back to article Microsoft's big Tuesday reveal: New mobiles and slabs? Win 10 shock?

Microsoft has scheduled one of its biggest press conferences of the year on Tuesday in New York, and The Register will be there for the show. But leaks ahead of time suggest we'll be seeing a lot of new hardware and possibly a few software tricks as well. Firstly, it's almost certain that Redmond will be unveiling at least two …

  1. Vimes

    I just hope that whatever successor comes out to replace the Surface Pro 3 deals with the overheating seen in the current generation.

    It's impossible to play world of warcraft - even at the lower settings - without the tablet getting *very* hot and the fan going at maximum. And I only have the i5 variant, not the i7 which was apparently even worse.

    1. Blitterbug
      Facepalm

      Re: It's impossible to play world of warcraft...

      Wait, what? I love my Surface Pro but why would I ever try to use it as a hotplate by stressing the Intel HD graphics in this way??? C'mon, you have to be trolling. In which case, well done, sir - you achieved your goal of getting me well-and-truly overheated...

  2. Davie Dee

    My surface pro 2 is like a Furness when I get it doing something serious, my Lumia 930 however leaves it in its dust, this thing becomes almost as hot as the sun, I have never had a phone that could substitute a hot water bottle, the annoying thing is both devices are fantastic to use, it just seems MS has some heat problems and if you think about it, its been the same with just about every MS device outside of keyboards and mice, my original Xbox needed some ventilation TLC an the 360 was much like a oven as well...

    1. Warm Braw

      >My surface pro 2 is like a Furness

      So big it needs a Barrow?

  3. Your alien overlord - fear me

    Going to a Microsoft do but not Apple's? I don't feel the love for iThings here :-)

    1. Michael B.

      Er more likely they have actually been invited to the Microsoft do and Apple only invite sycophants. As such The Register is Persona non Grata as far as Apple are concerned.

      1. tirk
        Joke

        Strikes me that El Reg isn't trying hard enough if they still get invites from MS. Admittedly they are more thick skinned than Apple, but come on guys, you can do better than this!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "Strikes me that El Reg isn't trying hard enough if they still get invites from MS. "

          I suspect that MS, in its northern rainy paradise, is much more thick skinned than those people down in the hot south.

      2. Hans 1
        Coat

        >Er more likely they have actually been invited to the Microsoft do and Apple only invite sycophants. As such The Register is Persona non Grata as far as Apple are concerned.

        Er, more likely they have been invited to the Microsoft do because no one else cares to attend.

  4. ashdav
    Mushroom

    I thought Windows was always about enterprise/business/people that had no where else to go....

    Why are they putting so much emphasis on Xbox ?

    I get it. That's what they play all day at Redmond not what the rest of the world does.

    This will not end well.

    1. king of foo

      Retail

      Xbox OS is dreadful imho; anything they can do to improve it is welcome.

      People don't buy iPads because of ios. Most apple users don't know what an ios is. This is what MS don't seem to understand.

      Many people who actually pay for windows (not bundled with hardware) are actually closet *nuxers, especially after vista and w8.

      I agree that MS needs to do "something", but I'm not sure its smartphones or Xbox.

      I'd like to see a focus on speed and security, not this obsession with SQUARES.

      I work in an office with glass everywhere. It's square. I come home and my windows are square. I walk past a church and think "f****g pedos", then "oooh, pwetty windows". I'm not saying MS should start buggering altar boys, but they might learn a little from this.

      1. MrPloppy

        Re: Retail

        I agree that MS need to innovate (stop laughing)

        Apple and Android seem to have settled into a pattern of incremental upgrades. The only way MS are going to make a significant impact in the market, is by coming out with something very different. I know holographic screens aren't realistic. But they need to show us more than another rectangle for surfing. Blow our minds then take our money. Otherwise I think most people will be content with what they have.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Retail

          "Apple and Android seem to have settled into a pattern of incremental upgrades. "

          There was an interview somewhere earlier this week with the MD of Miele, who was pointing out that products which have a long life must update slowly because the long replacement cycle for the average user means that the new version must not be too unfamiliar.

          For most of us - and that includes me now I have retired - we don't want too many changes too quickly. People who are time poor do not want to spend a lot of time getting up to speed on a new tool. When I bought a new camera recently after a long break, I bought a Pentax because Ricoh have managed to produce a DSLR that is still recognisably Pentax - and I was able to learn to use it quickly.

          Microsoft's problem in mobile (and desktop) has been a too fast/too slow approach, whereas Apple in general have been able to adapt the rate of change to their users. After some false starts, Android is getting there too. The volume control fiasco of 4.4.4 - 5 - 5.1 shows how important these minor details can be.

          What Microsoft now needs to do is to come out with something comfortingly familiar which does the job better and try and put the 7-8-8.1-10 fustercluck behind them.

  5. Jason Hindle

    Looking forward to seeing Windows 10 for phones

    So far, Windkws Phone has been a case of All Surface/No Feeling (excuse the pun). The smoothness, in my experience, has been superficial. I'm hoping we'll now see Android level multi tasking, where Skype isn't half an hour behind my Android phone, in terms of notifications and responsiveness.

    1. big_D Silver badge

      Re: Looking forward to seeing Windows 10 for phones

      I've not experienced any delays in Skype (Galaxy S3 and Nokia 1020 and Windows PC).

      I've been running Windows 10 preview on the 1020 and it is pretty good so far. A couple of apps, like Podcasts, crash now and then (luckily Podcasts only crashes when refreshing manually refreshing the list of podcasts and not during playback).

      The new Audible App for Windows 10 is also much improved, but still as sloth like as ever.

      1. Ryan Clark

        Re: Looking forward to seeing Windows 10 for phones

        I see delays in Skype for Business quite regularly. I get an IM on my laptop and have a conversation with someone. 10mins later my phone will fire up a notification for the original IM. Don't know what in the process caused the delay, but it is annoying.

  6. Phil Kingston

    Maybe they'll also announce next year's event where they'll have yet another "start from scratch" mobile OS and hang all existing users out to dry. Again.

    1. bobgameon

      Again? This happened with the switch from wp7 to wp8 but after that every wp8 device was upgraded to wp8.1 and does qualify for an upgrade to w10m as long as the manufacturer of the phone allows it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Windows Mobile CE 6.5 to WinPhone 7?

        Aren't you forgetting Windows Mobile CE 6.5 to WinPhone 7 being a similar case of the complete dropping of the previous phone and its OS in favour of a completely new incompatible OS in Win Phone 7?

  7. Mikel

    You heard it here first

    Their secret new super blockbuster Apple shaming product is...

    .

    .

    .

    .

    Windows for Pets

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: You heard it here first

      Erm, I'm not sure Windows can run on a 1Mhz 6502 CPU. But I'll be duly impressed if it does!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Is this Satya's big reveal?

    "One more thing, I'm shuttering the Windows Phone programme"

    1. VinceH
      Coat

      Re: Is this Satya's big reveal?

      Nah...

      "We've come to accept that Windows 8 and 10 are unwelcome, and we'll be giving everyone with one of those on their computers a free upgrade to Windows 7."

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        Re: Is this Satya's big reveal?

        Let's try:

        "We're going out of business."

        .

        What would all of those shills do?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Surface Pro "3.1"

    So my insiders tell me..

    Same size as the 3 Pro but very slightly thinner and smaller bezel so a bit more screen real estate

    Skylake processor

    Windows Hello compatible camera

    Shipping first week of November

    SP3Pro stops being manufactured Q1 2016.

    Don't expect another upgrade until Intel's next processor architecture comes out.

    The Surface 2 sucked big time, I quite like the 3 Pro, this should be a useful bump to the specs.

    1. greenawayr

      Re: Surface Pro "3.1"

      I'll resolutely defend my trusty Surface Pro 2.

      Had it for two years now and runs like new. Only time it's ever crashed on me is when I upgraded to Windows 10, but that was just the once. Yes there are better spec'd things out there now of course, it's the nature of the industry, but in my eyes, something that offers the sort of consistent performance that it has for 2 years and suggests it will do for another 2 years, is a good device. Heck, I've not had a phone last that long. I use mine for development and video editing (docked) and general browsing as well as media playback to a big screen so it gets plenty of use and I don't even have the top spec. i5 and 4GB of RAM serves me well.

      I must admit I am tempted to upgrade based on a few things I've heard, but if I did, it would be through my own vanity rather than having had enough of my old device.

      Highly rate it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Surface Pro "3.1"

        TechRadar says Home Battery life test - 3 hours and 12 minutes when new - so after two years I imagine it may have reduced further but since you use it docked I don't suppose it is critical

  10. MrWibble

    Xl is 5.7" and there's a possibility of a larger phablet one? Jeez...

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. dogged

      Nah, not really. The author has got a bit muddled - the other phone that renders have been leaked of is the Lumia 550, not a phablet but a boost to the 5xx cheapo line.

  11. Naselus

    "Adding a third model introduces too much complexity, "

    And as anyone who's ever had to sit through a three hour lecture on how MS's enterprise licensing model is changing knows, Microsoft just LOVE simplicity...

  12. Frank N. Stein

    Since Microsoft is developing and deploying Linux on a switch, why not just give up this Windows Nonsense and go all in on Linux? Can they call it Lindows?

    1. Teiwaz

      Or take (another) leaf from...

      Or offer their users a choice of ui on login (like many nixes have).

      xp, win7, win8 or win10 would do.

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