Microsoft officially unveils the Surface Pro 6 2-in-1 tablet
It looks like the previews for the Surface Pro 6 tablets were not fake at all, as Microsoft’s official unveil confirmed most of the “leaked” specs. Users who were waiting for the inclusion of a USB-C port will be disappointed to see that Microsoft still has not listened to their feedback, unfortunately. However, Microsoft did add a few new upgrades and a new color option, while the pricing scheme makes the top configurations more affordable now.
Regarding the color options, the new Surface Pro 6 will now be available in platinum and the new black color. As revealed by last week’s previews, the new tablet packs more power with the addition of Intel’s i5-8250U and i7-8550U gen 8 ULV CPUs. Display-wise, the tablet integrates the same 12.3-inch screen with 2,736 x 1,824 resolution and 3:2 ratio as the 2017 version, but Microsoft improved the contrast ratio this time around. There are two cameras now, an 8 MP rear one and a 5 MP selfie with 1080p video capabilities.
Other features include:
• 8 GB / 16 GB RAM (the i5 CPU variants may opt for either configuration, while the i7 ones only come with 16 GB RAM)
• 128 GB/ 256 GB/ 512 GB/ 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD storage capacities
• Intel UHD Graphics 620 iGPU
• Audio jack, mini DisplayPort, Surface Connect port, MicroSDXC card reader
• Dual array microphones
• 1.6 W stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
• Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.1
• Battery lasting up to 13.5 hours
• Windows 10 Home
• 1.71 lbs (i5) / 1.75 lbs (i7) weight
Microsoft tried to bring down the MSRP for the high-end configurations, but, overall, the prices still seem too high. The base model equipped with the i5-8250U CPU, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage is priced at US$899, while the Core i7-8550U model with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB PCIe SSD is now US$2,299 (US$500 cheaper than the 2017 top variant).