Microsoft Surface 3 to be its first 'non-Pro' tablet with Intel inside

by Mark Tyson on 27 March 2015, 11:05

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Surface

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According to sources speaking to WinBeta the successor to the Surface 2 will be released shortly. However it won't continue the Windows RT lineage of its predecessors, the new non-Pro machine will sport the full Windows 8.1 OS. This fanless Intel Atom or Core M processor powered Surface 3 device will be announced in the lead up to or at Microsoft's BUILD developer conference.

The last non-Pro Surface tablet launch was way back in September 2013 when the Windows RT and ARM-powered (Nvidia Tegra 4) Surface 2 was launched. The Windows 8.1 and Intel-powered (Haswell Core i5) Surface Pro 2 was launched at the same time. However, when the Surface Pro 3 was launched an accompanying non-Pro or even mini device was not to be seen.

Since the launch of the Surface Pro 3 Microsoft has been pretty quiet about non-Pro devices but we learnt back in January that the Surface 2 was very low in stock and shortly after that it was discontinued. Windows 10 meanwhile, won't be coming to the ARM-powered Surface tablets, only "some of the functionality of Windows 10," will come to the tablets in the form of an update.

While the Surface 3 is said to be equipped with an Intel chip, the WinBeta source didn't go as far as indicating Microsoft's choice of processor. As regular readers will know there is a large price difference between the Intel Atom and Core M processors which are expected to be equipped in the next non-Pro Surface tablet. With the Surface Pro 3 Microsoft offered a choice of processors but for the upcoming cheaper model it remains to be seen what if any range of options will be available.

With a launch time estimate of before or at the Microsoft BUILD 2015 conference, which takes place from 29th April to 1st May, the Surface 3 will of course come with Windows 8.1 installed. The new tablet convertible will be upgradeable to Windows 10. It would be great if the Surface 3 wasn't just a cost-cutting exercise: bringing some interesting new technologies on board, not just one of Intel's lower price lower power chips, would go a long way to popularise the device. It has been predicted that 2-in-1s will be a hot market sector this summer so a well designed Surface 3, at the right price, could do well for Redmond.

HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

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Posted by crossy - Fri 27 Mar 2015 12:03
Can someone explain to me why* Windows 10 will run on a Raspberry Pi 2 (ARM powered, limited memory and storage), but WindowsRT devices (ARM powered, limited memory and storage) are excluded from the party?

(* apart from sheer bloody-mindedness)

Just seems like a missed opportunity to bring the WindowsRT-toting tablets into the Windows10 fold and silence (to an extent) all those critics who said that Windows doesn't run on anything else than Intel. Worst still because folks I know who've got RT devices (Surface's and Nokia 1520's) seem pretty happy with them, but are less so if their “precious” is going to be downgraded to “paperweight”.
Posted by Dooms - Fri 27 Mar 2015 12:04
crossy
Can someone explain to me why* Windows 10 will run on a Raspberry Pi 2 (ARM powered, limited memory and storage), but WindowsRT devices (ARM powered, limited memory and storage) are excluded from the party?

(* apart from sheer bloody-mindedness)

Just seems like a missed opportunity to bring the WindowsRT-toting tablets into the Windows10 fold and silence (to an extent) all those critics who said that Windows doesn't run on anything else than Intel. Worst still because folks I know who've got RT devices (Surface's and Nokia 1520's) seem pretty happy with them, but are less so if their “precious” is going to be downgraded to “paperweight”.

I was under the impression that “Windows 10” on PI was basically going to be a GUI-less powershell thing
Posted by edzieba - Fri 27 Mar 2015 12:09
crossy
Can someone explain to me why* Windows 10 will run on a Raspberry Pi 2 (ARM powered, limited memory and storage), but WindowsRT devices (ARM powered, limited memory and storage) are excluded from the party?
Windows 10 EMBEDDED, runs in the Pi 2, not full desktop Windows 10.
Posted by CK_1985 - Fri 27 Mar 2015 15:05
So I guess the real question is how is this going to be differentiated from the Pro version?

Obviously lower powered processors, I'm guessing a RAM trim and smaller/slower storage options… Trouble is, most people probably wouldn't notice those differences day-to-day, so the worry would be that in order to avoid cannibalising Pro sales, they might do something drastic to hamstring the non-Pro version. Hope not though!
Posted by LSG501 - Fri 27 Mar 2015 15:19
CK_1985
So I guess the real question is how is this going to be differentiated from the Pro version?
Assuming core-m… I'd go 10inch 1080p 16:9 display like surface 2 (although 1440p 3:2 might be a differentiator over oem's), stylus, 4GB ram and max of say 128GB ssd… all in a slightly smaller/thinner surface 2 chassis :)

10inch would allow inclusion of ‘freemium’ office without offending oems, stylus because that's a selling point for windows devices and the rest wouldn't cut into the ‘pro’ specs of the surface pro :)

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