Microsoft's new lineup of Surface devices looks pretty impressive. The key specs of the Surface Pro 6 convertible and Surface Laptop 2 — mainly performance and battery life — got really nice boosts, and both models now come in a Batman-worthy matte black finish. Plus the only-creatives-need-apply Surface Studio got an improved screen and better graphics support.
Apart from the surprise introduction of the Surface Headphones, though, Microsoft's Surface design story is very much the same. None of the form factors have evolved at all, and almost all of the new models lack a feature that the Surface line has resisted for a while: USB-C.
Microsoft's party wasn't all bad news for the port of the future. The Surface Studio, which has the most real estate, got on the USB-C train. And the Surface Headphones have a USB-C charging port. (Let's not forget the already-available Surface Go, which was the first Surface to take the plunge.)
But the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 have the same port story as before: full-size USB, Mini DisplayPort, a headphone jack, an microSD card slot, and the proprietary Surface magnetic charging port (not counting the magnetic connector for the keyboard).
Given the number of people complaining about dongle hell on the current MacBooks and MacBook Pros, Microsoft's reluctance to go all-in on USB-C is understandable. But not even one port on either model? This is starting to feel like obstinance.
But it's not. It's just reality. And the reality is USB-C is nowhere near the standard-establishing universal port it was intended to be when it first started showing up three years ago.
The main problem is there are multiple kinds of USB-C ports and cables. Some ports support charging and some don't. And when they do, they may not support fast charging or charging in both directions. When USB-C launched, it didn't support Thunderbolt 3, but now it does. Which is good news, but also creates a backward-compatibility problem — especially since some old cables won't support it, either.
The problems don't end there. Because of lax standards, there are a lot of dodgy USB-C cables and accessories on the market, and using the wrong cable with the wrong device can sometimes leading to your expensive smartphone or laptop getting fried. It got so bad that Amazon was forced to eventually crack down on a bunch of cable vendors.
"It's still not ready," Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay told me after the Surface event. "It's a real challenge. We don't want our customers plugging in the wrong 5-watt power cord from their Android phone into the Surface and then wondering why it didn't charge."
Putting aside all the technical issues, though, USB-C has a long way to go before fully supplanting full-size USB-A ports. That's because, after two decades of being the standard in device connectivity, USB-A is everywhere — in airports, on batteries, even on the little plugs that still come with every iPhone. That's why Apple won't ship any Lightning-to-USB-C cables anytime soon.
That's the reality Microsoft is dealing with. Certainly, USB-C's myriad issues will eventually get cleared up (any day now, I'm sure), and the connector has strong momentum in mobile. But Microsoft wants to sell Surfaces in the here and now, and Windows PCs tend to find themselves part of workstations — usually breeding grounds for accessories with traditional USB-A ports.
"We want to keep that same consistency on ports for our commercial customers," Panay said.
Keep in mind that going USB-C for the Surface Pro or Laptop would likely be an all-or-nothing affair. Both designs were created with USB-A ports in mind, and, while switching the port to USB-C would be a relatively easy technical tweak, it radically changes the design needs, which is why Apple gave the MacBook and MacBook Pro top-to-bottom redesigns when it introduced the port.
Fair enough, but then why not fully redesign the Surface line around USB-C? Certainly, it's on Microsoft's roadmap, but we'll likely have to wait at least until the next refresh.
"There'll be a time for us, for sure," Panay said. "Where we think it belongs, we're putting it."
So while the lack of USB-C on the new Surfaces makes it seem like Microsoft is stuck in the past, it’s really stuck in the present. The Surface line has earned Microsoft a lot of kudos, mostly because it deeply considered every aspect of the design and then iterated on them to zero in on the best possible experience. It's understandable that Microsoft doesn't want to mess with a good thing.
Still, shouldn't it? The question becomes: How much does Microsoft's reluctance to embrace USB-C hold it back? For any standard to take hold, influential manufacturers have to embrace it, just as Apple, Google, and Samsung have for USB-C. All of them helped develop the spec, and Microsoft was involved, too. Does it not now have a responsibility to advance the technology, despite possible growing pains?
Moreover, it's an opportunity for the Surface line to become even more influential than it already is. Say what you will about Apple's claim of "courage" in discarding the headphone jack — it definitely sent a message that the whole mobile industry heard. It's hard to find an Android flagship today that still includes the port.
What Panay says about Windows customers, especially in enterprise, not being ready for a USB-C future doubtlessly has some truth to it. But by passing on the port with the latest round of Surfaces, Microsoft has kicked that future down the road — again.
Topics Microsoft
