U.S. technology giant Microsoft Corp launched its new Surface Pro product in China Wednesday, Zhang Yongli, vice president of Microsoft Greater China, announced at a press conference held in Beijing.
The new Surface Pro 4 is seen as an upgraded version of its previous product, the 12-inch high-end Surface Pro 3, and it will also be the lightest one yet, while remaining powerful, Zhang noted. "Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch screen, and has a higher display resolution than Surface Pro 3."
The new gadget has already been available in the U.S. on October 26.
Hundreds of fans and industry analysts gathered at the conference and compared the newly launched Surface Pro 4 with other Surface Pro products. "The touch screen responds smoothly to my finger strokes and the Surface Pen's tip is very sensitive and allows me to draw very naturally," Qiu Haowei, Shenzhen-based independent fashion designer, said during the conference.
As an upgraded version of the Surface Pro 3, the newly launched tablet is designed to provide an improved drawing experience. "The Surface Pen with the Surface Pro 4 version enables its users to work with different tips with multi-point sensitivity," a Microsoft staff member, who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times Wednesday.
The Surface Pro 4 has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity with low latency while its predecessor only has 256 levels, according to the company's website. With a Surface Pen Tip Kit, users may choose different tips for sketching. For example, an H tip could be used for drawing while a 2H tip is for drafting and fast strokes.
The Surface Pro 4 went on sale Thursday for 6,688 yuan ($1,047) in China, Zhang said.
Besides the upgraded screen display and the Surface Pen, the new tablet has improved other features such as the camera and keyboard. For tablet users, the Surface Pro products are more likely to be suitable for professional users.
"Window's operating systems (OSs) still have a large user base, especially in desktops," a Wuhan-based 29-year-old PhD student in information technology surnamed Hou told the Global Times Wednesday. "That's why I bought a Surface Pro 3, as its OS is more compatible with my PC apps," he noted.
Windows 7 ranked top in desktop OSs, accounting for about 53.76 percent of market share from October 2014 to October 2015, followed by Windows 8.1 and Windows XP, according to Dublin-based Web traffic analysis tool statcounter.com.
However, Hou said he would not consider purchasing an updated version, as Microsoft Surface Pro products still lag behind Apple tablets in terms of graphics.
