Let’s Talk About Surface (Premium)

I had to dash out at the conclusion of today’s Surface event in order to make my way home. But I have thoughts about the announcements. Some of which may surprise you.

First up, I should quickly acknowledge that today wasn’t just about Surface, though we all tend to get a bit wrapped up in the hardware. And on that note, some of the Windows, Office, and phone integration pieces were quite interesting. Windows 10 version 1809 is now available to “seekers,” as I figured would be the case. Microsoft is integrating To-Do, finally, into Outlook.com. Timeline is finally available in (the beta version of) Microsoft Launcher on Android. And the Your Phone app in Windows 10 will be updated with notification support as expected, and with a new screen/app mirroring capability that demands further exploration.

Let’s talk about all that later. For now, let’s talk about Surface.

Much of what happened today was exactly as expected: New Surface Laptop, Pro, and Studio models were announced, and they are shipping with the requisite—OK, overdue—Intel 8th generation chipsets.

More controversially, Microsoft landed the Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6 in form factors that don’t just resemble their predecessors but, in fact, seem to be identical. This is contrary to certain rumors about Surface Pro having a “curvier” form factor, presumably one that models the more softly rounded corners of Surface Go. And it means that Microsoft declined to replace the aging mini-DisplayPort port on both devices with a more modern USB-C port. (Surface Studio 2 does include USB-C, at least.)

If you read Here We Go Again (Premium), you know that I was betting on this particular rumor to be wrong, that Microsoft would, in fact, provide USB-C on these devices.

The thing is, I didn’t actually expect Microsoft to replace the USB-A ports on these PCs with USB-C. I expected it to replace the mini-DisplayPort ports on each with USB-C, as it did a year ago with Surface Book 2. That they didn’t is confusing. And, yes, a little bit disappointing.

But what we found out at the event, with a little prying, was that Microsoft did, in fact, test versions of both PCs with USB-C ports. And while I’m not sure how or when the go/no-go decision on that took place, I was told two things. One, that Microsoft is responding to the market confusion and debate around USB-C. And that USB-C is happening on future models of these PCs.

We can dick around about this decision all you want, but you know how I feel: Microsoft was behind on this port two years ago, and they are embarrassingly behind now. They should have replaced mini-DisplayPort port with USB-C. Obviously.

The reason is simply stated: While replacing USB-A with USB-C could indeed result in a dongle problem, doing so with mini-DisplayPort port is a no-brainer: If you’re using mini-DisplayPort port for video-out, you are using a dongle already. So going USB-C is still a net gain all around, since you gain data, power, and other capabilities too.

To me, this is inexcusable. But that’s the thing. I’m a power user. I get hung up on specifications, technologies, and ports. I suspect many of you do as well.

Listening to Panos Panay wax on about the “why” of Surface today, however, I was struck by his message about these devices not being about specifications, or what he and many others call “speeds and feeds.” Panay, [like HP at yesterday’s Spectre Folio event](mini-DisplayPort port), is instead shooting for something more emotional, something more visceral.

And this is something I’ve observed repeatedly about Surface. Both privately and publicly. That there is a special something about, say, Surface Laptop, a PC that inexplicably ships with a single USB-A port and is for some reason coated in a controversial carpet-like material. There is likewise something very special about Surface Pro, a device for which I have no use: I will never use one as a tablet or write or draw on its screen.

These “somethings” are hard to express. That this was a central part of Panay’s talk today was not coincidental. And I don’t think it was a way to excuse or explain away what many reading this will believe to be a bad design decision. I think this is, at least, partially the reason behind this decision. That this port we’re all so hung up on in the enthusiast community simply doesn’t matter to the broader world at large.

But that special something does matter.

Yes, Microsoft could have had both, and I will still argue that they should have made that happen. And I should point out that Microsoft (apparently) using the exact same form factors for the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro was possibly a cost-saving measure ahead of some future, more dramatic upgrade. The tail could be wagging the dog here.

But I don’t think this matters either way. And as much as I would have preferred seeing more modern connectivity on both new PCs, I’m still as much in love with each as I was before the announcement. They really do have that special something.

So I’m going to take a day off from the fatalism and let this one sink in a bit more. There is so much to like about Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6, and we should at least admit to ourselves that getting to quad-core 8th-generation Intel processors was really the most important upgrade that Microsoft could make. And it did come through on that.

More soon.