The Microsoft October 2019 Event kicks off today, and we expect the Redmond company to show off its latest and greatest Surface hardware, with plenty of rumors suggesting that we'll see the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3 and a completely new product dubbed ‘Centaurus’ at the event.
We're attending the Microsoft October 2019 Event in New York City, and we'll be bringing you the latest news, reviews and opinions in this live blog.
The event itself starts on October 2 at 10AM EDT / 7AM PDT / 3PM BST or 12AM AEST Thursday October 3, and you can watch along live – check out our guide on how to watch the Microsoft October 2019 Event for more information.
And make sure you keep refreshing this live blog, as we'll be updating it constantly throughout the day in the run up to the October 2019 Event – and during it as well.
Microsoft Surface October 2019 event live blog
All times in Eastern Daylight Time
10: 52 - Panay is now getting a little bit hyper about the Surface Pen. He's a bit exhausting to watch, and even more tiring to try to keep up with when you're typing up a live blog. Also, am a bit worried that he hasn't breathed in for about 5 minutes.
10:50 - Panay is now talking about how the AI engine can help. So you can edit visual live on the fly, cleverly changing the footage of a webcam livestream to make the person you're talking to appear like they are looking directly into the web cam. Not sure how important that is to people, but hey, it's interesting.
10:48 - The Surface Pro X offers full Windows 10 support - so you don't have to suffer Windows 10 S Mode. Yey! Microsoft is learning! It's also the first Windows PC to have an integrated AI engine in the SoC/processor.
10:47 - Microsoft and Qualcomm worked hard to make the SQ1 more powerful than chips in smartphones. It has 7 watts of power draw, compared to 2 watts on similar mobile chips. And it is three times more performant per watt than the Surface Pro 6.
10:44 - "For us it's about craftmanship" says Panay, who has taken the stage again. Only weighs 1.68 pounds, with a 12-inch chassis that has the thinnest bezels on any 2-in-1 device.
More SPECS:
1,400:1 contrast, 2,880 x 1,920 resolution, 267 ppi. Could be a gorgeous screen. And always-on LTE. Thanks to a custom Microsoft SQ1, which is a Snapdragon processor on ARM platform. Watch out Intel, Microsoft has made its own processor! Sort of.
10:42 - Now for the Surface Pro X. It's 5.3mm thin, has two USB-C ports, LTE connectivity, new MSFT SQ1 processor, edge to edge PixelSense 13.3-inch display, has the Surface Pen stored within device under display and, maybe best of all, it has removable storage!
10:40 - More stats! Omnisonic sound, charging case, one-click pairing to desktop, touch-based controls on side of buds, Office 365 integration. Available this holiday season for $249.
10: 39 - As for 'magic' - Seiler (and Microsoft) means Office. Hmm, don't know if that qualifies as 'magic' to us. Still, there's some cool stuff, like chatting into the ear buds and adding captions to PowerPoint presentations.
10:37 - Just had a sizzle reel for the new Surface Earbuds. True wireless, with a "little bit of magic". They look a bit ugly. 24 hours battery life, noise reduction and "all day comfort and stability".
Touch sensors on each earbud for controlling music and calls. You don't need to use your phone. A few taps and it can open Spotify and play and control music using gestures. Works on Android and iOS.
10:34 - Surface Pro 7 available for pre-order today, and starts at $749. Will hit shops October 22. Apart from that, details are VERY sparse. I wonder why...
10:33 - Now showing off the popular Your Phone app. Phone calls with Your Phone are sent directly to top of display regardless of the app you're using, but it's still Samsung phone exclusive :(. Feature is coming in the next few weeks
10:32 - Robin Seiler is on stage and has announced that Windows 10 Word now supports in-line editing with Surface Pen. She's explaining how she can use the Surface Pro and Windows to plan a hike. Just used studio mics (also in Surface Laptop 3) and is used for better voice commands.
10:29 - Now we're getting a demo of the software the Surface Pro is running. So, Windows 10, Edge, that stuff. We know all of this. We want more hardware!
10:27 - They've added USB-C. FINALLY! Crowd cheer. We're such geeks. But it is a welcome addition.
10:26 - We're now talking Surface Pro! Surface Pro 7 incoming?
10:24 - Pre-order now for $999 for 13-inch and $1,199 for 15-inch Surface Laptop 3. Out October 22.
10:23 - Now talking about battery life. Aiming for something similar to mobile phones. Has fast charging like a smartphone - will charge up to 80% battery in under an hour.
10:22 - 15-inch surface laptop with "AMD Ryzen 7 Surface Edition". Microsoft worked with AMD, with the fastest graphics performance of any laptop in 15-inch ultrabook class, which has been custom built by Microsoft and AMD. Can apparently play Fortnite. That's pretty impressive.
10:20 - You can see in the image above how the Surface Laptop 3 can be taken apart...
10:19 - SPEC TIME! Intel Ice Lake quad-core processor. That's 10th generation. Two times faster than previous Surface Laptop devices. Three times more powerful than the MacBook Air. Ooh them's fighting words!
10:18 - Surface Laptop 3 is modular, and the keyboard tray pops off for easy access to internal components. Could that mean it's easy to fix and upgrade? That's great news, as Surface devices in the past have been criticised for not being easily repaired. This is a very welcome move.
10:16 - The keyboard has 1.3mm key travel, and offers a silent typing experience. Nice! Seems like Microsoft has put a lot of thought into the keyboard. No swipes at Apple and its MacBook keyboard woes yet...
10:14 - More Surface Laptop 3 specs - 20% larger trackpad, machined aluminum, USB-C connector. AMD Ryzen 7 and AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics. THE RUMORS WERE TRUE! Microsoft loves AMD.
10:12 - Surface Laptop 3! In a 15-inch form factor, as well as 13.3-inch, as the rumors suggested.
10:11 - "What you'll hear today is new platforms, new silicone, new form factors." Form factors is telling.
10:10 - He's talking about how his daughter is creating music on a piano. "That's a great moment. For her, she was in her flow. And what she accomplished when she's in it." We all have those moments, apparently. "Surface can help magnify your mind" he says. Hmm.
10:08 - Panos Panay chief product officer of Microsoft Corporation's Microsoft Devices group. is now up. He's always an... interesting presenter. And by 'interesting' we mean 'pretty odd'. He's talking about musical instruments. Not sure the crowd are following...
10:03 - Satya Nadella is on stage and is getting us in the mood. A nice shout out to for the Spectrum, one of his first PCs! And as Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, says, "We want to build experiences that span all devices in our life".
9:54 – And ... we're in! Microsoft is playing some uplifting and inspirational music ahead of the proceedings. Now, Frank Shaw is talking up the droves of hardcore Microsoft fans invited to the keynote.
09:39 - Getting closer...
09:33 - We're in! And there's a bit of a queue. The venue is filling up fast – there's clearly a lot of interest in what Microsoft is going to show today. Will Microsoft be able to deliver? We don't have much longer to wait...
08:45 - We're waiting in line to get into the event, and we're told it will be at least 9am before we're able to sit down. Thankfully the weather is beautiful out here.
07:30 - As the start time for Microsoft's October 2019 Event edges ever closer, we're making our way to the venue in New York City. We'll post some lovely pictures when we get there. Meanwhile, what do the other rumors hint at what we might see today? We've been hearing a lot about a dual-screen Surface device codenamed 'Centaurus', and it seems increasingly likely we could catch a glimpse of that at the event. A new rumor seems to back that up, with Windows 10X, a version of Windows 10 for dual-screen devices, apparently making an appearance later today...
06:16 - And here's a leaked image that supposedly shows off the Surface Laptop 3. Again, this is pretty convincing and shows that Microsoft won't be straying too far from previous models – in the looks department, at least. However, rumors suggest that inside, Microsoft could offer a choice of Intel or AMD processors. Intel used to have a monopoly when it came to supplying the brain power to Surface devices, so this move is pretty big – if true.
05:38 - This is one of the images that leaked yesterday, which seems to show the Surface Pro 7. It certainly looks plausible – and we'll find out if it's on the money in a few hour's time.
05:36 - So, what can we expect from the October 2019 Event later on today? It seems like a lot of Microsoft's surprises have been spoiled, with a particularly large cache of images leaking onto the internet that seem to confirm that the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 do actually exist. It's also likely that Microsoft will launch an ARM-powered Surface Pro 7. This could give it longer battery life than a Surface Pro with an Intel processor.
05:03 - Today's the big day for Microsoft as it gets ready to host its October 2019 Event later on. It's super early in New York City – but we're excited to bring all the latest news about what Microsoft has in store. Also, the UK team is currently handling live blog duties, and it's 10:03am here.
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