Microsoft Surface Pro 4 And Surface Book Become More Powerful
The Microsoft Surface Book And Surface Pro 4 have been a hit for Microsoft, despite some user complaints about persistent bugs. To take advantage of the success, Microsoft has beefed up both devices. Yahoo Tech has the news.
“Microsoft has announced new premium models of its Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 computers, with extra memory and storage to satisfy the needs of power users. The company is also launching a gold version of its Surface Pen accessory, which will be sold separately from the new hybrids.”
The article adds that the most expensive options for both the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 now come with Intel Core i7 processors, 16GB RAM, and 1TB of storage. It mentions that the Surface Book can now be configured with discrete NVIDIA graphics, but that has been the case with the device since it was released in October last year.
“The blossoming Surface brand has provided Microsoft plenty to celebrate over the last year or two, but the most recent additions to the line haven’t quite met the expectations of some consumers. Now, the company has issued an apology from the team responsible for the hardware.”
The Surface Book, which is a first-generation product for Microsoft, seems to be causing the most problems. A poster on the forums at Windows Central calls his Surface Book purchase the worst PC experience of his life.
“Once I started using it to browse the internet, huge holes opened up to swallow my user experience whole. The display driver crashed and recovered three or four times an hour and if I was stupid enough to try and watch a few videos back-to-back, then I was guaranteed of a crash in Edge or a BSOD if I was using IE,” claimed “Motor_Mouth.”
He thought it was just “teething trouble” and installed all the updates, which did fix some of the issues. Like others, the user often loses keyboard and trackpad functioning and has to fix it by detaching and then re-attaching the screen. While this hasn’t been too bad for most users, Motor_Mouth can no longer detach the clipboard at all.
Several users note that the trackpad has been inconsistent and doesn’t alway work when you click on it, especially in the lower left corner. Others are upset that putting the Surface Book into Sleep mode drains the battery. Microsoft has recommended that, instead, users put the Surface Book in Standby mode. Still, many Twitter users are upset they paid $1500 to $2300 for a laptop that feels like a beta version.
"Welcome to the Surface Book beta tester's club. You and 100% of the other owners are a part of it. " >:-(
— Anthony Shaw ????? (@anthonypjshaw) January 21, 2016
@surface battery life on my new Surface Pro 4 stinks. Where are some resources that advise on settings to improve longevity ?
— Rupert Watson (@ruperthwatson) January 22, 2016
It appears that most people do love their Surface Pro 4 devices and don’t mind the money spent on it. Let’s hope Microsoft can fix the problems on the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 before there is a much bigger backlash.
[Photo via Daryl Deino]
