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will there be a Surface 4 (non-Pro)

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Then who buys S3s? Is anyone? And, who buys the other Atom x5 and x7 computers that are priced between $300 and $600?
There's a different customer for every price point and feature set. Some over lap but others are strictly in that lane.. who buys the 57 varieties of asprin/advil/tylenol on the shelves because I buy the same old thing every time and if it's not selling it wont be around long.
I have an Sp3 and S3 I use them for different things mostly although if they made an S3/4 with a core m3 I'd be all over it but I'll take a S4 with a better Atom if they can keep it competitive with then premium ARM SoCs if they don't keep pace I will skip the S4 like I'm skipping the SP4 because of all the bugs.

Who are the S3 customers? The users that want a device smaller and lighter than an SP3/SP4 with the best performance possible in the price range. IF MS polished the S4 more, made it better, faster, lighter with better battery life it could kick asp against the iPad 9.7 . The S3 is good but not great, in some ways it is better than iPad 9.7 but in head to head matchup of like functions it is not but with better fundamentals it really could be the iPad killer that it's not now.

There's so much unrealized potential...
 
(Sorry if this has been discussed.)

I tend to think not, but I'm hopeful.

Surface 3 is such a wonderful machine, iPad-sized with full Windows capabilities.

I do however crave the SP4-generation keyboard, and I'm sure they can get a non-Pro device thinner than the SP4. I would even give up some battery life for that.

My guess however is that S3 has sold poorly enough that it will be the last of its breed; Panos & Co. will focus on Surface Book 2.
Okay, so heres my qualm with the idea of a suface 4. I own and use all the time my S3 (non pro). The reason for this is the size. I found it quite difficult to use the larger pro tablets as a reading device when need be. I use my S3 mainly for school (I am working on my matsers on-line). Long story short, being able to get most text books and research done electronically ake the surface the best option for an all in one. That being said, to use it in this manner it is very much needed to get the android experience on the tablet. Unfortunatly, this uses up much more memory than our 4GB tablets would prefer and makes it quite difficult to have a reading panel open and Microsoft word to type in on the other side of the screen...its just not able to handle the load. My preference would be for the Surface line to offer and similar sized unit as the S3 but with a higher processor and RAM capabilities to do these projects people like me need...I can do little more than what could be done on a traditional tablet but for twice the cost. Is anyone else thinking the same as me here?? I just cannot handle the cost of s Pro unit, nor can I handle the size, its not quite the portable reader unit the S3 line is...
 

Plantje

Active Member
On the topic SB2 Rumored for June I placed the following reply
I do expect a Surface 4 pretty soon. And I hope it will be thinner, lighter, has Windows Hello, USB C charging, LTE and some other nice stuff. With regards to RAM, storage and CPU I think they can stick to the 2/4GB, 64/128GB and X7 Atom configurations. Those are just fine. Same as the screen...that's perfect.
Same power, same use cases, but lighter, better battery life, faster charging etc would be nice!


With regards to what Microsoft SHOULD be doing... I see quite some issues here around build quality of devices. Now I know people rush harder to complain than to compliment, but still...that should have a lot of attention.
And when it comes to Windows there are two things:
-PLEEEEEASE, fill the app gap!
-Make everything more consistent like it was in Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8. Now some apps have a hamburger menu, others don't. On Windows 10 Mobile a lot of apps have the two circles when selecting text, but in the calendar and mail app all of a sudden they have a different shape. Just to mention a few...
 

hughlle

Super Moderator
Staff member
Okay, so heres my qualm with the idea of a suface 4. I own and use all the time my S3 (non pro). The reason for this is the size. I found it quite difficult to use the larger pro tablets as a reading device when need be. I use my S3 mainly for school (I am working on my matsers on-line). Long story short, being able to get most text books and research done electronically ake the surface the best option for an all in one. That being said, to use it in this manner it is very much needed to get the android experience on the tablet. Unfortunatly, this uses up much more memory than our 4GB tablets would prefer and makes it quite difficult to have a reading panel open and Microsoft word to type in on the other side of the screen...its just not able to handle the load. My preference would be for the Surface line to offer and similar sized unit as the S3 but with a higher processor and RAM capabilities to do these projects people like me need...I can do little more than what could be done on a traditional tablet but for twice the cost. Is anyone else thinking the same as me here?? I

just cannot handle the cost of s Pro unit, nor can I handle the size, its not quite the portable reader unit the S3 line is...

I use mine as well as an sp4 for all my uni work. Never had a problem with research material and office apps to be open at the same time. Not sure what the android comment relates to.
 

Telstar1948

Active Member
OP, are you saying you run an Android emulator for certain Android apps & run those side-by-side with Word or other Windows apps using your S3?
 
will there be a surface 4? that's a good question...isn't intel nixing the atom type processors? plus no word on surface 4 in june 2016
 

leeshor

Well-Known Member
Intel now had some much faster M processors like the M5 which comes really close to i5 performance without the fan so I wouldn't rule it out.
 

Plantje

Active Member
Exactly my thinking! Take a look at the Samsung Tab S Pro. If they make something like that in a 10" like format with an LTE module I will be switching
 

leeshor

Well-Known Member
That M5 is a huge jump from the M3. It's also the processor being used in the new HP Elite X2 2012
 

Turbo4AWD

Active Member
The fact that the OP posted this on April 1st makes me wonder if it was all a joke. Anyways, I would love to see an improved Surface in the near future! My Surface 3 has been great so far!!!
 

Plantje

Active Member
Possible... however, even on the 1st of April one can ask a normal question. And this is not a strange question in my opinion.

On topic: have you seen the stuff at Computex? The Transformers of Asus are seriously on their way to become nice competitors of the Surface line! However, I don't really like the 12" and larger screen sizes for my portable devices. 10" max.... with a 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio please.... worst case a 16:10 would be acceptable if the rest of the specs are great for a nice price!
 
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