says.
“Just look around for one minute. There are plenty of MacBook Airs here. What happened?”
He’s not poking at Apple, per say, just laptops.
“Tablets are designed for you to sit back and watch movies, snacking on apps. Laptops are not designed that way at all.”
This is a pretty familiar concept, yeah? Albeit one that hasn’t reached those few people who always show up to trade shows with their iPad as a camera.
96% of people who own an iPad also own a laptop, apparently.
Unclear where Panos Panay is going here, so let’s just roll with it.
He’s talking about a fork in the road, so to speak; do you buy a laptop or a tablet?
“What is that you want to do?” That’s how salespeople respond when you ask them what to buy.
So, Dana, correct me if i’m wrong, but i get the impression we’re going to be seeing a new Surface Pro. He’s really playing up the tablet and computer in one angle.
“Today we’re focusing on taking that conflict away.”
“To do it, you’d have to have everything in one package,” with no compromises. And all-day battery life.
“These small screens look small. And there’s a reason for that: they are.”
“I’d like to introduce you to Surface Pro 3.”
Familiar kickstand, it looks like. 9.1mm thin, with a stylus. USB 3.0.
“This is the tablet that can replace your laptop.”
It’s 9.1mm thin down from 10.1 or so.
It’s the thinnest Intel Core product ever made, he says.
Naturally it’s faster than the Surface Pro 2.
The screen is now 12 inches diagonally, a step up from the Pro 2. Panay says the larger display is best for productivity.
It’s a 2160 x 1440 resolution, with a 3×2 aspect ratio, highest contrast ratios in the industry.
The screen does look super crisp, viewed from about 7 feet away.
It also weighs just 800 grams, about 1.7 pounds.
Uh oh, Panay just compared the weight of the 13-inch MacBook Air and the new Pro 3. Guess which is lighter?
The 3 x 2 ratio and the scaling give you more room on screen than with the larger 13-inch MBA, Panay says.
There’s a Core i7 chip under the hood.
It was a challenge to bring that processor to such a thin design, he says.
The Surface Pro 3 is fan-less — “another way to say thin.”
There’s a perimeter vent around the Surface Pro 3. “You never feel it, hear it or see it.”
“Machined to fit — every single Surface Pro 3 that comes off the line is custom-machined.”
Panay says nothing’s been compromised to achieve all this. More than 20 percent battery life than previous Surface products, as well.
He just dropped the chassis. It didn’t break. So, the same high-quality, sturdy build of previous Surfaces.
Panay is giving Joanna Stern a Surface Pro 3 to feel how light it is. “That’s for you to keep, by the way.” Lucky lady.
Now we’re looking at the docking station, which adds a ton of ports and connections to the equation. It lets you display out to a 4K monitor as well.
He’s showing us how apps are grouped by profession — there’s artist, architect and doctor, for example.
Within the architect section, he’s zooming into a scaled model. Using the touchscreen, he’s also rotating it. Clearly, this machine is powerful enough to handle complex applications.
Photoshop is another important piece of software for Surface users, and Panay just teased some announcement on that front.
Michael Goff from Adobe is on stage to talk Photoshop. “If you take the power of Photoshop and you put it on a device like this, it’s a creative’s dream come true.”
“Our customers already love Surface Pro, but they told us they wanted Photoshop to take better advantage of the screen, pen and touch.”
Photoshop is now optimized for touch on the Surface Pro 3. Icons are larger and easier to get at with your fingers, pen input works better.
Pinch-and-zoom seems to work really well, too.
Lots of applause for this.
He hinted there’s a lot more coming with the partnership between MS and Adobe as well — “so stay tuned.”
Panay: “Now we’re going to talk about the kickstand.” He’s showing us a photo of his daughter Anastasia asleep in front of a Surface with the kickstand propped up.
So watching movies on the Surface with the kickstand up is “Anastasia mode.”
The original Surface angle is using the kickstand’s first stop. It’s a two-step kickstand, as a reminder.
The new Surface Pro 3 has an improved hinge, with more angle options including 150 degrees.
He just used the word “lappability,” referring to how well a device works in your lap.
Now we’re looking at the Type Cover detachable keyboard, which is now thinner than ever.
Microsoft put a ton of effort into improving the trackpad this time around. It’s 68 percent larger, has 78 percent less friction, etc.
He’s demonstrating lappability now.
With the Surface Pro 2, there’s some looseness in the hinge that makes using it in your lap less than ideal. With the Surface Pro 3, you can click in the cover to stabilize the screen.
It’s magnetically sealed to the screen, so you have a more solid, stable grasp on the machine. It’s definitely something you need to see with your eyes, and we’ll be getting you a video as soon as we can.
Panay says it’s things like this that are so important in getting the tablet to replace the laptop.
Really random applause, which you’ll notice if you’re following the livestream.
“We wanted to build something familiar, and what is more familiar than a piece of paper?”
…I have a feeling we’ll be talking about the pen.
Scratch that: he’s saying the 3 x 2 aspect ratio is similar to a piece of a paper, which makes it “familiar, seamless and personal.”
“When you hold it and a pen in your hand, it has to feel light.”
The pen — “it’s not a stylus” — is meant to be the weight of a normal pen you’d use with paper.
“But is anyone going to write on a PC? It doesn’t just mean writing; it’s experiences.” He’s opening the New York Times Crossword app.
Panay’s showing how you can write out the solution to a clue in your puzzle, and your handwriting will be digitized.
Now we’re looking at Final Draft, a movie-making app I believe.
Ach, this NYT guy two seats down is going to work on the puzzle. Can we change places please?
In Final Draft, we’re looking at how you can edit a script in real time with the pen. Palm rejection lets you rest your hand on the screen without any accidental input, and the pen tip works as it would if it was a non-digital one.
“This app is specifically designed and optimized for Surface Pro 3.” So, Hollywood, cozy up to Microsoft.
Now we’re going to hear the front-facing speakers.
We’re also seeing side by side computing. Two windows next to each other — Final Draft on one side, and a movie that corresponds with the open script on the other.
Sound through the front speaker seems pretty strong considering how big this room is.
“The power of Windows is letting me make a movie as I watch it.”
…This is gonna be a long presentation if we still have a Surface Mini on the docket for today.
Filed under: Microsoft
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