A lot is happening this week in the world of Windows and Surface. Today is the fifth anniversary of Windows 11, a milestone that snuck up on me and plenty of other users. Perhaps it's because I dragged my feet while making the move permanently from Windows 10.
On October 7, Microsoft is hosting a Surface event where it's expected that NVIDIA's RTX Spark chip and the Surface Laptop Ultra lineup will be further discussed (and hopefully better explained).
This collision of Microsoft-related software and hardware news got me thinking about a quote from the original architect of Microsoft's Surface lineup, Panos Panay:
To make a great product, you can't have great software without the hardware; you can't have great hardware without the software.
The quote comes from an interview with TechCentral circa 2020, well before Panay departed Microsoft in 2023 to join Amazon's Devices and Services segment. The quote does a great job capturing the original reason why Surface exists at all.
Microsoft originally wanted hardware that showcased the best of Windows software, and it believed its goal could only be achieved with in-house development. Surface became the bridge between software and hardware that Panay alludes to with his quote, and it's had a (mostly) great run.
What has me most confused about the upcoming Surface event is that Microsoft already revealed its new Surface Pro 12-inch (Gen 2) and Surface Laptop 13-inch (Gen 2) devices.
They showed up on September 23 as part of Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit , a full two weeks before the Surface event.
Source link







