While many believe that Microsoft will announce a Surface all-in-one (AIO) later this month, we know from recent FCC leaks that the firm will at the very least release new Surface-branded PC peripherals, including a keyboard and a mouse.
It’s not clear whether these peripherals will only be sold separately or whether they will also be bundled with that presumed AIO. But what is clear is that neither is particularly interesting.
The keyboard is a flat design with a full numeric keyboard, and similar to the keyboard Apple started bundling with its iMac a decade ago or more. It is not in any way ergonomic, and I am having trouble imagining how or why Microsoft would make such a thing.
The mouse, amazingly, is even worse. It’s clearly modeled after the flat Microsoft Designer Bluetooth Mouse that I refused to review because of its terrible, non-ergonomic design. But this isn’t the first time Microsoft made a Surface-branded mouse, of course: Its previous Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition simply took the Arc Touch Mouse design and added a now out of date Surface-like color. This new mouse does the same, but with a more current magnesium-like gray color.
Long story short, yes, we’re all excited to see what Microsoft announces later this month. But neither of these peripherals is in any way a step forward. And that, to me, suggests that they do not deserve the Surface brand.
Hopefully, there’s more coming.