Daily Authority: Microsoft Surface day 💻

👋 good morning! I need to upgrade my laptop. Next steps, I have to decide whether I’ll see what Apple is doing with its M1X MacBooks, or the new Dell XPS 15 again, or something else.

Microsoft is hosting a Surface Hardware Event this week on Wednesday, September 22nd at 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT.

Expected:

• We think we’ll see new editions of Surface Pro, Surface Book, Surface Go, and Surface Pro X.
• Given that we have a Surface Pro 8, Microsoft’s main flagship, and the high-end Surface Book is now in 4th grade.
• The Surface Pro X, which is expected to have an ARM-based processor again, has imperfect Windows app support and a really high price tag.
• Then there’s the Surface Duo, which was billed as a dual-screen Android device for productivity and performance but was widely viewed as a terrible release.
• And ahead of this week’s event, we have very solid leaks around the Surface Pro 8 and Duo 2.
• The laptops and notebooks will be released with Windows 11, which you will remember that the release date is set on October 5th.
• Part of the hook of Windows 11 is the promise of more tweaks, especially for CPU performance.

Surface Pro 8:

• The Pro 8 coming this week has seen a number of leaks, with the latest being via a Twitter post that looks like a leak from a retailer showing that the Pro 8 is Intel’s 11th generation core processor on board will have a slightly larger 13-inch display with 120 Hz, replaceable SSDs, dual Thunderbolt interfaces, ie no more USB-A, and it comes with Windows 11.
• The refresh rate of 120 Hz, which ties in with Windows 11 and offers a dynamic refresh rate function, is significant.
• As with smartphones with a high refresh rate, the refresh rate is lower when reading a page and increases to up to 120 Hz if necessary, e.g.
• But with a display that fires at 120 Hz, the CPU and battery life are significantly more stressed.
• The Surface Pro was never about raw performance, so it will be interesting to see how this balances out.
• And Intel’s 12th Gen CPUs

Microsoft Surface Duo 2:

• We’ve seen Duo 2 leaks for months, and newly discovered FCC filings have crystallized some details that revealed 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and NFC support, which was a huge omission by the original Duo.
• Earlier leaks suggested upcoming specs, including wireless charging, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB / 256GB storage options, an actual rear camera setup, and a 4,400mAh battery to power the dual screens.
• After the duo’s horrific first edition, should you be interested?
• Well, Windows Central managed to hold out for a year with the Duo 1, detailing the good: dual screens with the right aspect ratio are great and can be better than the Galaxy Fold range in many use cases, and the bad: Microsoft Just didn’t fix enough software bugs to determine, “Microsoft is the problem with Surface Duo”. Ouch.
• So the Duo 2 has a lot to prove: What it looks like right out of the box and how committed Microsoft is to improving, refining and making the very high price appear worthwhile.

📁 The grapevine continues to suggest that Google is not only working on its Pixel 6 series, they are also working on a foldable Pixel. This round-up explains the possible existence of two foldable Pixel devices, with evidence in Android 12.1 and via @evleaks (Android authority).

Also, Google’s Pixel 6 Pro could quickly charge and jump up to 33W, and Pixel 6 wallpapers leaked (Android authority).

⚡ Ikea’s $ 40 pad adds built-in wireless charging to almost any table (The edge).

🔋 Volkswagen’s electric ID.4 was already good – will that change by adding AWD via double motors? (Ars-Technica).

🏠 Ultra white color could reduce the need for air conditioning. Just as the blackest black paint, Vantablack, has special uses, white paint, which reflects 98.1 percent of solar radiation, is also quite practical (Engage).

🚀 The SpaceX Inspiration4 mission and crew returned to Earth with a splash on Saturday and everyone seemed pretty excited and rounding off the first fully private mission in orbit. They had fun in space, including wagering on the NFL and ringing the NYSE bell, and also raised $ 153 million for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital (The edge).

📰 The endless Facebook apology posted after the WSJs incredibly detailed reporting with whistleblower documents everywhere: “The Journal’s Series Contains Internal Reports Showing Facebook Aware Of Instagram’s Harmful Effects On The Mental Health Of Teenage Girls While Moving At Full Force On Instagram’s Childrens Product; internal documents showing the company lied to its independent oversight body when it said it only avoided the rules on the platform to a small number of celebs, poles, and other grandes, while in fact giving free pass to millions was given ; and the latest revelation that Facebook is making people angry, in part because of its leader Mark Zuckerberg’s futile efforts to stop the endless anger.“(New York Times, Gift link)

📡 Elon Musk says Starlink will be leaving beta next month, although he also said it would come by the end of summer. So soon? (Gizmodo).

🚗 NTSB boss says Tesla needs to address “basic safety issues” with semi-autonomous functions, ie apply the brakes when introducing “full self driving” (Engage).

📺 Emmys 2021 Results: The full list of winners, many of which are streamed TV series like Ted Lasso or The Crown (CNET).

🌌 Leading a mathematician through higher dimensions (Wired).

🦦 How sea otters can fight climate change (BBC).

🌩 “Can lightning really crack rocks and damage mountains as we see it in fiction?” (R / question science).