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Microsoft just went full science fiction in today's event launching a number of futuristic Surface products. We'll be seeing a new Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X, Surface Neo (Folding tablet) and Surface Duo (Folding smartphone). Microsoft also announced some fully wireless earbuds named... you guessed it, the Surface Earbuds.
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0:00
holy moly uh microsoft event will you're up to date i'm up to date it's bananas it's wild
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it's exciting to talk about i went on uh twitter and i said microsoft is going science fiction
0:15
which i like in this space uh they've got some new products some that are going to be available soon
0:22
and then some that are more ambitious 2020 products uh i just want to kick well i'm gonna
0:27
get to all of it, including the Neo, the flipping, the folding, the really science fiction stuff
0:32
but I want to start on the practical stuff that's going to be available more shortly
0:37
because I'm going to aim to get my hands on it. Number one, Surface Laptop 3. So I played around
0:45
with the previous version of the Surface Laptop. It was available in a 13-inch size. Now they're
0:51
going to be launching it in a 15-inch size as well, and they've also made some improvements
0:55
of changes to the device. It's going to feature USB Type-C. It's going to be touchscreen
1:01
A similarity is going to be the fact that it's 3x2, so it's got this unusual
1:05
aspect ratio in the world of laptops in 2019, which I like. Well, we talked
1:11
about this downstairs. 3x2 for productivity. You get the eyeline up a little higher from an ergonomic
1:17
perspective. They do things like hide the speakers underneath the keyboard. I mean, there's a lot of people that haven't
1:25
had access to to this particular laptop or tried it or seen it uh i just feel like microsoft is
1:32
kind of they're heading in the right direction here from a futuristic point of view the the
1:38
simplicity the minimalism of these products kind of amazing what they're packing in here for
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a company that let's be honest is still relatively new in the hardware space
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they talk about things such as the key travel on the keyboard of course i used
1:52
the 13 and a half inch version of the surface laptop surface laptop 2 and the keyboard even
2:00
though it's a chiclet style has a pretty substantial amount of travel to it the new
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model is going to come in a full metal setup as well so you don't have to have the alcantara
2:09
wrist space there though you can still configure the 13 inch version with that the 15 inch version
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i'm assuming because it probably has to be more rigid is going to be available only in the the
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metal structure aluminum i assume is what it's made of some type of alloy the 15 inch version
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is going to be available in two colors so you can get it in matte black or like a lighter silver
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color the 13 inch version is going to have many more variations because of the fact that it can
2:38
be configured with the alcantara or even a different color of metal alloy the other interesting note
2:45
with these new laptops the 15 inch model is going to be amd powered i mean we haven't seen that
2:51
in a while and they claim that this collaboration with amd is going to deliver the fastest in class
2:57
whatever they consider their class to be the thing looks crazy slim it still has a proprietary charge
3:04
port but it does feature quick charging now there's some versatility in how you charge it up
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uh what do they say exclusive amd ryzen microsoft surface edition uh designed to give you exceptional
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computing graphics and battery performance in an ultra slim 15 inch laptop so this is one of these
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things that's interesting to me because typically when you go up to the 15 inch laptop and above
3:28
then you're getting dedicated graphics you're often into gaming land even with the lenovo stuff
3:35
like the x1 extreme that i use then you got graphics and you got a fan not that there's
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anything wrong with that gaming and and and power hungry power intensive tasks that's the kind of
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thing somebody interested in a 15-inch laptop is usually in for but where's the thin and light
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where's the where's you know where's the macbook air of 15-inch laptops maybe you still want a big
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screen but you want the thinnest lightest thing on your lap possible so the 15-inch is particularly
4:04
what's interesting to me out of this announcement these two new laptops surface laptop 313 and 15
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are set to arrive on the 22nd of October, starting at $9.99 for the smaller one
4:17
and $11.99 for the bigger one. I can't wait to get my hands on these devices
4:23
You guys know I'm a laptop. I still use a laptop. As much as these form factors continue to evolve
4:28
and it's very exciting and interesting, there's something about just the comfort
4:34
in using a laptop. You stick that on your lap you got a nice tactile keyboard I into it So USB bigger display availability USB and C port on there and fast charging 15 size
4:47
The way that the bezel is equal in all sections, I guess the chin is a little bit
4:52
but the way it looks at a glance, there's something so pleasing about that symmetry
4:57
There's so many Windows laptops currently, they have the big chin on them
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like the laptop I'm using here. You have the big chin there
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So when you see something like that and you see the 3x2 being brought back
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I don't know, for me, I like variation. I like options. Things like this
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You know that about me. Symmetry. All right, next up, there was the Surface Pro 7
5:21
This is the most iterative of the announcements because it's basically just the next version of the Surface that you already know
5:28
Surface Pro that you already know. They have taken, I guess, the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it approach to this particular model, maintaining it
5:37
and just sort of upgrading it to 10th-gen Intel chips and adding USB-C and USB-A on there
5:44
So you have both of those. The previous version didn't have Type-C, which made it feel slightly antiquated
5:49
More powerful microphones. It's going to have a lower starting price at $749
5:53
So for those of you that are unfamiliar, just with the Surface Pro in general, this is that versatile device that i guess to a certain extent kind of informed a lot of what's
6:02
happened in the mobile computing space as far as form factors that aren't laptops this thing had
6:09
the kickstand the removable keyboard cover uh situation it's kind of like an ipad but of course
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it's got windows on it it's an interesting device it's going to come at a lower price point and
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like i said this is the device in today's announcement where they took the if it ain't
6:25
broke, don't fix it strategy, lowered the price, added USB-C. That's pretty much it. Now, the more
6:31
exciting announcement in the Surface Pro department is this Surface Pro X, which is going to be a
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Windows device, but running off of a mobile chip. So supposedly we're going to see massive
6:46
improvements to things like battery life, an incredibly thin design, because obviously when
6:51
you're dealing with mobile components you don't have the same you don't have the same heat problems
6:56
well you have greater efficiency and that's sort of the aim of it finally a mobile chip capable of
7:01
running windows the chip sq1 is the name of it apparently developed alongside qualcomm i believe
7:08
is that true well yes yeah it's a custom snapdragon influenced chip and it's what allows
7:17
for this extremely slim design, 0.2 inches, 1.68 pounds. The claim here is that you've got a 13-inch
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display, but the bezel's slim enough to give you a form factor more in line with like a 12-inch
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type of device. So this puts it form factor-wise in the iPad Pro large size area. But then again
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you have the opportunity here to run something close to a desktop operating system via Windows
7:46
It's going to have LTE connectivity. It's, of course, also going to have a type cover
7:53
which is kind of similar to what the regular Surface Pro has
7:57
but this one is going to have an integrated section to hide an always-charged stylus pen
8:04
The pen will be a different shape from what you've seen in the past. It's a little bit flatter in order to fit in there
8:09
but the whole transition between pen to keyboard to fold it up flat
8:14
is what's really interesting, And I think during a presentation, the presenter there continued to say it's about flow
8:22
There's a flow to it. I like flow when it comes to tech
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Do you? Yeah, I like a nice flow. Well, it's very important because a lot of times, especially when things are getting flippy and foldy, it can feel very deliberate
8:36
Right. And it can feel... Takes you out of the productivity. Yeah, it just doesn't feel futuristic
8:42
it so anyhow uh he talked a lot about flow and i think that's sort of where this product comes in
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you can think of it as a thinner probably more efficient from a battery perspective
8:54
futuristic version of the surface hence the x branding on it i think this i think there's gonna
9:00
be a lot of interest in this thing especially if it can deliver on some astronomical battery life
9:05
now they also launched some earbuds the surface earbuds these things kind of they have a a unique
9:12
I'll say unique. They have a unique look to them. This circular interface and that really what it is I think that the interface informed the design to a great degree here because the only way to interact with them is via gestures
9:28
So there's tapping and swiping and so forth to initiate different activities on these earbuds
9:34
But you do end up with a slightly larger earbud, obviously, because of this
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The earbuds themselves are going to get eight hours of battery life, up to 24 when you include the charge case
9:42
The charge case looks pretty portable, but it's still not AirPod portable
9:47
which is of course the killer functionality of AirPods is their portability
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There's going to be other tie-ins with these earbuds when it comes to Spotify and Office 365
10:00
There's some translation features built into these. So Microsoft's trying to give you like a full package proposal
10:07
They of course also claim that because the package is a little bit larger you're going to get better audio performance
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There's also a dual mic setup, which aims to eliminate background noise
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Of course, this is the type of thing you have to try. The price point, fairly premium
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So they obviously believe they've added value here compared to the other stuff that's on the market in the fully wireless space
10:30
The opening price at $249. And now we get into the ambitious stuff, the futuristic stuff, the 2020 stuff
10:38
And it's important to note that even though Microsoft talked about this stuff today, it is, I mean, it's not coming out for a while, right
10:46
That's what 2020 means. Holiday season 2020, we're talking about a year from now. And of course, that could potentially see delays between now and then because these products are ambitious
10:54
And I think I was telling Will earlier, this sort of illustrates a new approach to how to do these events for tech companies where it's almost, it's a sort of like a car show where you showcase what you have available right now
11:08
You showcase what you're excited about that people can buy currently or at least very soon
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And then you also showcase what you're working on, what's coming up in order to expose a little bit of your DNA, your thought process, your ambitiousness
11:22
Because the way we're interacting with these tech companies now, for a lot of us, we're jumping into various ecosystems
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And we kind of want to know the roadmap so we know what we're investing in today
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So I actually am a big fan of this approach. I understand some people
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they're kind of they're impatient and they see an announcement I can't get it for a while
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or on the flip side they go I'm going to avoid buying the thing that's available today because I'm waiting
11:46
for the next one but for me I just feel like tech has become
11:50
such an important part of our lives these ecosystems exist and the more information we can
11:54
get earlier the better I want to know what they're working on it's exciting
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and interesting to me and I appreciate the ambition and it tells me something
12:02
about the brand I'm about to get engaged with, even if I'm going to be buying their current product
12:07
instead of this futuristic one in the immediate term. Anyhow, Surface Neo is the first
12:13
of the two ambitious folding products, dual screen products. To be clear, there's no folding display in here
12:20
Instead, it's a lot more like the original Microsoft Courier prototype that was floating around the web
12:26
and causing a ruckus back in the day. It's like, do we really need to fold some OLED here
12:32
or can we just do dual display for productivity? Should these be notebooks
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Essentially, mini notebooks will. And I know something like that gets you excited
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It gets your juices flowing, in fact. Yeah, I mean, actually the Duo looks like a sketchbook
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It looks like a sketchbook. Which I appreciate, and you can use a pen on it. Well, they both look like a sketchbook
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just like two different sizes of moleskin that you would see out and about
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The Neo has this really cool keyboard functionality. the way he was flipping it around and talking about flow again this uh this magnetic keyboard
13:07
contraption that when it flips up on the display in landscape mode when you're essentially using
13:11
the thing like a laptop will's got the perfect graphic right now i mean how exciting is that
13:17
it's that's the most science fiction thing of the whole presentation and it's it's the young me it's
13:24
the current me this is the type of stuff that gets me excited things don't have to be exactly the way
13:29
they are. Look at the way the trackpad shows up. It's so bizarre and strange. And that's what I
13:35
like about it. You got to remember, when I talk about something in this sense, it doesn't necessarily
13:38
mean it's a recommendation. I'm telling you to ditch your current laptop. It's just, this is sort
13:44
of what it's all about. I mean, if you're thinking or talking about innovation, then you're directly
13:49
corresponding with imagination in that. So you got to think about something, try something
13:54
and see what happens. And I think that's what Microsoft is doing right now. And it's kind of
13:57
of strange it unbelievable that that coming from Microsoft the maker of Windows which sort of was a similar product for such a long time and when they did try to innovate a lot of people weren too happy about those
14:09
changes that had been made along the way with various versions of windows now they're in the
14:13
hardware game and they're like let's just drop this neo real quick let's drop this duo real quick
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and then to get to the crazy part in talking about the duo they're like oh yeah we're gonna work with
14:23
google yeah it's gonna have android what microsoft android shaking hands collaborating the future is
14:31
now maybe in 2020 so anyway you flip this little keyboard up and the remainder of the bottom
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display which is exposed gives you access to extra functionality it's kind of like a giant
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touch bar she's flipping it around she takes a phone call so it's important to note the the
14:49
The Neo, the bigger version, is going to be running some kind of Windows hybrid by the name of Windows 10X
14:55
Sort of mobile, sort of desktop, kind of the best of both worlds. At least that's the aim at the moment
15:01
And I really think that there's an opportunity there. There's a gap between mobile OSs and desktop OSs
15:08
There's that moment you experience on a mobile OS where you wish you had a desktop OS
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And there's a similar moment that takes place sometimes on a desktop OS where you're like, this thing really works better on a mobile OS
15:19
Of course, in Apple land, you've got to jump from iOS all the way up to macOS, and there's nothing in between
15:25
And in Windows land, you're probably using an Android device, and then you jump all the way up to full-fledged Windows
15:32
They've tried it in the past with the Metro UI and various other tablet-oriented interfaces, but it never really caught on
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if you have hardware that supports the transition, now you might be able to make the case
15:44
and actually see some adoption. So, I mean, I don't really need to say too much
15:49
You see the clip. You see what the potential is for folding devices like this
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And one of the nice things is you take away some of the apprehension of the folding screen devices
16:01
which is you have this seam and this strange hinge, and you're still supposed to interact with it
16:06
like a phone from the outside. They're like, forget about that. Who's even making phone calls
16:10
They're like, let's just jump all the way into the future, assume that a phone call is a rarity
16:16
and give you a functional device with a 360 hinge. So this is the benefit of not having an OLED display
16:23
It can fall both ways around. I can't help. I mean, I'm into this
16:27
This is the type of stuff. This is the reason we do the job well, is to see these new takes, these imaginative new creations in the tech realm
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And every so often we go through periods where it feels like we're not getting a lot of it. And then we get a whole bunch
16:41
And Microsoft just bombarded us with one of the craziest events I've ever seen, in fact, in terms of how many products they just rolled out
16:48
They're like, we've been working. They're like, we're not sleeping. Oh, yeah
16:53
They're like, we haven't been on the couch selling operating systems. We're thinking about something different
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We're not going to take a nap right now. So I appreciate that. The Surface Duo device, it will be a phone
17:06
The model being showcased right now is featuring Snapdragon 855. Granted, that could change by 2020 when the thing eventually releases, but it's mobile OS
17:15
It's 8.3 inches of space, I believe, when the displays are folded out, or 5.6-inch screens on each of the two units
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So I think for most people, that's probably the most exciting. I know a lot of individuals out there are primarily on mobile devices, on singular devices, like on a one device kind of setup
17:37
This could be a really interesting play as an alternative to a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop
17:43
If you were to imagine all three of those things in one place, this might be the closest we've ever gotten right here
17:51
And that thing fits in your pocket. for me I would say I'm actually a little more interested in the Neo model only because that
17:58
keyboard contraption I still like a tactile option and the way that keyboard flips around from the
18:03
back the flow that was talked about I need to experience that but of course I want to try both
18:09
lots of new stuff I want to congratulate Microsoft I think they nailed it you don't you don't even
18:14
need to just hear me but if you go ahead on Twitter if you see the tech community right now
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It's a lot of people that you're going to witness getting fired up about this stuff
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And that's good news for Microsoft. It means they've done something well. And you can let me know in the comments whether you agree or not
18:29
If anything here is the future, which particular product you're most excited for
18:33
But for me, I'm saying congrats, Microsoft. You didn't come out. You didn't rest
18:38
You've been working on a lot of stuff. And really, I got appreciation for it
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