Microsoft Surface team along with Panos Panay today did a Reddit AmA answering user questions. Here is a summary of the answers from the team. Read the part 1 here, Why Type Cover 3 Was Not Bundled With SP3 And More Questions Answered, Summary Of Surface Pro 3 AmA On Reddit – Part 1. Graphics Support in Surface Pro 3,
Hi, the i7 has Intel HD graphics 5000, the i5 has Intel HD Graphics 4400, and the i3 has Intel HD Graphics 4200
Will there be any way to quickly enable/disable the functionality of the Windows button on the Surface Pro 3 so it does not get accidentally pressed while using the stylus?
Hey guys. When we made Surface Pro 3, we wanted a device that worked not only in landscape mode, but worked beautifully in portrait mode. This is super important for things like reading, annotating docs, etc. Putting the home button where it is in SP3 makes working in portrait natural. Now that said, we also invested a ton of effort into ensuring that when working in landscape mode, you don’t trigger the button by accident. This includes things like palm rejection, guard sensors that prevent inadvertent hits, etc. Mike (Gabe) is one of our favorite Surface fans, so we’re working closely with him to understand and address the issues he is specifically having.
Compatibility of older Touch/Type Covers on Surface Pro 3,
All Type and Touch Covers are compatible with Surface Pro 3, including the Power Cover. 🙂
About the compatibility of the Surface Pro 3 with a 21″ Cintiq,
We have a couple of Cintiq Pads in our studio and they all work with Pro. Surface Pro3 is a full PC and supports up to 4k resolution out, the Cintiq drivers should all work. The Surface pen will not work on the Cintiq, since the technology is different. Great idea to use Pro for mobile sketching. I use Sketch Book Pro and it is a sweet experience.
Power Setting-Can we control power setting? What happened to High Performance Mode on Surface Pro 3 it appears we cannot change it. Is this a Thermal issue?
Power Setting – Not a thermal decision, related to connected standby. We are continuing to review options.
Display support,
i7 and i5 will drive 1x4K, or 2x2K (while supporting the Surface Pro 2K display). i3 will drive 1x4K, or 2xHD (while supporting the Surface Pro 2K display).
Panos, I love your presentation style. Are there any books or general advice you have for communicating to an audience?
Thanks for the comment. My best advise. Be genuine, have fun, and have products you believe in.
Wi-Fi performance on Pro 3,
Pro3 has 802.11ac — if you have an 802.11ac access point, you will see much higher throughput.
Why no White Touch/Type covers?
Not many people were buying white, so we did not launch it this time around. Thanks for the nice words…
I use a Surface Pro 2 as my professional laptop and Bitlocker is enabled for security. In order to boot the Surface I must have the keyboard attached because there is no option for a Bitlocker touchscreen interface. The lack of this feature means that I can’t turn off my Surface if I intend to use it as a tablet without the keyboard. Does the new Surface Pro 3 correct this problem?
Yep, Pro3 has you covered.
How long does it take to fully charge the SP3?
SP3 will charge from 0% to 80% in 2 hours and to 100% in 4 hours.
What considerations have stopped mobile SIM card/3G/LTE support being directly included in any of the Surface Pro series?
it’s not in the roadmap right now, but we hear the ask. we have USB so lots of people are using those and “mifi” tethering solutions. Battery certainly has been a consideration to date…
What happened to the dark color? It was really amazing.
The dark titanium was great. We spent a lot of time to study and develop extremely scratch resistant finishes. The magnesium, Surface is made from has a silver sheen and we decided to have it shine through the semi clear top coat of Surface Pro3.
Lack of full size SD card,
One of the goals with Pro3 is thin. Space inside the device is critical and always a valued resource. SD functionality was important for us and has been since the first products introduced. Options are the adapter you mention or connecting your camera directly to full size USB.
Power Cover for SP3,
The Power Cover is indeed compatible with Surface Pro 3.
What if battery fails in Surface Pro 3,
We’ve built a great battery into the product (details above). IF the battery fails during the warranty period, we’ll replace the battery. IF the battery fails after the warranty period, you’ll call Microsoft support and arrange for the battery to be replaced. The cost will be $200 USD.
Aspect Ratio design in Surface Pro 3,
Hey.. this is StevieB. we chose 3:2 cause it works great both in landscape and portrait. it is a 1.5 aspect ratio.. vs. 16:9 which 1.77 is really geared more towards landscape. 3:2 is also more a kin to paper… something natural and familiar for people. Given we wanted to build a device that worked well in all 4 modes of input: it had to be wide enough to house a full keyboard, tall enough in landscape so you can see all your emails lists.. facebooks posts, etc… and it had to be balanced in your hand to hold it in portrait so you could write like you would on a notepad and touch the screen. We mapped a lot of the available digital content… took their aspect ratios.. and the aspect ratio that was a balanced fit for all.. was 3:2. I really like 3:2.. cause when you divide 3:2 in half in landscape.. you get two 4:3 screens in portrait. So Pro3 in split screen mode is like running to 8” 4:3 screen side by side.. pretty cool! The other reason why we like 3:2.. is cause of its kinship with paper. 8.5×11 piece of paper is 1.33 ratio.. but once you take into account the margins.. about 1.25” on both sides.. and 1” top and bottom (various standards).. means an “Active area” of 9”x6”.. that is where 9×6 comes from.. now take 9/6 and reduce the fraction.. (divide by 3).. and your 3:2 ? . For the flexibility in experience we have designed pro 3 for.. typing, mousing, touch, and pen: 3:2 is a great choice.. hits a sweet spot in productivity, is compact and easy to carry, and adapts to both landscape and portrait well.
One more comment.. about the pro 3 screen.. it is a mighty screen.. Productivity and available content on screen are strongly correlated. Gary Starkweather, retired from MSR, did a great study that showed this. The pro 3 screen is 2160×1440.. the OS scaled the High DPI pixels by 1.5x.. which means the effective resolution is 1440×960.. I would compare this effective resolution (OS resolution) to other 13”-14” laptops on market.. it shows just as much if not more!! ? so a mighty screen.
Can I turn off Connected Standby?
You cannot turn CS off, but you could extend quiet hours in settings, so as to reduce the hours during which the system is connecting to the network.
Also, know that Pro3 will go to hibernate and then deep sleep after 4 hours of inactivity, to preserve battery even more.
CPU + GPU for all Surface SKUs,
Here you go: i3 – 4020Y – 1.50GHz with Intel HD graphics 4200 I5 – 4300U – 1.6GHz with Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz with Intel HD Graphics 4400 i7 – 4650U – 1.7GHz Intel Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz with Intel HD graphics 5000
When Panos dropped the SP3 during the presentation, he dropped it onto a carpet. Do normal devices break / shatter upon that sort of impact with a carpet? How durable is the Surface Pro 3 really?
We spend a lot of Engineering time to make our products robust – and we do a lot of testing to verify these designs. We could’ve also dropped it on hardwood (slightly lower height) and the device will work great.
Is there some kind of anti-fingerprint coating on the SP3’s display? If not, please try to do something about fingerprints in the next model. Also, if it uses Gorilla Glass, yous should put that on the website, thats a big selling feature.
Ya.. we use an oleophobic coating. OK. thanks.. we do.
How sturdy is the new kickstand to use? Will it eventually start slipping?
We design the product with a range of uses and a full lifetime in mind. The kickstand is cycled thousands and thousands and thousands of times to makes sure that continues to work great after a lifetime, 1 yr, 3 yr, typical and max exposure.
Same type of work goes into making the devices survive the drops that Panos keeps exposing on stage. 🙂