Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corp., speaks during the unveiling of the Surface Pro 3 at an event in New York on May 20, 2014.
Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty
Microsoft introduced the Surface Pro 7+ for Business on Monday, a version of its 2019 Surface Pro 7 convertible tablet designed for commercial and educational customers. It comes with a new Intel processor and mobile connectivity so you can get online when you don’t have WiFi. The base model costs $ 899, and LTE versions start at $ 1,149.
Surface revenue growth accelerated in the second and third quarters as people rushed to buy PCs to continue school and work while staying at home. Still, Microsoft’s grip on the PC hardware market remains smaller than Apple, Dell, HP and Lenovo.
The arrival of the PC shows that Microsoft is further experimenting with its Surface lineup, using a plus sign to differentiate the product, as competing computer maker Apple has first done.
The current Surface concept debuted in 2012 under former CEO Steve Ballmer. Satya Nadella replaced Ballmer as CEO in 2014 and over time diminished Microsoft’s focus on consumers, such as exiting the e-books and music streaming markets. Now there is a Surface model for business users only.
Normally, Microsoft releases a new Surface Pro every fall, but this fall, as the coronavirus pandemic affected supply chains for gadgets like the iPhone 12 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, the fall came and went without a new Surface Pro 8. A spokesman declined to comment on Microsoft’s roadmap.
Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ for Business does not come with a connectable keyboard; that accessory is sold separately.
Microsoft
And yet the Surface Pro 7+ for Business looks almost exactly like the Surface Pro variants of recent years. That is intentional.
“We are committed to form factor continuity for commercial customers,” said Robin Seiler, a Microsoft Corporate Vice President. Surface Pro owners have told the company that design changes, such as even moving a microphone, can create complexity, Seiler said.
Seiler wouldn’t say whether the new consumer tablet will be launched.
The device offers up to a terabyte of storage, along with up to 32 GB of RAM, a stock of memory also found on the premium Surface Book 3. The Surface Pro 7+ for Business also includes a removable solid-state drive, a feature first appeared on the Surface Pro X in 2019.
Microsoft says the battery lasts a whopping 15 hours, making it on par with the Surface Pro X convertible tablet that relies on an Arm-based chip. The standard Surface Pro 7 comes with a battery life of up to 10.5 hours.
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