[Julian Legere]

Why?

It's basically a Surface Pro 4 with better battery and the latest processor.

That new Alcantra keyboard, that new pen, THOSE are the things I say have changed, and you can simply buy them separately.

[xandros9]

It's basically a Surface Pro 4 with better battery and the latest processor.

Well, that's a lot of refreshes these days?

[convergent]

Well you can say that its only better battery, but that isn't exactly what was communicated in the announcement. Having been through a lot of iPhone "s" upgrades, they were the best ones because they were the most refined. My opinion is that they have put the polish on the platform and improved every aspect of it. Sure, the battery is probably the most noticeable, but in use the other stuff will have an impact on the use. Is it worth the premium price? That is what I'm trying to wrestle with myself right now.

[etphoto]

Isn't the kick stand improved as well? That is one thing I really like about the Surfaces.

Twitter: @PhotographyET

[Drael646464]

The fanless i5, LTE, better studio mode kickstand and processor for the pen are also new.

[Keeptechcoolandsimple]

the same reason people buy a new iphone model every year even if it's just a refresh.

[rdubmu]

the same reason people buy a new iphone model every year even if it's just a refresh.

Since the iPhone 6, the 6s and the 7 are just refreshes with the same design, (faster CPU, Ram and camera)

[Timbre70]

Phone is different cos many recontract with telco to get subsidized handsets.

Of course things may change in future for PC 💻 with PC phones offer from Telco.

[onlysublime]

Why?

It's basically a Surface Pro 4 with better battery and the latest processor.

That new Alcantra keyboard, that new pen, THOSE are the things I say have changed, and you can simply buy them separately.

the latency improvements and pen sensitivities in the pen can only be had with the new Surface Pro. they said they're trying to add tilt support to the SP4 but that's not a given considering prior history of adding features post-release.

the surface dial only works on the screen of the Surface Pro and not the older machines. I have the Surface Dial and I don't mind using it off the screen.

the Surface Pro also supports more color profiles besides sRGB. That's important for photography.

it's all up to what you want. some people upgrade cars because it goes 0 to 60 half a second faster than before.

[Alberta Blue]

Actually, I think most of the functionality you mentioned is backwards compatible with upcoming firmware updates to older devices.

[convergent]

the latency improvements and pen sensitivities in the pen can only be had with the new Surface Pro. they said they're trying to add tilt support to the SP4 but that's not a given considering prior history of adding features post-release.

the surface dial only works on the screen of the Surface Pro and not the older machines. I have the Surface Dial and I don't mind using it off the screen.

the Surface Pro also supports more color profiles besides sRGB. That's important for photography.

it's all up to what you want. some people upgrade cars because it goes 0 to 60 half a second faster than before.

I think the Dial is too big for on screen use with a 12" screen. I'd love to see them produce a Dial Mini that is half the diameter for SP use.

[onlysublime]

Actually, I think most of the functionality you mentioned is backwards compatible with upcoming firmware updates to older devices.

it's not. for the pen, it required a new chip. just like if you use a SP4 pen on a SP3 screen, you only had SP3 level sensitivity and latency. Microsoft said that tilt was a possibility but not the others.

[rdubmu]

Phone is different cos many recontract with telco to get subsidized handsets.

Of course things may change in future for PC with PC phones offer from Telco.

We no longer have subsidized phones in the United States.