Microsoft unveils new smartphones and tablet

During a lengthy presentation that was broadcast online, Microsoft took the wraps off a pair of new Lumia devices, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL.

The highlight of the event was the introduction to Microsoft’s new Surface Book – a powerful, high-performance laptop with responsive pen and touch support. It will be available from October 26, with preorders starting on Wednesday.

The new Lumia 950 and 950 XL are the first high-end Windows phones from Microsoft since February 2014, which was around the time Nadella became CEO and before Microsoft completed its purchase of Nokia.

The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL will be available in November for $549 and $649, respectively.

Qualcomm 1Ghz Snapdragon 210 Quad-Core CPU.

Launched almost a year and a half after its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch screen with 267 pixels per inch.

Specs include “up to” 16GB of RAM and 1TB of solid-state storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a larger trackpad on the keyboard accessory.

The Surface 4 Pro runs 50% faster than a Macbook Air, Microsoft claimed during its presentation. The company has been due for a mobile product that sparks excitement and gets people talking about the company’s software again. Just two years ago, Microsoft wrote down $900 million for losses related to its first-generation Surface RT tablet.

The new Surface Pen, which now comes with interchangable tips, can once again be used to manipulate and draw on websites in Microsoft’s Edge browser and send content to OneNote with a click. Microsoft said storage on the phones could be extended to up to 2 terabytes using a memory card. Microsoft said the Surface Book will be available for purchase October. 26. This allows the device to charge to full in under-30 minutes.

HoloLens is expected to launch sometime during the first quarter of 2016, with a price tag of $3,000.

Earlier Tuesday, the company announced an updated fitness tracker and showed off a HoloLens virtual-reality device. If you step up to a more capable Core i5 processor, then the SP4 gains a bit more weight (somewhere around 1.73 pounds), according to an Mississippi rep. It’s not a night-and-day change when it comes to thickness and weight, but it’s still impressive to feel after spending so much time with the Surface Pro 3.