It was a big day at Microsoft’s Surface event. Of course, plenty of new devices were launched but the event also marked another chapter in the slow demise of the 3.5mm headphone connector.
Last year’s Microsoft Surface Pro 8 sported significant upgrades, from a bigger and brighter display to low-light upgrades on the camera, Thunderbolt 4 ports to support for the Slim Pen 2. Those things stay on the new Surface Pro 9, plus now you can choose between two versions — a 12th Gen Intel Core processor (i5 or i7) or a 5G model powered by a Microsoft SQ 3 chip from Qualcomm. The main upgrades are to the CPU and a cut-it-out moment for the 3.5mm headphone jack.
The move is perhaps the result of the company bringing the Intel and Arm versions of the Surface Pro 9 together in the same chassis. The Surface Pro X didn’t have a 3.5mm jack and now the Intel version is falling in line.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
Once again available in 13.5-inch and 15-inch versions, the Surface Laptop 5 comes with a USB-A port, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, a Surface Connect Port, and a USB-C port. The advantage with the latter is support Thunderbolt 4 or you can connect a 4K monitor and transfer large files at faster speeds. Processor? A 12th generation Intel processor (an i5 or i7) for the 13.5-inch model while the 15-inch machine only comes with the more powerful i7.
Surface Studio 2+
Four years after the Surface Studio 2, Microsoft is back with the Surface Studio 2+, which is meant for graphic designers. Microsoft has three new Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back and is powered by Intel’s 11th Gen Core H-series processors and Nvidia’s RTX 3060 GPUs. Microsoft says the chips will lead to “up to 50 per cent faster” performance.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 has new colours, new processors and optional 5G.
Creator tools in Microsoft 365
In Microsoft 365, there’s a new Microsoft Designer app for creating graphics, invitations, digital postcards, and more. Helping the tool is DALL-E 2 from OpenAI, which will generate images and designs for you and the tool will also be integrated into Microsoft Edge. Video makers now have Clipchamp—a video editing software acquired by Microsoft back in September 2021.
Pictures: Microsoft
