Microsoft Surface is a series of touchscreen Windows personal computers and interactive whiteboards designed and developed by Microsoft. The devices are manufactured by Pegatron and are designed to be premium devices that set examples to Windows OEMs. It comprises four generations of hybrid tablets, 2-in-1 detachable notebooks, a convertible desktop all-in-one, an interactive whiteboard, and various accessories all with unique form factors. With the exception of the first-generation Surface and Surface 2, all Surface PCs use Intel processors and are compatible with Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.
The Surface family features six main lines of devices:
The Surface line of hybrid tablets, with optional detachable keyboard accessories, and optional stylus pen. The latest model, the Surface 3, uses an Intel Atom SoC processor.
The Surface Pro line of professional hybrid tablets, use similar optional detachable keyboard accessories. The latest Surface Pro uses a 7th generation Intel Core i Series processors and does not include a stylus pen.
The Surface Laptop, a notebook with a 13.5-inch touchscreen. The device runs Windows 10 S by default; however, it can be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.
The Surface Book, a notebook with a detachable screen. The base is configurable with/without discrete graphics and an independently operable screen with support for the included stylus.
The Surface Studio, a 28-inch all-in-one desktop that adjusts into a digital drafting table with stylus and on-screen Surface Dial support.
The Surface Hub, a touch screen interactive whiteboard designed for collaboration.
History:
Microsoft first announced Surface at an event on 18 June 2012, presented by former CEO Steve Ballmer in Milk Studios Los Angeles. Surface was the first major initiative by Microsoft to integrate its Windows operating system with its own hardware, and is the first PC designed and distributed solely by Microsoft.
The first Surface device in the Surface line, was marketed as "Surface for Windows RT" at the time was and was announced by Steven Sinofsky, former President of Windows and Windows Live. The second Surface line, based on the Intel architecture was spearheaded with Surface Pro, marketed as "Surface for Windows 8 Pro" at the time, and was demoed by Michael Angiulo, a corporate VP.
Sinofsky initially stated that pricing for the first Surface would be comparable to other ARM devices and pricing for Surface Pro would be comparable to current ultrabooks. Later, Ballmer noted the "sweet spot" for the bulk of the PC market was $300 to $800. Microsoft revealed the pricing and began accepting preorders for the 2012 Surface tablet, on 16 October 2012 "for delivery by 10/26". The device was launched alongside the general availability of Windows 8 on 26 October 2012. Surface Pro became available the following year on 9 February 2013. The devices were initially available only at Microsoft Stores retail and online, but avaliablity was later expanded into other vendors.
On November 2012, Ballmer described the distribution approach to Surface as "modest" and on November 29 of that year, Microsoft revealed the pricing for the 64 GB and 128 GB versions of Surface with Windows 8 Pro. The tablet would go on sale on 9 February 2013, in the United States and Canada. A launch event was set to be held on 8 February 2013, but was cancelled at the last minute due to the February 2013 nor'easter. The 128GB version of the tablet sold out on the same day as its release. Though there was less demand for the 64GB version because of the much smaller available storage capacity, supplies of the lower cost unit were almost as tight.
On 23 September 2013, Microsoft announced the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, which feature hardware and software updates from the original. The Surface 2 launched 22 October 2013, alongside the Surface Pro 2, four days after the general availability of Windows 8.1. Later, Microsoft launched a variation of the Surface 2 with LTE connectivity for the AT&T network on 18 March 2014. Microsoft then announced the redesigned Surface Pro 3 on 20 May 2014, which went on sale on 20 June 2014.
The following year, on 30 March 2015, it announced the Surface 3, a more compact version of the Surface Pro 3. On 8 September 2015, Microsoft announced the "Surface Enterprise Initiative", a partnership between Accenture, Avanade, Dell Inc., and HP, to "enable more customers to enjoy the benefits of Windows 10." As part of the partnership, Dell will resell Surface Pro products through its business and enterprise channels, and offer its existing enterprise services (including Pro Support, warranty, and Configuration and Deployment) for Surface Pro devices it sells.
Microsoft announced the next generation Surface Pro 4 and the all new Surface Book, a hybrid laptop, at Microsoft October 2015 Event in New York on 10 October 2015. Microsoft began shipping Surface Hub devices on 25 March 2016. In June 2016, Microsoft confirmed production of the Surface 3 would stop in December of that year. No replacement product has been announced. Reports suggest this may be a consequence of Intel discontinuing the Broxton iteration of the Atom processor. On 26 October 2016 at Microsoft's event, a Surface Studio and Surface Book with Performance Base was announced. A wheel accessory, the Surface Dial, was announced as well, and became available on 10 November 2016.
Immediately following the announcement of the Surface Laptop at the #MicrosoftEDU event on 2 May 2017, and the Microsoft Build 2017 developer conference, Microsoft announced the fifth-generation Surface Pro at a special event in Shanghai on 23 May 2017.
On 17 October 2017, Microsoft announced Surface Book 2 adding a 15 in model to the line, and updating internal components.
