On October 6th, the #Windows10devices event happened in New York City, and during the event Microsoft unveiled two new Surface devices, three Lumia phones, and the second generation of the Microsoft Band.
The company also showed off Continuum for phones, and even revealed that Windows 10 is now running on over 110 million devices around the world in only eight weeks, and users have already asked over one billion questions to Cortana and visited the Store over one billion times.
The event was the biggest hardware event in history and here’s a recap of all the product announcements.
Surface Book
While we knew that Microsoft was planning to introduce a bigger Surface tablet, we didn’t know it was going to be a laptop. During the October 6th, event the company unveiled the Surface Book, which is being referred to as the “ultimate laptop”.
It’s a 13.5-inch (3200 x 2000) display with PixelSense technology packing 267 PPI for a total of 6 million pixels, with the new screen users will experience better color, contrast, and clarity.
This is a work machine that combines the more important design aspects of the Surface line, but optimized for those laptop users. The Surface Book features the latest 6th Generation Intel processors with the choice of a Core i5 or Core i7 chips, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage.
The laptop also features two graphics chips – an Intel HD Graphics 520 with an option discrete NVIDIA GeForce graphics, which is integrated into the backlit keyboard with a responsive glass trackpad –. And the company claims up to 12 hours of battery life for video playback.
The Surface Book has also a touch-enable display and support for the Surface Pen, which now offers an improved writing experience with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and reduced latency.
Perhaps one of the best features of the Surface Book is that the screen detaches from the keyboard turning into a Surface Pro-like machine.
This powerhouse can tackle any task you can think. The company says that is twice as fast as the MacBook Pro. You can even connect two 4K monitors while still powering the 3200 x 2000 Surface Book display.
As for ports, the tablet has a USB 3.0, Mini DispalyPort, full-size SD card reader, and Surface Pen comes included.
The first laptop built from Microsoft is available for pre-order from the Microsoft Store now for $1,499 for the base model of 128GB of storage, Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, all the way to $2,699 for the 512GB of storage, Core i7 processor with 16GB of RAM, and it goes on sale on October 26.
Surface Pro 4
Alongside with the incredible Surface Book, the company also announced the Surface Pro 4. The new tablet that can replace your laptop now has a 12.3-inch (2736 x 1824) PixelSense display with 5 million pixels and 267 PPI.
The Surface Pro 4 comes with various Intel 6th Generation processors you can choose from, including Core m, Core i5, and Core i7. The tablet is also thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro 3, the new Surface Pro 4 is only 8.4mm thin and it weighs only 1.69 to 1.73 pounds depending on the model, and it also sports a thinner bezel.
There are different options ranging from 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB of RAM and 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB Solid-state drive.
Microsoft claims up to 9 hours of battery life for video playback, and yes the Surface Pro 4 also features Windows Hello for face-authentication camera on the front. As for ports, the tablet has a USB 3.0, Mini DispalyPort, and microSD card reader. Furthermore, while the Surface Pen comes included, you’ll still need to buy the Type Cover separately.
The Surface Pro 4 is 30 percent faster than the Surface Pro 3, 50 percent faster than the MacBook Air, and now you can connect two 4K monitors using the DisplayPort.
The Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 for the Core M3 processor with 4GB of RAM all the way to $2,199 for the 512GB of storage Core i7 processor with 16GB of RAM. You can pre-order the Surface Pro 4 starting today from the Microsoft Store, and it will be available on October 26.
Type Cover and docking station
Microsoft also introduced a new Type Cover that includes better key spacing, an improved trackpad that is 40 percent larger, and you can also opt to buy one with a fingerprint reader that will enable Windows Hello on your Surface Pro 3.
In addition, there is a new docking station that works on Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and the new Surface Book with a variety of ports, such as two 4K DisplayPort outputs, four 3.0 ports, and one Ethernet link. The company calls it the Surface Dock and you can pre-order now from the Microsoft Store, and it will be available on October 26 for $200.
If you have the older docking station, chances are that you will be seeing an adapter to make your Surface Pro 4 fit without having to purchase a new dock.
Lumia phones
As expected the software giant also unveiled its new flagship of Lumia handsets. During the New York Event, Microsoft announced the Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, and a lower-end Lumia 550 phones.
The Lumia 950 is a 5.2-inch (2560×1440) Quad HD AMOLED display device on an 8.25mm thick package running the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core processor and 64-bit support, and 3000 mAh battery. The Lumia 950 XL is a 5.7-inch (2560×1440) Quad HD AMOLED device running the Snapdragon 810 Octa-core processor and 64-bit capabilities, 3340 mAh battery.
Both Lumia handsets come with support for Continuum and the Microsoft Display Dock, which will turn your phone into a PC-like experience by connecting a mouse, keyboard, and external monitor.
There is a 20-megapixel camera with 4K video recording and a 5-megapixel camera with 1080p recovering capability, 3000 mAh battery, USB Type-C port for fast charging, microSD card with support of up to 2TB of storage, and two antennas to offer you the best signal possible.
The phones also support Glance screen to view information and notifications on your phone with zero battery waste.
Finally, there is the Lumia 550, which another affordable phone featuring a 4.7-inch display (1280×720), a Snapdragon 210 quad-core processor, 5-megapixel rear- and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras, 2100 mAh removable battery, and 8GB of storage.
The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, which you can pre-order now, will be available in November for $549 and $649 respectably. The Lumia 550 will be available in December for $139.
Microsoft Band 2
The day couldn’t be complete with a new version of the popular Microsoft Band. As rumored, the company also unveiled the Microsoft Band 2.
Like its predecessor, the second generation of the fitness tracker can track your heart rate, exercise, calorie burn and sleep quality, and provide a number of notifications from emails, text, and calendar.
The sensors on the band can track specific data of your daily routine and the Microsoft Health app available for Windows, iOS, Android, and Web Dashboard, will help you to make sense of all that data on a single place.
The new Microsoft Band 2 features a curved screen that makes more elegant and easier to wear than the previous version. It also sports a full-color AMOLED (320×128) Gorilla Glass 3 display with a metallic finish on the side and silicon band. The company claims 48 hours of battery life and it can be fully recharged in less than 1.5 hours.
Just like the first generation, the fitness tracker includes these sensors: Optical heart rate sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, Gyrometer, GPS, Ambient light sensor, Skin temperature sensor, UV sensor, Capacitive sensor, Galvanic skin response, and Microphone, but with Band 2 the company is adding an eleventh sensor: Barometer, which will allow the band to track exercise when you are going up and down stairs.
The Microsoft Band 2 is available for pre-order now for $249.99, and it will become available on October 30.
HoloLens
Microsoft also talked more about HoloLens and showed off project X-Ray and announced that the developers can apply now for the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition, which will be arriving in Q1 2016 for $3000.
Xbox One
Finally, the software maker also showcased the new Xbox One experience based on Windows 10, and noted that Xbox One Backward Compatibility to play Xbox 360 games for free will come later this year.
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 15 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 21 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. Email him at [email protected].