What the New Surface Non-Pro Needs to Succeed

[TechmeIN64]

The new Surface needs to be 10.0" 1080p (or 2K?) display.
Paul Thurrott recently wrote an article about Microsoft's new Windows strategy and that devices of 10.1" or less would get Office for free. https://www.thurrott.com/office/2321/microsofts-new-strategy-for-office-freemium . Then it obviously makes sense that their new tablet would be able to get this offer. Having it be 10.6" like the Surface 2 or 12" like the Pro 3 would bar them from this. Also, given that they both run Windows, having the Pro and standard Surfaces too similar in size could eat away at sales of the larger device. Also I think we can all agree that the public sees that iPads a where it's at for tablets right now, and the iPad Air 2 is 9.7".

The new Surface needs to have an Intel x5 or x7 (Cherry Trail), 2 or 3 GBs of RAM, and 32 or 64 GBs of expandable storage.
This device should NOT have a Core M. It would put it in competition with the Pro, and make it way too expensive. It does not need 4 GBs of RAM or 128 GBs of storage because that would be unnecessary for this device's use case, and again, would put it in competition with the Pro and be too expensive.

The new Surface needs to have two options for covers one with and one without QWERTY.
Neowin's Brad Sams praised the Surface Mini's cover when he got to play with one. The Surface mini was real and I got to play with one . I think that a cover like that on a device this size would be valuable, but I know that others would demand the need for a touch/type cover. So the non-touch cover could be ~$50 and the touch cover (probably capacitive) could be ~$100.

The new Surface needs the Surface Pen (duh).

The new Surface base line model should be $350 (x5, 2GB, 32GB) with more for higher configurations.

The total base line model (with Pen and normal cover) would be about $450, compared to iPad Air 2 16GB wich is $499. And it runs full Windows.

I would buy that. And I have never considered buying a tablet before.

 

[Spectrum90]

The form factor of the iPad would have problems with the cover, there is not enough room for a proper keyboard.
The form factor of the Surface 2 is too weird in portrait orientation. It doesn't work well as a tablet, and It doesn't work well as a laptop neither because the screen is too small.

The form factor of the Surface Pro 3 is the sweet spot. It has a good keyboard, a good aspect ratio, but It's too heavy for a tablet. Surface 3 would help with that thanks to the Core-M or Atom CPU.
In a couple of years Core-M will be good enough for almost everything, Surface Pro will be just for a small niche that needs a such a powerful CPU.

 

[Cleavitt76]

... devices of 10.1" or less would get Office for free. Then it obviously makes sense that their new tablet would be able to get this offer. Having it be 10.6" like the Surface 2 or 12" like the Pro 3 would bar them from this. ...

MS can give Office away for free on any device they want. It's their product to give away. The screen size limitations are for the purpose of licensing to OEMs and individual consumers, but MS is free to bundle licenses with their own products and hardware. It would actually be a good low cost way to offer consumers with a perk for buying "premium" MS hardware.

I agree that something in the ~10" range is probably ideal though. Too much bigger and it starts to loose appeal as a tablet and too much smaller and it looses value in desktop mode (this needs to compete somewhere between an SP3 and an iPad in terms of productivity). I think they should go for 3:2 aspect though. 1080P at 16:9 has never been ideal for general computing. 1920 x 1280 or SP3 resolution would be great IMO.

I also think that there should definitely be a 4GB/128GB and even a 4GB/256GB version. It takes zero additional effort for MS since it's just a matter of soldering higher capacity chips to the same board layout. And < 4GB of RAM is pretty limiting for anyone that wants to do more than just browse the internet and check email (which is kind of the main advantage of an x86 Windows tablet). Also, 64GB of storage may be too way limiting for people that want to use this device as their main computer. Even those top end configurations could probably be priced right around where the SP3 line is starting at ~$800 - $900. It would give people that don't need a lot of processing power, but still need storage and moderate RAM a way to get into the Surface line without having to pay $1800 for a high storage SP3.

 

[hotphil]

What they need is for the press not to kill it the way they did with RT by publishing incorrect facts and misguided opinions.

 

[SteveNoza]

My thinking is the non-pro would be not be optimized for work, but optimized for internet browsing & basic functions. I like the size of my RT, the only thing I'd want improved is a faster processor.

 

[anon(8150199)]

I find the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio to be too much of a square, but 16:9 is also way too wide. 3:2 like on SP3 would be much better. And the pen is also a must for me.

 

[ChrisP1]

The new surface line should be three varients.

Surface mini: About 8 inch 3:2 screen with w10 mobile on it Cost would be between $100-$350

Surface: slim, fanless, w10, 12 in screen that is 3:2 tablet and either full HD or quad HD like the sp3. Will have a cheaper Intel chip that can be fanless. Have a few ports like a full USB, USB type C, and a HD video out. Cost about $500

Surface Pro: Look almost exactly the same as the surface non pro but be thicker and have a fan and will use Intel i3, i5, and i7 chipsets. Will be the beefy surface. Starts at $899

 

[Zulfigar]

The new surface line should be three varients.

Surface mini: About 8 inch 3:2 screen with w10 mobile on it Cost would be between $100-$350

Surface: slim, fanless, w10, 12 in screen that is 3:2 tablet and either full HD or quad HD like the sp3. Will have a cheaper Intel chip that can be fanless. Have a few ports like a full USB, USB type C, and a HD video out. Cost about $500

Surface Pro: Look almost exactly the same as the surface non pro but be thicker and have a fan and will use Intel i3, i5, and i7 chipsets. Will be the beefy surface. Starts at $899

I could almost agree, but I'd go 8, 10, then 12 inches respectively. Either way though sounds good.

 

[anon(8985111)]

I think with most phones nowadays featuring 5-5,5 inch screens there's not much demand for 8 inch tablets.

The new PRO series will almost certainly hit stores with >=12 inch screens since earlier installments have proven that 10.6 inch screens are simply too small when claming to be able to replace a laptop.

I think a very lean 10inch device specializing in great battery life and including the traditional desktop mode while maintaining a significantly lower price point when compared to the PRO devices is sth. that could make sense.

 

[HeyCori]

My thoughts,
1080p
8 inches
Accurate screen colors
USB-C
Customized Cherry Trail (if possible)
One full sized USB 3
Kickstand (obvi)
Fingerprint scanner
Surface Pen
2GB ram
A good camera

 

[swhitmore]

Don't think that a fingerprint reader is "needed to succeed", but I agree with the rest. A little more RAM would be nice, also USB 3.1 Type C would be good.

 

[anon(8985111)]

I'm pessimistic that this thing is going to flow off the shelves. The product itself is fine but the positioning on the market is questionable from my standpoint.

 

[Cleavitt76]

I don't know. There is a lot of pent up demand for the SP3 from people that love the concept, but can't afford or justify the expense. The Surface 3 has all of the functionality of an SP3 with lower price points and lesser performance. I think it's going to be very attractive to all those people that don't require the performance of the SP3. I personally know several people that admire my SP3 and would have bought this in a heartbeat.

 

[Robinsonmac]

They need to market the hell out it. They should start now & cross market WP in the same ads to get that momentum building to WP10. It should be sustained not 3 -5 weeks then nothing.

 

[xandros9]

A built-in griddle.

 

[Grimlock]

They need to market the hell out it. They should start now & cross market WP in the same ads to get that momentum building to WP10. It should be sustained not 3 -5 weeks then nothing.

They should advertise it as much as Apple has the watch, but we know that MS probably won't have a fraction of the marketing campaign apple would

 

[Robinsonmac]

They should advertise it as much as Apple has the watch, but we know that MS probably won't have a fraction of the marketing campaign apple would

Sadly you are correct. As I've said in other posts I really don't think MS has it in them to spend the kind of cash it's going to take. It worked for Samsung Microsoft, either you're all in or not.....

 

[Tsang Fai]

First, the best screen size is very personal.

Second, which screen size is the best depends on situation. When you are standing up and want to use the tablet for reading, of course <10" is more comfortable (smaller must be lighter of course). But when you sit down and put it on a desk for working, certainly you want a screen size preferably >12". So 10.8" is a good balance I think. You would not think it is too small, but yet the device is light enough.

As a user, I would consider what screen size that would fit me in 90% of the time. That means I would feel good with the device in 90% of time without complaints. For the 10% of time, I simply accept that the screen is too big/too small for me.

Just to add that there are plenty of Windows tablets from 8" to 9" in the market. Some of them even support pen. I think users have many choices.

The debate on screen size will not end until one day someone invents a device with adjustable screen size, or until one day we have some technology which let people see without a physical screen.

 

[TechmeIN64]

The debate on screen size will not end until one day someone invents a device with adjustable screen size, or until one day we have some technology which let people see without a physical screen.

Without a physical screen...
Or an adjustable screen size...
so...HoloLens??