Microsoft a step closer to ‘cool’

Microsoft’s road to cool has been a long one. And while the tech giant might not be 100 per cent there, this week’s event in New York City took them one step closer.

The four most notable new products were: the Surface Laptop 2, the Surface Pro 6, the new Surface Headphones and the Surface Studio 2. an 8th Gen Intel quad-core processor on board, which suggests this device will be a lot quicker.

The storage options are good too. Ranging from 128GB SSD all the way up to a 1TB SSD option.

The one controversial feature of the laptop is that there’s only a single USB 3.0 and Mini Display Port. No USB-C. So it’s not exactly a future-proof laptop. This also presents a slightly confused message from Microsoft as it released new Surface Headphones with the newer USB-C port. offers 22 per cent more contrast. Microsoft also reports that the new Surface Pro is 67 per cent faster than its predecessor. This will be a direct result of the new processor and massive 16GB RAM available on some models. The storage options are 1TS SSD for the base model and 2TB SSD in the high-end model.

What about the ports ... it’s the same story as the Surface Laptop 2. USC-C is a no-show.

Microsoft Surface Headphones, NZ$TBC (US$349), available: unknown in NZ

This was the surprise product of the launch. The new over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones feature built-in Cortana (Microsoft’s voice assistant) and a 12-hour battery life.

The USB-C charged headphones are controlled by the touchsensitive casing, which responds to specific input gestures. The device will automatically pause and play songs when they’re taken on and off by the wearer.