Windows 10 devices accessories: technical specifications, pricing, & details

These are all the new accessories Microsoft introduced for its new devices, including the new Surface Dock, Microsoft Display Dock, Type Cover with Fingerprint ID, Surface Pen, and the Pen tip kit. Here're all the tech specs, pricing, availability, and other details.

Microsoft Display Dock accessory

During its Windows 10 Devices event, Microsoft unveiled a slew of new products, including a new flagship of Lumia smartphones, the new Microsoft Band 2, Surface Pro 4, including the new powerful Surface Book, which is the first laptop built by the company.

The new products come in a number of models and different configurations to choose from, and more importantly, they also come with new accessories, and today we’ll go through all these new accessories you can purchase to add or improve your user experience with your new tablet, laptop, or phone.

Microsoft Surface Dock

Microsoft introduced new Surface devices and to extend their functionality the company also unveiled the new Surface Dock.

The Surface Dock is a new accessory that can transform any Surface tablet into a full PC experience. Unlike the Docking Station that was released for previous version of the tablet, you actually don’t have to dock the entire device into the station, you only have to plug a single cable to the Surface’s proprietary power port, which can also transmit data, to connect an external monitor, other USB accessories, and to a network using wire connectivity.

The reason of the new dock design is to enable the accessory to be compatible with previous versions, such as Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro 3, and Surface Book.

The Surface Dock looks like a power brick and here are the technical specifications:

  • 5.12″ x 2.36″ x 1.18″ (130mm x 60mm x 30mm)
  • 1.21lbs. (550 grams)
  • 2 Mini DisplayPorts
  • 1 Gigabit Ethernet port
  • 4 USB 3.0 ports
  • 1 Audio out port
  • SurfaceConnect cable
  • External power supply

The Microsoft Surface Dock will be available on October 26th, it’s priced at $199.99, and you can pre-order now from the Microsoft Store and from Amazon.

 

Microsoft Surface Dock
Microsoft Surface Dock is seen at Windows 10 Devices Event, on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 in New York, New York.

Microsoft Display Dock

The software maker also unveiled the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL phones. The particularity about these two new premium handsets is that they include support for Continuum, which essentially allows users to transform their smartphones into a PC-like experience to work applications just like on regular computer.

However, if you want to use the best experience of Continuum, you’ll need to purchase the optional Microsoft Display Dock.

The Display Dock will be compatible with your Lumia 950 or 950 XL to connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse with a 60 fps refresh rate. You will get the full 1080p experience similar to the experience you get on your computer thanks to the super-fast USB Type-C connection, which will also charge your phone while plugged in.

The Microsoft Display Dock is very small and portable. Here’re all the technical specifications:

Connectivity

  • Charging connectors: USB-C
  • AV connectors: DisplayPort, HDMI Connector
  • System connectors: DisplayPort over USB-C
  • USB: 2 x USB 2.0, USB 2.0 high current charging port
  • Content protection: High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) 1.3 / 1.4

Usage

  • UI features: Gadgets app
  • LED indicators: Power on indicator
  • Video resolution: up to 1080p (Full HD, 1920 x 1080)

Dimensions

  • Thickness: 64.1mm
  • Width: 64.1mm
  • Length: 25.6mm
  • Weight: 230g
  • Cable length: 100cm

The Microsoft Display Dock is “coming soon”, it’s likely to be priced at $99 (pre-order is not yet available).

Microsoft Display Dock
Microsoft Display Dock is seen at Windows 10 Devices Event, on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 in New York, New York.

 

Type Cover and Type Cover with Fingerprint ID

Including with the Surface Pro 4 announcement, Microsoft also introduced the next generation of Type Covers for the tablet.

The Surface Pro 4 Type Cover is redesigned model from the Surface Pro 3 model. This is the lightest and thinnest Type Cover that Microsoft has ever shipped for Surface.

It’s steadier and but the most important improvements are on the keys and trackpad. The new Type Cover now has more spacing between the keys, it has an integrated backlit keyboard with scissor design and 1.3mm key travel, and new precision glass trackpad, which is also 40 percent larger than the previous version.

Here’re the technical specifications for the Surface Pro 4 Type Cover:

  • 11.6″ x 8.54″ x 0.19″ (295mm x 217mm x 4.9mm)
  • 0.68lbs (310 grams)
  • Black, blue, bright blue, red, and teal1
  • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1 – F12)
  • Dedicated buttons for Windows shortcuts, media controls, and screen brightness
  • Right click button
  • Magnetic attachment
  • Accelerometer

Also, Microsoft unveiled another version the new Type Cover with a fingerprint reader. The model of the cover was specifically designed to support Windows Hello. While the Surface Pro 4 include the facial recognition camera to use the new Windows 10 feature, the company is aiming the new cover for Surface Pro 3 users.

Here’re the technical specifications for the Surface Pro 4 Type Cover with fingerprint reader:

  • 11.6″ x 8.54″ x 0.19″ (295mm x 217mm x 4.65mm)
  • 0.63lbs (285 grams)
  • Available in black
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Mechanical keys that are spread out for precision typing
  • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1 – F12)
  • Dedicated buttons for Windows shortcuts, media controls, and screen brightness
  • Right click button
  • Magnetic attachment
  • Accelerometer

Both covers will be available in six colors: black, blue, bright blue, red, teal, and onyx, and they are fully compatible with Surface Pro 4 and Surface Pro 3. You can pre-order the Type Cover from the Microsoft Store for $129.99 and from Amazon, and you can pre-order the Surface Pro 4 Type Cover with Fingerprint ID also from the Microsoft Store for $159.99 and from Amazon.

Surface Pro 4 Type Cover
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Type Cover is seen at Windows 10 Devices Event, on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 in New York, New York.

Surface Pen

If you own a Surface, now you know that the pen is a very important tool, as it allows you to interact with your device in a more natural way. With the Surface Pen, you can write, draw, or mark-up documents similar to how you would interact with a normal pen and paper.

The new Surface Pen has improved on many different ways, you can not only click the top button to open OneNote or double-click the button to do a screen capture, but you can now click and hold the button to call Cortana in Windows 10, and it features an actual tail eraser.

The new pen also offers 1,024 points of pressure sensitivity and reduced latency. It’s powered by an AAAA battery, which the company claims one year of normal use, it connects to your Surface via Bluetooth 4.0, and it’s compatible with Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.

The Surface Pen now attaches magnetically to the side of the tablet, which Microsoft calls Pen Storage.

Here’re the Surface Pen technical specifications:

  • Connector Type: Bluetooth 4.0
  • Buttons: Right-click and erase
  • Dimensions: 5.67 x 0.37 x 0.40 in (144 x 9.5 x 10.2 mm)
  • Weight: 0.04 lbs. (20g)
  • Pen tip kit: 4 tips: 2H, H, HB, B

The Surface Pen comes included with your Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book, but if you need to purchase another one, the pen is now available for pre-order through the Microsoft Store for $59.99 and from Amazon in blue, silver, or charcoal colors. The pen also comes with the Pen tip kit, and it will be available on October 26th.

Surface Pen for Surface Pro 4

Pen tip kit

If you don’t feel comfortable with the default pen tip that comes with your Surface Pen, you can change for something else that feels right for you. If you need to feel the familiarity of a #2 pencil, or swap for another tip with low-friction, you now have options.

Here’re the Pen tip kit technical specifications

  • Compatibility: Surface Pen with single side button
  • Dimensions: 1.65 x 0.87 x 0.31 in (41.81 x 22 x 8 mm)
  • Weight: 0.01 lbs (5g)
  • In the box: Pen tip kit (4 tips: 2H, H, HB, B)

While the Pen tip kit comes included with the pen, you can also buy the kit separately for $10, you can pre-order now from the Microsoft Store and from Amazon, and it will also be available on October 26th.

Surface Pen tip kit

What do you think about all the new accessories and the fact that Microsoft is making them compatible with previous version of the Surface line? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.