[TLRtheory]

The Surface 3 really hit a sweet spot with me. I started with a Surface Pro 3, but issues with the fan going crazy drove me away... and while I never had a problem with the way it handled anything I threw at it, it always felt too... big.

I was initially VERY iffy about how life would be with an Atom processor, especially since the Acer Aspire days... but it handles EVERYTHING I need it to. Takes Adobe CC Master Collection like a champ, handles all my IDEs, it's been quite competent for the type of gaming I do (Windows Store games like BlazBlue mostly)... and the fan-lessness was an absolute Godsend.

With that said, there's some things I really wanna see out of the Surface 4.
- Ditch the full-size USB: Ask me a year ago and I'd have likely said the day they do this is the day I leave the Surface lineup, but I think we're in an age where it can finally go away.
- THINNER, LIGHTER. The Surface 3 is already the lightest Surface ever, but ditching the full-size USB will enable it to get thinner than ever before.
- USB Type-C: I really want this port to just take over my whole life. The Surface 4 should have 2-3 of them, any of which can be used for OTG or charging.
- Include a USB Type-C to 'regular' USB adaptor in the box. The Type-C revolution is great, but it needs to be eased into.
- Screen size: Don't touch it, it's great as it is.

The lack of full-size USB would be an initial shocker... but for a device that's focused on being a light weight alternative to its big brother, I think that'd be okay. If you were calling the shots, how would your non-pro "Surface 4" be?

[etphoto]

I kind of disagree. I like the full size USB, in fact, add a few more ports. Surface 4 could be larger hard drive and maybe some more RAM for starters.

Sent from my Surface 3

[Dusteater]

I don't care either way dumping the full size USB. But USB-C is a 100% requirement. Even better would be Thunderbolt 3 support for eGPU and advanced docking capability.

Besides that, I'd like to see a tablet with GPS as well as Mobile Data.

But seeing how Panos is against USB-C, I just bought an HP Pavilion x2 (12"). I sure hope Panos gets the Surface 4 right, but I wouldn't hold my breath. He is too in love with his proprietary SurfaceConnect port that is totally useless.

[Chintan Gohel]

USB is too important right now for it to be gone. How would we connect anything to our surfaces if that port wasn't there? Flash drives, USB to ethernet converter, mouse, phone via cable, external hard drive, power bank etc.

Personally I have never seen a USB C so I don't know how it looks like . I don't know which of the above devices come with that port.

[Chintan Gohel]

If surface 4 were to come out, I think the thickness can be the same, just battery has to be better by default. More USB ports are certainly welcome. Charging port needs to be changed as the microUSB cable feels like it will break the port. Placement of the earphone jack needs to be further away from the charging port or change the charging cable so that it goes in vertically and not parallel.

more storage is always welcome and the wifi hardware needs to be better. GPS too

[badelhas]

If surface 4 were to come out, I think the thickness can be the same, just battery has to be better by default. More USB ports are certainly welcome. Charging port needs to be changed as the microUSB cable feels like it will break the port. Placement of the earphone jack needs to be further away from the charging port or change the charging cable so that it goes in vertically and not parallel.

more storage is always welcome and the wifi hardware needs to be better. GPS too

Basically, they have to update the hardware and give us a 2017 amount of ram and storage ;)

Cheers

[Drael646464]

Add thunderport as the new intel chips support it. That way it can have an eGPU, and full speed external hard drives via docking (and completely replace your desktop, and your laptop).

Something else I'd like to see on tablets in general is replaceable ram. There's no reason why SSD and RAM shouldn't be upgradable. They have laptop ram and replaceable SSD on mini-pc's it'd work fine. And would let people have the insane amounts of ram and SSD size they feel they need without needing 8 different models.

If ram and ssd were upgradeable, they would only need 1 model. It could be on the cheaper side. And then people pump it up, or vendors pump it up, as they please.

And if they do have thunderbolt, you may as well have a Microsoft dock that includes a card slot for a graphics card of ones choice, and also room for two laptop sized hard drives + wired networking and extra ports (and charging for the tablet). Obviously it would have its own power, and be the size of a small mini-PC.

100% not interested in thinness. Thinness is not the path the greater processor power, or battery life. Lightness, and balance - those I am interested in, because those have practical function.

[derekeh]

I own a surface 3 and an iPad Pro 10.5. I like both devices but I’m most likely to grab the ipad. It has superior battery life and is ready to be used as soon as i unlock it. The surface 3 either freezes up or is determined to do an update almost daily even though i turn off auto updating.
I know ill get all kinds of crap for this, but I would love to see a surface 4 similar in size to an iPad Pro 10.5 or maybe upscaled slightly to accommodate a better sized keyboard. I do like the thinness of the ipad because it definitely feels better to hold as a tablet than my surface 3. Although its not that big of an issue to me. One usb c port on the tablet.
Have 2 keyboards. One would be like the surface 3 keyboard, if not the surface 3 keyboard. And another keyboard base like the surface books and have extra ports, possibly battery, storage space and a gpu (wishful thinking).
Make windows 10 more tablet friendly. Ive been excited about windows 10 since it came out, but it really does suck using windows without a keyboard. PLEASE fix this finally!
This would be my perfect surface 4 device :)

[rory753]

The Samsung galaxy book 10.6 version comes close spec wise. If uses a core M3, has pen support, and is Galaxy build quality. I went from a surface 3 to a surface pro 4, and the only thing I miss is the now compact size. If I didn't have a sp4, I'd probably get one of those...