As expected, Microsoft is betting upon the growth and eventual digitalization of education and towards the same, has launched a brand new Surface laptop model. The Surface laptop is aimed squarely as a competitor to Google’s Chromebook and Apple’s iPads and the Redmond giant appears to be betting upon schools and universities purchasing its new product — despite its rather hefty price tag.
The first and most important differentiator that separates its laptop from other Surface devices, is the fact that it runs Microsoft’s newest operating system — Windows 10 S. The OS was also unveiled at the company’s ongoing Edu event and Microsoft appears to be of the belief that the combination of a new hardware and a new software, will be enough to overcome Chromebook’s immense popularity among students.
Jumping straight into the specs, the new Surface Laptop has a 3:2, 1080p 13.5-inch touchscreen. The keyboard associated with the device is in an encasing of the same material that s used with the premium Surface Pro 4 keyboard. You also get a USB port, SD card slot, mini DisplayPort, and a Surface power connector. If you are hoping for a USB-C port, you are likely to be disappointed. Inside the device you have an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and has 128GB of SSD storage.
The specs are nothing out of ordinary. However, Microsoft could still have managed to take upon Chromebook but for the price tag it has attached with the device. The new Surface Laptop is expected to cost 1 dollar short of $1000, that is $999. That puts it significantly above the price for iPads and even Chromebooks. So if the company was hoping to target educational institutions that need these products in bulk for their classes but can not afford a lot of devices, well, its strategy seems to be somewhat off-target.
In the coming days, we would be able to see some of the best Microsoft laptop review on the internet regarding the same.
The company appears to be hoping that is premium lineup will induce colleges and schools into acquiring its deice for their own. Whether the new Surface laptop will be enough to get users to shell out the $999 and turn their backs upon Google and Apple’s offerings, is something that remains to be seen.
Meet the new Surface Laptop. Performance made personal. pic.twitter.com/dk9BB0IPwL
— Microsoft Surface (@surface) May 2, 2017
