Microsoft and
Apple faced off with different ideas of the creative computing future last
week, and in many ways Microsoft looked like more of the innovator.
The new
wheel-like Surface Dial, a larger Surface Studio touchscreen computer, an
improved Surface Book, and a bold attack strategy regarding affordable
virtual-reality headsets as a patient build-up to a broader mixed reality
future -- in which users can see virtual digital objects overlying real-world
space -- gave Microsoft a unique angle compared to Apple.
In Cupertino,
the big news was a smaller, thinner MacBook Pro with a tiny "Touch
Bar" above the keyboard -- but with a main screen that's still decidedly
touch-free. A nice laptop, to be sure, but ultimately a fairly conservative
upgrade to an existing product line.
According to CNET, Panos Panay, head of Microsoft's device business, and the person directly
responsible for launching the Surface, to discuss the new Surface devices and
where the Dial and other accessories potentially fit in. (Our conversation took
place after Microsoft's event, but a day before Apple's news became official --
though plenty of leaks were floating around that turned out to be accurate.)
Surface Dial:
Microsoft's next big PC accessory
Surface Dial
might be a hint at where Surface could evolve with new, affordable and transformative
accessories. I asked Panay about the excited reactions to the Surface Dial, and
even he seemed surprised. But Dial, which costs $99 (about £80 or AU$130),
looks like it's a big part of where Surface is going down the road.
"Accessories
can somewhat be undervalued in the sense that sometimes they're too easy to
talk about, but we have a couple of accessories that, without them, the
experience can't be completed," he said. "If I took away your
keyboard right now. Or if I took away your trackpad right now, or when you
learn to use the dial and we end up taking that away, your entire flow
changes."
Despite the
name, Surface Dial isn't just relegated to its own products. It will work on
any Windows PC that's upgraded to Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.
Panay hinted
there could be more accessories beyond, which is a possible indicator of where
Microsoft wants to innovate and stand out from competitors like Apple.
"That's
not the last one," he said.
On the new
Surface Book i7
Panay was
excited to talk about Surface Book, which is really about a large enhancement
to the performance base of last year's product -- Microsoft's first-ever
laptop, which had a tablet-like screen that detached from the keyboard base,
which in turn housed the main battery and extra graphics processor.
"When we
made Surface Book we were super clear that the base was the innovation,"
he said. "The idea, though, when we built the product was this base can
live separately. Meaning, if I wanted to create an LTE base, or if we wanted to
create three times the battery, or if you wanted to create two times the
power."
"The
thing I was most scared about with the new book is we were able to present it
in a way where it didn't just look like, 'we updated the processor,'"
Panay said.
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