The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
Your analogy applies too the Porsche Cayenne / Macan and Mercedes Benz AMG crossover SUV's These vehicles aren't the best sports cars, neither are the best off road vehicles. But they are one of the best crossover SUV in the market, and have many advantages over a pure sport car or off road vehicle. And I don't see these vehicles suffering the same fate as the El Camino.
The same can be said of the Surface Pro. A laptop and tablet may have some advantages over a Surface Pro / 2-in-1, but at the same time it has many benefits too. MS did something Apple didn't do, create a capable 2-in-1 device. While Apple think of the Surface Pro / 2-in-1 as a "toaster/fridge", MS kept making the Surface Pro better, to the point customer satisfaction is ahead of the iPad. I hope a device as good as the Surface Pro doesn't end as the El Camino, and keep getting better as Porsche and M-B crossover SUV's.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
Actually Intel change the name of "m5" and "m7" to "i5" and "i7" when Kaby Lake released, but only left "m3" as the only core m series. So when Microsoft said "i5", it's really the former m5 chip. Just another "smart" marketing thing. you could build a fabless 15W, but that would required a much thicker body to begin with, for a size of a Surface Pro, it won't happen.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
I believe that 7300U will be the top-tier i5 option, while the "fanless" i5 will be the former m5 chip.
Surface has a huge advantage over any iPad: mouse cursor. No way iPads will be taken seriously in businesses until it behaves as a proper computer, as Apple claims they are. This coming from an Apple fan.
Do you have an iPad? If you have the software keyboard showing, use two fingers on the keyboard area and the keyboard area turns into a giant touchpad to move a cursor within the current text box. On latest iPhones force touch in the keyboard area similarly activates it as a touchpad. What else would you need a mouse cursor for? If you want to move to a different area use your finger and touch where you want to go. Are people aware that soft keyboard can be turned into giant touch pad to move cursor? It was a revelation to me when I discovered this. Made it very easy to precisely move around in a text box.
Thanks for the great tip but is this an iOS 10 thing? I've tried it on Pages in iOS9 and can't get it to work. I'll try it on an iOS 10 device when I get home, though.
Full Photoshop? No... That's the reason they don't compare to iPads. One is a toy one is a powerful computer for real productivity tasks.
The only reason Photoshop isn't available for the iPad Pro is that Adobe doesn't have a financial reason for putting it on there...yet. Check out this teaser vid for Affinity Photo for iOS (all the features of the desktop version) and see if you still think it's really a "power" issue that is keeping desktop quality apps from being on the platform.
The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
Although still a niche market, the Nissan Navara is perhaps and modern take on those concepts but is a success.
Full Photoshop? No... That's the reason they don't compare to iPads. One is a toy one is a powerful computer for real productivity tasks.
The only reason Photoshop isn't available for the iPad Pro is that Adobe doesn't have a financial reason for putting it on there...yet. Check out this teaser vid for Affinity Photo for iOS (all the features of the desktop version) and see if you still think it's really a "power" issue that is keeping desktop quality apps from being on the platform.
The new Surface uses a 12.3-inch PixelSense touch display rated at 267 pixels per inch, offering 50 percent more pixels than Apple's current 12-inch Retina MacBook, Microsoft claimed. Owners can even switch between sRGB and an "enhanced" color mode powered by technology called the PixelSense Accelerator.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture. Performance-wise, the product is said to be up to 1.7 times faster than Apple's existing iPad Pros.
So WTF? Is it supposed to be compared to the iPad or the MacBook?
"Best of both worlds"!! BS!
I'm actually due for a new Surface Pro at work. Hope I can get the Surface Pro 5 rather than the 4. I'm actually trying to convince my office to get me a Dell XPS 13 instead. I can at least put that damn thing on my lap and work!
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
I believe that 7300U will be the top-tier i5 option, while the "fanless" i5 will be the former m5 chip.
I'm not buying the 13.5 hours of battery life though. The claim is that this is with video playback without WiFi and screen on low brightness. However, that's not typical usage. I know for a fact that I can get 12+ hours from an iPad with it actually being used. I
This device is about 50% thicker than the iPad Pro and the latter has more pixels. Notice how they compared it to the 12" MacBook instead of the iPad Pro... why are we comparing laptops to tablets exactly? Why isn't the iPad Pro considered a computer by statistics companies again?
The thing also weights more. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a great device, but I don't think it's all that much better than the existing iPad Pro lineup and Apple is set to announce something new in less than two weeks...
Because you can do heavy workloads on a surface you can not do on an iPad... Can you run VS or equivalent dev environment? Can you run a full on database server like Sql Server? A local web server? Linux? Full Photoshop? No... That's the reason they don't compare to iPads. One is a toy one is a powerful computer for real productivity tasks.
Anytime you dismiss something as a toy you've outed yourself as a crank. Why? Because today's tools were yesterday's toys. Mainframers called PC toys, command line users called GUIs toys, etc etc. All wrong. Just as you are. The ipad does 1000 times more than PCs of yesteryear -- so were those toys? Nope. It's only your definition that changes.
Anyone calling the iPad a toy isn't using it right!
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
I believe that 7300U will be the top-tier i5 option, while the "fanless" i5 will be the former m5 chip.
The m3 and i5 are a fanless design - or so I've read.
I wouldn't believe they can take a full-fledged i5-ULV "fanlessly" inside a body that thin. Even they can let the thing run, it will suffer from serious throttling issues.
The new Surface uses a 12.3-inch PixelSense touch display rated at 267 pixels per inch, offering 50 percent more pixels than Apple's current 12-inch Retina MacBook, Microsoft claimed. Owners can even switch between sRGB and an "enhanced" color mode powered by technology called the PixelSense Accelerator.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture. Performance-wise, the product is said to be up to 1.7 times faster than Apple's existing iPad Pros.
So WTF? Is it supposed to be compared to the iPad or the MacBook?
"Best of both worlds"!! BS!
I'm actually due for a new Surface Pro at work. Hope I can get the Surface Pro 5 rather than the 4. I'm actually trying to convince my office to get me a Dell XPS 13 instead. I can at least put that damn thing on my lap and work!
The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
Surface has a huge advantage over any iPad: mouse cursor. No way iPads will be taken seriously in businesses until it behaves as a proper computer, as Apple claims they are. This coming from an Apple fan.
I totally agree, I'll get a iPad Pro when they add mouse support. They have already added pencil support so it should be easy. Till then will get a Surface Pro with LTE hopefully in the fall.
Hopefully Apple will finally have new stuff coming out starting with vast improvements to Siri.
Let along these arguments, I think this it's just different people have different preferences.
The multi-touch functions in Windows are still something that I considered to be a "nice to have", since most of their applications still works best (or only works) with a keyboard and TrackPad/Mouse. It could be helpful when using it to browse the web or just to lightly entertained, or draw a serious picture (but their drawing experiences...not so well compared to iPad Pro), but that's about it. Most people who bought it only using it this way, and they can be happy about it.
Besides that, letting Windows to get better at touch screen it's also harder too.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture.
Yeah, except that fanless i5 was formerly known as core m5.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
From what I have read, the Surface Pro have the Intel Core i5-7300U, which has a 15W TDP, different from the Core m5 that has a 4.5W TDP. IMO, it's amazing how MS went fanless with a device so small and thin as the Surface Pro.
I believe that 7300U will be the top-tier i5 option, while the "fanless" i5 will be the former m5 chip.
Wikipedia has some details of the changes you mention.
You'll notice that under Low / Medium power, the 7Y57 and 7Y54 are under the Core i5 category. These two are 4.5W TDP. The rest of the Core i5 7xxxU are 15W TDP. You are right with the changes Intel made, where there are processors that were Core M, and now are Core i5. But the Surface Pro is using a "real" Core i5 7300U with a 15W TDP without fans.
I'm not buying the 13.5 hours of battery life though. The claim is that this is with video playback without WiFi and screen on low brightness. However, that's not typical usage. I know for a fact that I can get 12+ hours from an iPad with it actually being used. I
This device is about 50% thicker than the iPad Pro and the latter has more pixels. Notice how they compared it to the 12" MacBook instead of the iPad Pro... why are we comparing laptops to tablets exactly? Why isn't the iPad Pro considered a computer by statistics companies again?
The thing also weights more. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a great device, but I don't think it's all that much better than the existing iPad Pro lineup and Apple is set to announce something new in less than two weeks...
Because you can do heavy workloads on a surface you can not do on an iPad... Can you run VS or equivalent dev environment? Can you run a full on database server like Sql Server? A local web server? Linux? Full Photoshop? No... That's the reason they don't compare to iPads. One is a toy one is a powerful computer for real productivity tasks.
Do you own or use a Surface Pro? Do you believe it is good value for the money to run it as a server? Or use full Photoshop? Why pay the premium for the laptop form factor when what you want is a PC. It costs a lot to get a well spec'd system.
And I am sure you are absolutely horrified at the lack of ports and 16GB limit...
SP is designed to get an i5 or i7 into the lightest form factor and in that regard it does a good job at 1.73 pounds. Granted its not as light as the iPadPro but its both lighter and more powerful than the MacBook and has the same about as many ports as an MacBook Air for a more up to day processor. I've got to say the the Magnetic connection of the Surface Pen is a very nice idea - better than sticking the Pencil out of the lightning port (hopefully Apple comes up with a better idea like magnetic connection and wireless charging between the iPP and Pencil). And for you MS haters, the kick stand is very nice, very convenient to have. I'm a little surprised at the updated Surface Pen because it implies that MS is actually trying to go after the Digital Artist segment that iPP excels in.
The ball is in Apple's court now. Hopefully the i5 without fan SP means Apple can come out with an i5 MacBook.
The iPP is definitely an impressive tablet, but it needs without mouse support its productivity is limited. Ironically Apple has added a keyboard to it but not the mouse. They've only have gone half way there. Time to add basic Mouse support (keep the fixed windows system). Apple needs to slowly expand iOS to do the things the Mac does (not the other way around). They are behind on touch screens besides SIRI.
The new Surface uses a 12.3-inch PixelSense touch display rated at 267 pixels per inch, offering 50 percent more pixels than Apple's current 12-inch Retina MacBook, Microsoft claimed. Owners can even switch between sRGB and an "enhanced" color mode powered by technology called the PixelSense Accelerator.
The tablet comes in configurations with Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processors, its i5 allegedly the first ever with fanless architecture. Performance-wise, the product is said to be up to 1.7 times faster than Apple's existing iPad Pros.
So WTF? Is it supposed to be compared to the iPad or the MacBook?
"Best of both worlds"!! BS!
I'm actually due for a new Surface Pro at work. Hope I can get the Surface Pro 5 rather than the 4. I'm actually trying to convince my office to get me a Dell XPS 13 instead. I can at least put that damn thing on my lap and work!
The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
Surface has a huge advantage over any iPad: mouse cursor. No way iPads will be taken seriously in businesses until it behaves as a proper computer, as Apple claims they are. This coming from an Apple fan.
I totally agree, I'll get a iPad Pro when they add mouse support. They have already added pencil support so it should be easy. Till then will get a Surface Pro with LTE hopefully in the fall.
Hopefully Apple will finally have new stuff coming out starting with vast improvements to Siri.
Let along these arguments, I think this it's just different people have different preferences.
The multi-touch functions in Windows are still something that I considered to be a "nice to have", since most of their applications still works best (or only works) with a keyboard and TrackPad/Mouse. It could be helpful when using it to browse the web or just to lightly entertained, or draw a serious picture (but their drawing experiences...not so well compared to iPad Pro), but that's about it. Most people who bought it only using it this way, and they can be happy about it.
Besides that, letting Windows to get better at touch screen it's also harder too.
Sometimes it's more than just preferences what defines what is a better experience, touch or trackpad/keyboard. Netflix and browsing the internet are two examples where touch is more than enough. And both, iOS and Windows do a great job, But when things get complex, then the Surface Pro goes ahead. If I'm working a complex spreadsheet or document, keyboard/trackpad gives a better experience. And even though you can work with a touch version of Numbers or Excel, you still limited navigating and interacting with the document/spreadsheet. What most people do is move away from the iPad to the Mac/PC to finish their work.
Compare that to the Surface Pro, where I can do light tasks with touch and use the keyboard/trackpad for more complex tasks, without the need to move to another device. I can even use a dock and use it as a full desktop with multiples monitors. I don't see how is this a bad thing.
Comments
It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product.
The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.
lol, Microsoft, lol.
The same can be said of the Surface Pro. A laptop and tablet may have some advantages over a Surface Pro / 2-in-1, but at the same time it has many benefits too. MS did something Apple didn't do, create a capable 2-in-1 device. While Apple think of the Surface Pro / 2-in-1 as a "toaster/fridge", MS kept making the Surface Pro better, to the point customer satisfaction is ahead of the iPad. I hope a device as good as the Surface Pro doesn't end as the El Camino, and keep getting better as Porsche and M-B crossover SUV's.
So when Microsoft said "i5", it's really the former m5 chip. Just another "smart" marketing thing.
you could build a fabless 15W, but that would required a much thicker body to begin with, for a size of a Surface Pro, it won't happen.
So WTF? Is it supposed to be compared to the iPad or the MacBook?
"Best of both worlds"!! BS!
I'm actually due for a new Surface Pro at work. Hope I can get the Surface Pro 5 rather than the 4. I'm actually trying to convince my office to get me a Dell XPS 13 instead. I can at least put that damn thing on my lap and work!
There are 3 models:
Core m3 (1.0 GHz m3-7Y30), Core I5 (Kaby Lake 2.6 GHz Core i5-7300U), Core I& (Kaby Lake 2.5 GHz Core i7-7660U)
The m3 and i5 are a fanless design - or so I've read.
Anyone calling the iPad a toy isn't using it right!
The multi-touch functions in Windows are still something that I considered to be a "nice to have", since most of their applications still works best (or only works) with a keyboard and TrackPad/Mouse. It could be helpful when using it to browse the web or just to lightly entertained, or draw a serious picture (but their drawing experiences...not so well compared to iPad Pro), but that's about it. Most people who bought it only using it this way, and they can be happy about it.
Besides that, letting Windows to get better at touch screen it's also harder too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaby_Lake
You'll notice that under Low / Medium power, the 7Y57 and 7Y54 are under the Core i5 category. These two are 4.5W TDP. The rest of the Core i5 7xxxU are 15W TDP. You are right with the changes Intel made, where there are processors that were Core M, and now are Core i5. But the Surface Pro is using a "real" Core i5 7300U with a 15W TDP without fans.
The ball is in Apple's court now. Hopefully the i5 without fan SP means Apple can come out with an i5 MacBook.
The iPP is definitely an impressive tablet, but it needs without mouse support its productivity is limited. Ironically Apple has added a keyboard to it but not the mouse. They've only have gone half way there. Time to add basic Mouse support (keep the fixed windows system). Apple needs to slowly expand iOS to do the things the Mac does (not the other way around). They are behind on touch screens besides SIRI.
Compare that to the Surface Pro, where I can do light tasks with touch and use the keyboard/trackpad for more complex tasks, without the need to move to another device. I can even use a dock and use it as a full desktop with multiples monitors. I don't see how is this a bad thing.