Category: Hardware

It is a well-known fact that Surface Duo's hardware is underwhelming at best. The smartphone went on sale with an old CPU, no NFC, no wireless charging, and an atrocious camera. It takes a lot of faith in the idea behind Surface Duo to accept all those limitations and deal with poor software support (the smartphone remains stuck with Android 10 despite Microsoft's promises to deliver Android 11 this Summer). Still, despite a somewhat rocky start, Microsoft does not plan to give up on Surface Duo. A couple of days before the official unveiling, an FCC listing revealed huge hardware improvements coming in the second-gen Surface Duo.

A little less than a month before Microsoft ships Windows 11 to the public, AMD joins Intel and NVIDIA with its latest drivers for the newest operating system from Microsoft. Now AMD users can install Windows 11-optimized chipset and GPU drivers for improved compatibility and performance.

After releasing new firmware for the third-gen Surface Book several days ago, Microsoft pushed another set of patches, this time for Surface Go 2.

Updates for Xbox controllers are not that frequent when compared to software updates for Windows or Xbox. Still, sometimes, Microsoft releases new firmware to improve connectivity, fix bugs, or even add new features to existing hardware. For example, Microsoft plans to add Bluetooth Low Energy for reduced latency and multi-device support to existing Xbox Wireless Controllers with Bluetooth. To get those features, you need to update firmware on Xbox Wireless Controller.

On September 22, 2021, Microsoft holds its Surface event, on which the company plans to unveil new generations of Surface devices. According to numerous rumors, Microsoft will reveal a redesigned fourth-gen Surface Book in a new form factor and name. While Surface fans eagerly wait for the new hardware to drop, Microsoft continues providing firmware updates for existing devices. Those owning a third-gen Surface Book 3 can download a fresh set of patches from Windows Update. New firmware is available for both 13 and 15-inch versions of Surface Book 3.

Microsoft is working tirelessly to bring new features and quality-of-life improvements to those owning Xbox Series X|S consoles. Soon, the latest generation of Xbox will receive a high-resolution dashboard, Night Mode, and Chromium-based Edge (Xbox consoles are the only devices remaining with the legacy Edge). Besides, Microsoft is actively developing a new feature to control a console using a regular TV remote.

In 2020, Microsoft announced new Xbox consoles and updated wireless controllers. Besides having an additional Share button, USB-C, and refined texture, new gamepads offer multi-device connection and Bluetooth LE support for better connectivity and reduced latency. Although previous-gen controllers work with new consoles without problems, those gamepads lack cross-device connectivity and reduced latency. Microsoft wants to fix that with a new firmware now rolling out to Xbox Insiders.

The official Microsoft Twitter account has just announced an upcoming Surface event. According to a post on the company's social media, Microsoft will unveil new Surface devices on September 22, 2021.

It is no longer exclusive to Intel CPUs. TheRegister reports that AMD's Zen processor family is vulnerable to a data-bothering Meltdown-like attack.

Apparently, Microsoft is working on a new generation of Surface Go tablet. In addition to yesterday's found Surface Duo 2 with Snapdragon 888 SoC, Geekbench includes a new device called "OEMAL Product DV1.1". The device is believed to be the new the Surface Go 3. Similarly, the Surface Pro X device previously appeared in their database under the "OESMR" name.