Microsoft's new 12.3-inch Surface Pro 4 starts at $899

The new Surface Pro 4 might be lighter, but it certainly packs a performance punch.

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It seems like everyone wants to get in on the success of Microsoft's Surface hybrid: Google has the new Pixel C tablet, and Apple has the transforming iPad Pro. In order to stay on top, Microsoft had to push the bar even further, leading the Redmond tech giant to create the Surface Pro 4.

Microsoft's new 12.3-inch Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 1

The new Surface Pro 4 is an all-around improvement over the previous Surface line: it's thinner, lighter and much more powerful thanks to the onboard Intel Skylake CPU. It has a 12.3-inch display that utilizes new PixelSense technology. Microsoft actually fashioned a dedicated G5 chipset to run the new optical stack, which powers PixelSense to bring dramatic improvements to latency, parallax and palm detection for fluid writing and drawing with the new Surface Pen. The pen itself has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitive and comes with an eraser (an obvious jab at Apple's iPencil), and doesn't need to be recharged more than once a year.

Microsoft's new Surface tablet is just 8.4mm thin and features a laptop-class keyboard designed for performance input. Under the hood the Surface Pro 4's silicon soul is powered by a sixth-generation Intel Skylake CPU. Full Windows 10 Pro integration gives access to a slew of cross-platform apps as well as full stables like Office, Outlook, Skype and even Cortana voice-searching with a single button press of the stylus.

Microsoft's new 12.3-inch Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 2

Microsoft's Panos Panay boasted that the Surface Pro 4 was 30% faster than its predecessor, and over 50% faster than the MacBook Air. To match the higher-end CPU the device will ship with up to 16GB of onboard RAM and 1TB of memory, which is pretty surprising for a 2-in-1 hybrid.

The Surface Pro 4 will be priced starting at $899 and is up for pre-order starting today, with shipments slated for October 26. Below we have an updated pricing tier for each of the models.

  • Intel Core m3 CPU, Intel HD graphics 515, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage - $900
  • Intel Core i5 CPU, Intel HD graphics 520, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage - $1000
  • Intel Core i5 CPU, Intel HD graphics 520, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1300
  • Intel Core i7 CPU, Intel Iris graphics, 16GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1500

Derek joined the TweakTown team in 2015 and has since reviewed and played 1000s of hours of new games. Derek is absorbed with the intersection of technology and gaming, and is always looking forward to new advancements. With over six years in games journalism under his belt, Derek aims to further engage the gaming sector while taking a peek under the tech that powers it. He hopes to one day explore the stars in No Man's Sky with the magic of VR.

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