More details highlighting Microsoft’s work on a cheaper Surface tablet have come to light, and the details suggest the product is close to being market-ready.
As always the source is the trust FCC and its certification process. Reported by Roland Quant, a low-powered charger has just passed through the US agency. The clues suggesting a new device include a new battery part number and different battery voltages. There are also no references to existing certification, which again suggests a new device rather than an update to an existing device.
Finally, the power supply is a 24-watt supply. The current Surface Pro models come with a 35-watt supply.
Looking back on Microsoft’s last ‘lower powered’ Surface machine, the Surface 3, it shipped with a smaller micro-USB based charger compared to the Surface 3 Pro which used the now familiar magnetic blade design seen on the Surface Pro, Surface Book, and Surface Laptop.
The model most likely to fit this description is Microsoft’s challenge to the education focused iPad. With an expected price of $399, the USB-C equipped tablet has been referred internally as ‘Project Lex’, will ship in a tablet form, with an optional keyboard cover. As I’ve noted before, Microsoft’s ecosystem offers many advantages over iOS:
While Windows 10 in its many variants also maintains a connection to Microsoft’s cloud based services, these potential new Surface machines will have a significant advantage - they will be open to third-party programs outside of a walled garden, huge amounts of legacy support, and the machines will be easily transferable between users.
As Apple moves towards narrowing the options on the tablet front, Microsoft is using its Surface line-up to promote a similarly priced product that takes a more open look at the ecosystem.
With FCC certification under way, Microsoft could be targeting a launch ahead of the new academic year.
