After several weeks of rumours and leaks, Microsoft officially unveiled several new Surface products, including the new Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3.
Along with the new Surface hardware, Microsoft revealed some new accessories. The Redmond, Washington-based company launched the Surface Earbuds, previously shown off last fall at the company’s Surface Pro X launch. Further, Microsoft will launch the Surface Headphones 2, Dock 2 and the Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub.
To start, the new Surface Go 2 is exactly as the leaks revealed. It sports the same thin, lightweight design as the original Go but with a slightly larger 10.5-inch PixelSense display. To fit the larger display in, Microsoft had to shrink the bezels of the Surface Go 2 compared to the original Go. The change should result in a better experience using Windows 10 on a tiny screen.
Along with the bigger display, the Go 2 sports improved battery life and up to 64 percent faster performance thanks to a new Intel 8th Gen Core M processor configuration.
Above the display, the Go 2 sports a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that shoots 1080p video as well as an 8-megapixel rear camera. Microsoft revamped the Camera app with better support for scanning documents and whiteboards. Flanking the front camera are dual Studio Mics for better audio when video chatting — especially important during the current pandemic.
The Surface Go 2 will be available May 12th ranging from $529 to $989 in Canada, depending on the configuration. Customers can personalize their Go 2 with Type Covers available in Platinum, Black, Poppy Red and Ice Blue.
Surface Book 3
Microsoft’s long-awaited Surface Book 3 refresh is taking the company’s excellent 2-in-1 machine to new heights. Boasting a 50 percent performance increase over the Surface Book 2, the new Book 3 will be able to tackle even the most gruelling professional workloads.
The Surface Book 3 will come in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes with a PixelSense Display and 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs, as well as a choice of Nvidia discrete GPUs. Additionally, Book 3 customers can get up to 32GB of RAM paired with the fastest SSD Microsoft says it ever shipped in a device.
One of the available GPU options is a Quadro RTX 3000 optimized for commercial applications and workloads. Alternatively, the Book 3 ships with an Nvidia GTX 1660 which can handle gaming at 1080p 60fps.
In Canada, the Surface Book 3 will be available May 21st in the following configurations:
Surface Earbuds
Since I went hands-on with the Surface Earbuds at Microsoft’s 2019 Surface event, nothing has really changed with the company’s true wireless earbuds. If you’re curious to learn more about them, check out my original hands-on.
That said, Microsoft did confirm to me that the retail version features improved software which should mitigate the touch sensitivity issues I encountered in my hands-on.
The Surface Earbuds will be available for $259 in Canada starting May 12th.
Surface Headphones 2
Microsoft says it improved the sound quality and battery life with the new Surface Headphones. I’ve been using the original Headphones for several months now and while they’ve been great, my biggest gripe has been sound quality. Depending on how much better the quality is, that alone could be a game-changing feature for the new Headphones 2.
Additionally, Microsoft claims the headphones can now last up to 20 hours on a charge and feature 13 levels of ambient noise control. On top of that, the Headphones 2 earcups can now rotate 180 degrees. Finally, Microsoft’s new headphones will be available in black along with the same ‘platinum’ colour as the original.
The Surface Headphones 2 will cost $349.99 when they arrive in Canada on May 12th.
Everything else
Along with the new Surface product, Microsoft unveiled several new accessories to improve the functionality of its laptops. For one, Microsoft announced a new Surface Dock 2, which will make it easier for users to transition from on-the-go to working at their desk just by plugging in their Surface.
The Dock 2 uses the Surface Connect Port to expand the computer’s peripherals so users can connect multiple monitors, hardwire into a network and more. The Dock 2 also supports higher power throughput so that Surface devices with fast charging will be able to charge more quickly.
Further, there’s a new Microsoft USB-C Travel Hub, the Microsoft Ergonomic Desktop bundle with a split keyboard and mouse, and the Microsoft Bluetooth Desktop bundle with a wireless keyboard and mouse.
Update 06/05/2020 at 3:55: The original availability dates were correct and have been re-added to the article.
Update 06/05/2020: The article previously listed release dates for all the new Surface products. However, those were American release dates. Microsoft says “pre-orders for the new devices will begin at major retailers in the coming weeks” in Canada.
