Microsoft is updating its Surface tablet line, introducing a device that drops the numeral branding from the tablet and adds battery life and horsepower.
p
The Surface Pro [pictured above], introduced at a media event in China on Tuesday, looks much like the Surface Pro 4 that Microsoft released in October 2015. But inside are updated Intel processors and, Microsoft says, battery life that lasts as much as 50 percent longer than the previous iteration.
p
The cost of the new device will range from $799 for a version powered by Intel’s Core M processor, to $2,699 for one outfitted with a more powerful seventh-generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16 gigabytes of RAM.
p
Those prices don’t include the Surface’s type cover ($129), essentially a requirement for the tablet to function as a laptop replacement as Microsoft touts in advertisements.
p
The 12.3-inch touch screen is built for interaction with the Surface Pen.
p
Microsoft’s Surface line launched with a thud in 2012, but a recent run of polished devices have earned better reviews and made the company’s venture into computer hardware a viable line of business.
p
Surface devices, including the Surface Studio desktop PC and the Surface Book laptop, brought in more than $4 billion in revenue during the 12 months that ended in March. A new offering, the Surface Laptop, was introduced earlier this month.
p
The devices have also helped fuel the growth in demand for more-portable laptops, and spurred other computer makers to spice up their offerings in the competitive, and shrinking, market for PCs.
p
The Surface Pro, available for pre-order Tuesday, is expected to be available June 15 in 27 markets, including the United States, Canada and much of Western Europe.
p
The device also will launch then in China — a market where Microsoft’s computers have tended to arrive on a delayed basis, if at all. The country has…