search "firefox" or "chrome" in bing, you'll see a big ad for Edge at the top of the search results. Now search some popular anti virus options in bing, notice no ads for Microsoft Defender. I think this is crazy because Chrome and Firefox are at least secure pieces of software. You can't say the same about all these genuinely harmful, untrustworthy AV products on the market. Why does Microsoft give them a pass?? They should go after them just as much if not more than they do Chrome/Firefox! thank you for reading my rant haha

Hi Brad quick Q: the Surface Pro X doesn't have a headphone jack... I think this is crazy and ridiculous and it has me worried. Will the Pro 8 have a headphone jack?

We all know that Alan Kay quote "People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware". Even though Microsoft said that kind of thinking is one of the reasons they decided to make their own computers (and Google doing the same with their Pixel hardware), only Apple truly has a vertically integrated and optimized "stack". Surface computers are excellent but lets be honest, Windows and Surface are separate groups and they are not fully designed together like the iPhone is, for example. But with Panos now in charge of Windows, we are actually going to start to see this with Surface computers in the coming years. This is exciting! I've always thought that Surface hardware is too good for Windows. I have a black Surface Laptop 2 and it's honestly stunning, I think it's the best looking computer ever made, but when you turn it on all of that polish and quality isn't there, because Windows is a mess compared to Surface hardware. It's depressing... Let's hope Panos can really influence Windows development and improve it. They basically just had a 2 billion dollar quarter so he must be doing something right. If I'm wrong or missing something please chime in. I think this is one of the best and most exciting things to happen in the PC space for a while.

Xbox Scarlett could have a real effect on gaming PC sales. For a lot of people, why would they pick a gaming PC instead of an Xbox Scarlett? Both will have mouse and keyboard support*, both will have crazy fast SSD's, and the vast majority of people won't have any complaints about Scarlett's graphics or power. You won't have to deal with any of the BS you do with gaming PC's, just plug into the TV/monitor and play. I just can't think of a reason it would be worth choosing a gaming PC instead of an Xbox Scarlett, gaming PC's in the same price range won't have any big advantages over the Xbox Scarlett.

*I've read that a lot of Scarlett games will be designed with keyboard and mouse support in mind from the beginning, unlike Xbox One games.

It's crazy that it's 2019 and Apple still has not solved their big computer problem: their customers/potential customers have to make huge compromises when they choose between getting a MacBook or an iPad with a keyboard, it's a horrible customer experience. They could easily make this problem go away if they simply added true, proper mouse support (and put a trackpad on the iPad keyboards), and make some more improvements to iPad OS. (making macOS touch-friendly and giving it a detachable screen is simply not going to happen). Microsoft should thank Apple because this "MacBook-or-iPad" situation is one of the only things Surface has going for it.

Reddit user fliflipoune just let everyone know on r/Surface that the new Intel Graphics Command Center (not the old Graphics Control Panel) is available to all newer Surface devices via the Microsoft Store app (I believe Skylake and newer). This is a big deal because there was no official, easy, safe and permanent way to turn off Intel's D.P.S.T, which is probably the most common complaint Surface customers have. When D.P.S.T is enabled, it causes color banding in gradients, it ruined the excellent color accuracy and fidelity too. Things just looked weird and bad when it would kick in. I believe it would also effect screenshots when it would kick in (meaning the odd color/gamma compensation would be baked-in to screenshots/printscreen, which is ridiculous). I managed to turn it off via registry tweak last year but when I upgraded to 1809, it reset and I've been stuck living with this awful thing until today.

(I made a thread a couple of months ago asking Paul to ask Microsoft about this and strangely, Microsoft didn't tell Paul about the new Command Center, they just told him that only the Pro 6, Laptop 2 and Go are compatible with the old Graphics Control Panel. I believe the Graphics Control Panel won't even be updated going forward, the Command Center is the replacement and it solves this problem)

Paul or Brad, I have a request/favor: to settle this once and for all, could you ask Microsoft if they are blocking Surface computers from using Intel's Graphics Control Panel? I've installed it via the Microsoft Store app on 3 different Surface computers and it won't run. There is debate about what's going on, some are saying that Microsoft is blocking it from running, others are saying that when Surface computers eventually get updated to the newer DCH Intel graphics drivers, Graphics Control Panel will run. I haven't seen anyone from Microsoft actually say anything though, so if it's not too much trouble please ask them so we all at least know what's going on

I was watching some videos about the Galaxy Fold and a few people mentioned that foldable OLED panels can't be folded 'crisp' like a piece of paper, there has to be a bit of a gap, just like the Surface Book has. This got me thinking; could Andromeda have a foldable OLED display and be like a mini-Surface Book, using the same hinge as the Surface Book? (obviously a miniaturized version of the hinge). You could use it as a tiny laptop and it would be stable, or open it fully and use it as a small tablet. Maybe this is why Andromeda is still in the labs, maybe this is what they're thinking of doing instead of having 2 separate displays. Brad or Paul, what do you think? Have you heard anything like this?

I do appreciate Paul's more realistic take on most things but he's wrong about Surface. Google effectively pulling out of the laptop/tablet hardware game is just more proof that Surface is indeed special and successful. The amount of people that have switched from ThinkPads or even MacBooks to Surface is really surprising. There's something else that should be considered: Intel has been shipping 14nm chips on the same Skylake architecture since 2015! 2015!! This 14nm Skylake platform is seriously outdated at this point and it's really harming Surface (because they're being compared to iPads). This is not Microsoft's fault, it's Intel's fault. When Intel finally starts making 10nm chips (and on a new architecture) and Microsoft includes USB-C ports on the Surface Pro, we could see Surface make serious inroads on Apple and ThinkPads marketshare. The Surface team aren't lucky, they know what they're doing and that's why the products are successful in such a difficult and competitive market space. Even with all the money in the world and a beloved brand, Google couldn't compete in this high-end hardware space, but Surface can. That says a lot...

Surface is a top 5 PC maker in the US, I see a Surface Pro almost every day...

All things considered (and now with even Google throwing in the towel on laptops/tablets) we need to start giving Surface the respect it deserves.

With Apple pretty much declaring war against Google today, I can no longer see Google willing to pay Apple what Apple wants to continue being the default search engine in iOS and macOS. So that pretty much means Bing will be the new default search engine in iOS and macOS, right? Hell, I even can see Google releasing some iOS and macOS zero-days to retaliate for Apple shutting down so many internal Google apps

I've read all of Brad's articles on the next-gen Xbox stuff and was just looking at some console sales numbers. The Xbox One does terribly in Japan, like shockingly so. But I really think the cheaper little streaming Xbox Two could completely turn things around there because, not only will it be significantly cheaper than the PS5, but in Japan, internet is extremely fast and this means the downsides of game streaming technology will be basically non-existent there. Japan is a big market so if the the cheaper little streaming Xbox Two does well there, it really could be a game changer. What other regions have super fast internet like Japan? These are the regions Microsoft should heavily advertise the cheaper streaming Xbox Two, and if it works, the next-gen console wars could be completely different

I made a similar thread not long ago but since then, more new problems have come to light and I think the larger company-wide issue is worth discussing. First, Paul already kind of covered this in early November, check out his article "Apple Admits to Hardware Quality Problems with iPhone X, MacBook Pro" . One thing about the iPad Pro bending issue that most don't realize is that this is not just a cosmetic issue. Bendy iPhone 6's resulted in a very serious issue known as 'touch disease', which could happen again with these new bendy iPad Pro's. Next, on the weekend a popular tech YouTuber Unbox Therapy posted a video showing his 2018 MacBook Air also has the keyboard problem, so despite Apple's attempt to fix this with the silicon cover, this keyboard design is still very flawed. Now today, I just saw The Verge post about a new issue with MacBook Pro's, "Flexgate". There's a pattern here, Apple's hardware quality has taken a nose dive in recent years. The question is why? Did they lay off some of their hardware testers, just like how Microsoft fired their dedicated software testers? I don't think there's been any management changes at Apple that would explain all these hardware quality problems, I would love to hear what others think because this is turning into quite a story. It reminds me of Mercedes quality/reliability decline in the early 2000's (Mercedes eventually turned it around)

In Beneath a Surface, Brad says Skylake (+ Windows 10 being new?) was to blame for Surfacegate, but I remember Paul wrote an article saying that it turns out it wasn't Skylake at all, it was the Surface teams fault (custom drivers I think?). Paul even told a story about Satya asking the head of Lenovo how they're dealing with the Skylake issues and the head of Lenovo replied "What Skylake issues?" or something like that, and it turns out the Surface team lied about Skylake being buggy or whatever.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH!?!?!

Brad vs Paul, FIGHT!!

For years people have been saying game consoles will become extinct and PC gaming is the future, but I'm starting to think the opposite could come true. Microsoft officially bringing keyboard and mouse support to the Xbox is part of this, it really is a game changer (we probably won't see/feel the full effects of this move until the next-gen Xbox though). And about sales: in November in the US, for the first time in history, all 3 'home' consoles sold over 1.3 million units each, which is especially impressive when you consider the Xbox One and PS4 aren't new anymore. People want game consoles more than ever, they're not fading away at all. Personally, if the next Elder Scrolls has keyboard and mouse support on the next-gen Xbox, why would I bother playing it on a PC?

Paul already wrote about this in "Apple Admits to Hardware Quality Problems with iPhone X, MacBook Pro" but wait, there's more! Apple just admitted the new iPad Pro's are shipping bent in the box, but they're pretending this is not a defect or flaw (LOL!). It's Bendgate 2.0 and it's just crazy to think they didn't learn from the original Bendgate. Between the ongoing MacBook keyboard debacle and now this, what has happened to Apple? Whatever, this is good for the Surface line

Microsoft is moving more and more towards open source, but why wouldn't they open source EdgeHTML?

If EdgeHTML is no longer being developed, all the PWA's in the Store are going to HAVE to run on Chromium, the web moves too fast, they cant leave PWA's running on old unmaintained, incompatible, buggy versions of EdgeHTML.

I have no idea why they didn't mention this in the announcement post, it's not a bad thing at all, if anything it's a good thing because all of the PWA's in the Store are going to get a bit of an upgrade over night (once they switch to Chromium). Also, the YouTube app for the Xbox will get a big upgrade once it switches to Chromium. At the moment, it runs on EdgeHTML and as we all know, EdgeHTML and YouTube do not work well together at all

AFAIK, Edge's text rending is tied in with UWP, so will Edge have Chrome's awful text rendering now? I might start drinking again

I was actually excited about Edge switching to Blink because I assumed Edge would remain a UWP app but it would get updated via the Store for once, it was going to be awesome. But it appears they're just scrapping Edge altogether. The new Edge is a Win32 app with a blink engine. I think this is just as big a story as EdgeHTML being scrapped. UWP really does seem to be dead. If Edge is now a win32 app that uses blink, this is painful gut punch to Windows

With Edge switching to Chromium, they have to drop their ridiculous EdgeHTML-only policy for browsers in the Windows 10 Store. So if Google wants to, they can submit Chrome to the Windows 10 Store soon (it's possible Google doesn't want Chrome in the Windows 10 Store though...)

Beneath A Surface was cool and really good, I really liked it. I know Brad was too young to experience the beginnings of the Xbox first hand but Paul is an old, old man and he surely knows lots about this. Paul, write a book like Beneath A Surface but about the beginnings of the Xbox!

Brad says Andromeda is now bigger, which pretty much means it's Courier, right? I think this is a much better idea than a folding smartphone, so I'm excited

The iPad is clearly the tablet leader, but there is still a huge opportunity here for Microsoft. The Pixel Slate running Chrome OS makes it official: Google isn't using Android on tablets anymore. So the battle for 2nd place in the world of tablets is between Windows 10 and Chrome OS, and Windows 10 is definitely the better tablet OS of the two. And then there's brand reputation that has to be considered. When people think of the Pixel line, they don't think of rock solid reliability and QA, and most people still are more comfortable with Windows than they are Chrome OS.

With Qualcomms fast Windows-optimized chips coming out next year, we could even see Microsoft solidify their 2nd place in the tablet world, I just don't see how Chrome OS could compete with upcoming Qualcomm powered Windows 10 tablets (I'm guessing the Surface Go 2 will be Qualcomm-powered and fantastic all around). Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this, I really didn't think that in 2018/2019/2020 there would still be an opportunity like this in the tablet space, I would have guessed it would be an iPad/Android duopoly just like smartphones. I hope Microsoft puts up a real fight here, it would be a shame if they don't

On todays first ring daily, Paul mentioned David Cross kinda adding commentary to the recording of his audiobook and said maybe it would be a good idea for the audiobook version of Beneath a Surface. This would be awesome! If Brad is ok with it, I think a lot of people would like this. There's always more to add and additional commentary on the book is a good idea (like how there are commentary tracks on DVDs with the director and actors talking throughout the movie).

I'm beyond happy with my iPhone 8 but I like to keep up to date with what's happening in the Android world, and what's happening with the Pixel 3 right now is a disaster, much worse than anything that's happened to the iPhone, which is saying something. Microsoft messed up bad with the Surface Pro 4/Surface Book 1 too, but I'd argue that what's going on with the Pixel 3 right now is far worse. I honestly think Google did not test this phone, certainly not up to production quality standards. They just shipped it, it's like a beta phone. Pixel 3 customers are guinea pig testers.

Android Police has a Pixel 3 issue tracker page and they're struggling to keep it up to date, because it seems every other day there is a new issue. Overall, this makes me sad because the iPhone effectively has a monopoly in the smartphone market :( If the Pixel line was up to the quality of the iPhone, that would be good for everyone, including iPhone users. The Pixel cameras have already pushed the industry forward but I'm not sure the Pixel brands reputation will recover. Google needs to put out a statement or a blog post apologizing to its customers for the laundry list of issues and promise they're going to get their act together (and actually do it, unlike the Windows team)

When Apple first introduced the iPad Pro, most assumed that their intention was to compete with the Surface Pro, but I'm pretty sure that's no longer the case (or maybe it never was). Apple is just as capable as Microsoft, they could easily add touchpad/mouse support to the iPad, they could easily make iOS more like a real, full operating system, they could have given the keyboard a proper laptop mechanism (like the Surface Book bases hinge) instead of limiting it to just 2 angles. I could go on and on. The real question is, why don't they want to compete with the Surface Pro? I'm not very familiar with Apple's thinking so I genuinely would love to hear what everyone's thoughts are on this

Just wondering if anyone knows if there will be an LTE Surface Pro 6?

Google recently decided that if you are not signed in to Chrome but you HAVE signed into any Google website in Chrome (Gmail, YouTube etc.), they will use that Google account to sign you into Chrome. They had some perhaps valid excuses/reasons for doing this, but this is the part where Google insults our intelligence and it all falls apart: when you open Chrome 69 for the first time, users should be greeted with a screen that says something like "If you are signed in to any Google website, you must now sign into Chrome with that account. If you do not want to sign-in to Chrome, click here to sign out of all Google accounts. Click here to learn more" . Instead of doing this, they just automatically sign you into Chrome without A) telling you that they've done this and B) giving you the choice to not sign in to Chrome.

They're playing dumb and insulting our intelligence. Between this and Locationgate, Google's attitude toward user privacy is disturbing, I honestly never thought the company would become this and I'm a bit depressed by it

when I try to sign in, it says "CleanTalk. Spam protection

*** Forbidden. You submitted too quickly. You may try again in a few seconds. ***"

I've had to use Chrome to post this, please help

Just saw the leaked pictures in Brad's post: WOW! That's easily the sharpest, coolest looking laptop I've ever seen. Arguably one of the best looking consumer electronic devices ever? It's stunning. This is by far the best looking piece of hardware Microsoft has ever made. In black, it doesn't look like a MacBook wannabe, and it looks so much more professional and premium than the silver Laptop. It doesn't look like a toy, it looks serious. I'm pretty sure they're going to struggle to keep up with demand

Apple has made some good steps against the insane erosion of privacy, but why don't they take it all the way? Yes, Google pays Apple to be the default search engine in Safari, but Apple doesn't need Google's money at all. And I'm sure Microsoft would pay them handsomely to have Bing be the default search in Safari (not that Apple needs Microsoft's money either).

With Safari having about 4% share on desktop, about 27% on smartphones and about 50% on tablets, Apple cracking down on this crazy privacy invading free-for-all could really change things in a significant way. I'm sure there's more privacy improvements they could make for iOS apps as well, this stuff doesn't need to be reserved for Safari.

Google does this to Microsoft all the time and now they've done it to the Fortnite people, seemingly as revenge (Epic Games didn't want to pay the Google tax). Read all about it on Mashable, the article is titled "'Fortnite' developer had sharp words for Google after a scary Android exploit was discovered"

First, read Paul's "This is When Windows 10 on ARM Will Finally Make Sense" if you haven't already. Qualcomm's 2019 offerings will be significantly and noticeably better than Intel's, particularly in tablets. I will be shocked if the Surface Go 2 doesn't use a Qualcomm chip. Here's why: Intels 10nm situation isn't the only thing hurting it. Because of the way Intel works, they can't move to their next microarchitecture (Ice Lake) without 10nm, so we are stuck with the now vintage Skylake microarchitecture (they just keep renaming it every year, kaby lake, coffee lake, whiskey lake etc.). That's a double whammy. And to make matters even worse, this platform doesn't support modern LPDDR4 RAM, which is very important in mobile devices. 

So next year, the Surface team will have a choice between the successor to the Pentium Gold, which will not be significantly or noticeably better in any way (I'm not even sure Intel is making a successor to the Pentium Gold!) or an upclocked Snapdragon 855, which will be made on TSMC's 7nm process (which is significantly better than Intel's 14nm++ process in power efficiency and heat output). Also, the Snapdragon 855 will use "LPDDR4x" RAM, which is even more power efficient than LPDDR4 RAM. The difference between the Snapdragon 855 platform and Pentium Gold will be almost shocking. I hope Intel can get 10nm figured out ASAP but we'll just have to see...

When Windows Phone died, like many, I switched to Android. I've had 3 Android handsets in total and have been relatively satisfied but things change of course, and this Locationgate scandal is the straw that broke the camels back for me, it's the deal breaker. I really don't trust or respect Google and I don't see how anyone could after this. None of these corporations are our friend but Google is being particularly dishonourable and untrustworthy. Yes I'll miss some of the things in Android but those are nothing compared to the larger and more important issues. Things like trust and respect are important, having some control over your privacy and data is important.

As an aside, any tips for a first time iPhone owner? I'm getting the iPhone 8

People want touchpads and mice, and if Apple brought this to the iPad, they could seriously disrupt the industry. Yes it would cannibalize Mac sales, but who cares? The amount of Windows and Chromebook customers Apple would steal would surprise people. They literally wouldn't have to change the iOS GUI in any way, why aren't they doing this? If I'm being honest, I would be very tempted to switch to an iPad if it had mouse support (and desktop Safari instead of mobile Safari). Stuff like this makes me think Apple needs more aggressive people steering their ship. Microsoft is very lucky Apple hasn't brought mouse support to the iPad yet

I've read that Satya wanted to cancel the entire Surface line even before the 900 million dollar write down, but they somehow managed to convince him to give the Surface Pro 3 a shot. We know how that turned out, the fundamentals of the device were so good that everyone including Apple has copied it. A lot of ThinkPad loyalists (including myself) have switched to Surface, even a small number of MacBook customers have. I see someone with a Surface Pro or Surface Pro clone every day, and I don't live in a big city. Inside Microsoft, there must be some tension because Satya almost cancelled one of the most successful products Microsoft has ever produced. It doesn't seem like Satya has very good judgement...

Is there some kind of agreement that Satya will back off when it comes to Surface or does he still want Microsoft to stop making hardware?

I just saw this in The Verge’s coverage, just incredible. How long until Apple fixes this flawed keyboard design and ships it? Another year? 18 months? No wonder some are switching to the Surface Book

”...it’s just hard to trust a keyboard after so many reports that it can be rendered inoperable by a grain of sand and that is incredibly difficult and expensive to repair or replace. This new third-generation keyboard wasn’t designed to solve those issues, Apple says. In fact, company representatives strenuously insisted that the keyboard issues have only affected a tiny, tiny fraction of its user base.”

This is quite a big deal: because the Surface Go's display is smaller than 10.1", if you use the Windows 10 'mobile' Office apps, you can edit and create documents for free! This is arguably the deal maker for the device, maybe worth a post on Thurrott homepage?

Mary Jo says the Surface Pro will be heavily redesigned for 2019 and that makes sense, considering the Surface Pro 3, 4 and 2017 are pretty much identical (just the insides changed). I have an educated prediction for the device: I think Microsoft will switch from the current ‘flap’ style kickstand to a bar-style kickstand seen in Surface Pro clones such as the HP Spectre (do a google image search for HP Spectre kickstand to see the bar style kickstand if you aren’t familiar). I know the Surface team puts a lot of attention on component packaging and weight balance/weight distribution and a bar-style kickstand would be a significant improvement over the flap-kickstand. I also believe a bar kickstand could allow the device to be slightly thinner. We have an HP spectre 2-in-1 at home and the bar kickstand just makes for a nicer overall device than the flap on the surface pro.

From what I’ve read, Apple is just going to replace broken MacBook keyboards with the same flawed design, they haven’t fixed the design flaws yet. So surely Consumer Reports has to pull their recommendation for all effected MacBooks, just like they did to the Surface line? And we should see a bunch of headlines “Consumer Reports no longer recommends MacBooks” . If they don’t, what does that say about Consumer Reports? More gold from Consumer Reports: the Pixel 2 camera isn’t even in the top 10 best phone cameras, according to them…

Does anybody know what's going on with official mouse and keyboard support for the Xbox? I hope they don't cancel it...

I finally got around to watching WWDC and noticed how strongly Apple is pushing the privacy angle especially in Safari, even throwing Facebook under the bus. I was excited but then remembered: Google is the default search engine in Safari and I believe Siri too! If this privacy push was genuine, Apple would demand a special privacy centric version of Google search as the default for Safari, or they would just set DuckDuckGo as the default. I like Apple but this made me roll my eyes

It's nice to see that they rushed out this Snapdragon 850 but I'm very confident that still won't be enough to get these devices to the point where someone would actually want to buy one, especially if this Intel powered small Surface tablet comes out later this year (and iPads are much nicer and faster than a Snapdragon 850 Windows tablet). BUT, next year, ARM/Qualcomm chips like the Snapdragon 850 will be manufactured on the new 7nm process from TSMC or Samsung, and then Intel will have a real problem on their hands. Best case scenario, Intel starts shipping decent 10nm chips late 2019, more likely 2020 (SemiAccurate wrote an article about this recently). Qualcomm could become the new AMD! Very exciting times. We could see Qualcomm powered Windows tablets everywhere soon

Thought I should post this here, maybe it's even worth a tip article on thurrott.com

"Thank you for all of the great feedback, and for using outlook.com! I just wanted to let you know that everyone should be able to clear their search history now.

To do this follow these steps

1) Click the Gear/Cog in the top right hand corner

2) Click Full Settings at the bottom of the Quick Setting Pane

3) Select General in the left

4) Select Export

From here you can delete your search history, export it if you want a copy, or request an export of your mailbox.

Hope this helps!"

After hearing the news today, a few things came to me that I thought are worth posting.

- The Surface Pro is big and heavy for a tablet (and it's not cheap either), there is no 'normal' sized Surface tablet, so there is an untapped market here.

- with Android tablets effectively discontinued, there is now an opportunity here for Windows/Surface tablets (Chrome OS tablets suck and will continue to suck for some time, and at the moment there is only 1 in existence)

- The hardware is ready: Microsoft and Intel have figured out how to make a fanless tablet with good performance. The i5 Surface Pro and i5 Surface Book clipboard are fanless.

- Intel has improved a lot since the m3 processor in the Surface Pro 4, and I believe the upcoming version will have a PCH chipset made on the 14nm process for better battery life and less heat, which is especially important in a small fanless tablet and package such as the Core m3

- Microsoft has figured out how to make a cellular Surface, the Surface Pro got great reviews and people will want that option in a 10" tablet

- we now know that Windows + ARM is not a good experience and possibly won't ever be a good experience, Intel is the way to go for Windows tablets

Overall, a 10" Intel powered Surface tablet just makes sense at this time, it certainly makes more sense than the Surface Laptop. I think it could sell well and surprise some people

Quick question about Android P: when you enable the iPhone X-like gesture mode, do you gain some vertical real estate? So there is more content on the screen? I'm not able to check for myself :(

Intel revealed that their 10nm process is delayed yet again, maybe until even the 2nd half of 2019. Microsoft can't leave dual core Surface Laptops in the market until the 2nd half of 2019 so surely we will see a quad core 'refresh' of the Surface Laptop, I assume this year. They might even refresh the Surface Pro with a quad core option too.

I really hope not but it seems they've cancelled the UWP File Explorer. It wouldn't have only brought touchscreen improvements but long missing touches such as "smooth scrolling" too. Does anyone know anything about this?

the new version of Edge is so good but there are still many little issues, which makes me wonder, does Microsoft really care about Edge and take it seriously? Is it a high priority for them? I would hope so because having no real alternative to Chrome would be extremely bad for many reasons. Edge has such potential, I hope they are all in with it

The perfect Surface Pro for the majority of people would be an i5, 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD, but Microsoft seemed to refuse to sell this until now. If Microsoft had offered this configuration all along, I'm sure they would have sold a lot more Surface Pros, because very few people need a 256GB SSD these days, and it was just driving up the cost. Also, it doesn't bundle the pen, which is also great! This is a big deal for Surface and it's great to see them finally get the configurations right

The next Xbox needs to be like the Nintendo Switch because: if you compare the Xbox One X to the theoretical next Xbox on the typical customers TV in 2021 (I'm assuming it will come out in 2021), the graphical improvements won't be large enough to justify purchasing a new console. So if the next Xbox is another traditional console, that is, more powerful, Microsoft is dooming themselves to low sales. The Xbox One X is just too good. If Microsoft wants the next Xbox to sell, it should be like the Nintendo Switch. When docked to play on the TV, it would still be better than the Xbox One X, and when in handheld mode, it would put the Switch to shame.

Brad, Paul, anyone, do you think Apple dropping Intel will have any effect on Intels and Microsofts relationship and products? Will things improve now? Is Apple dropping Intel good for Microsoft?

Since January especially, the amount of Surface Pro's and Surface Pro knock offs I've seen in public is really surprising. Even people that don't know the name of the product recognize 'those tablets/laptops with a kick stand', Microsoft has come up with something genuinely great and successful with the Surface Pro, and if they stop making them, this proves to me that higher ups in the company are simply dumb. I know Surface will never be super profitable but it shouldn't need to be! I could get over Windows Phone dying but if they stop making Surface Pro's, I guess everyone should just buy a mac? Lets hope the new leadership doesn't axe Surface

Even though Edge is actually quite good now, people still aren't switching to it and Microsoft is resorting to some dirty tactics to boost usage. But I have an idea that isn't dirty but in fact a win for everyone: get rid of the Netflix app! As far as I can tell, the Netflix app isn't better than going to netflix.com in Edge, and users can simply click "Pin this page to Start" or "Pin this page to the taskbar" if they like quick access to Netflix. I'm sure Netflix would like 1 less platform to develop for, and this would also be a 'win' for the web! Unless there's something I'm missing... please share if you know of a reason they shouldn't or can't do this

I prefer Android over the iPhone but as Paul has pointed out a few times, the price of the Pixel phones is too high. There are several reason but I wanted to mention 2 of them:

Reason #1: you only get 2 years of major updates! Today Google confirmed that the Nexus 6P and 5X will not get Android 9 (though I believe they still get security updates for another year?). I think that's crazy, the Nexus 6P and 5X are still good phones and they deserve Android 9, it's not like they came out in 2013.

Reason #2: performance degradation. Even Nexus/Pixel phones suffer from this! It was more forgivable with the lower pricing of the Nexus phones, but for the amount of money Google is asking for a Pixel phone, performance degradation is just not acceptable.

So even though Android has many advantages over the iPhone and I do prefer it, I'm switching to an iPhone 8 this summer when my contract is up. I don't think Android 9 is going to fix the performance degradation issue, and for the amount of money Google is asking for the Pixel 2, I expect more major Android updates guaranteed.

Grammarly seems like such a perfect and obvious acquisition for Microsoft and I don't think they would be expensive. Office/Word would benefit greatly from it and Grammarly even has an Android keyboard now, they could integrate that tech into SwiftKey and the Windows 10 on-screen keyboard.

I was really surprised to learn that the LTE Surface Pro uses a Qualcomm modem, you would think Microsoft would want to use an Intel modem in it, does anyone know why it doesn't? Do you think the next LTE Surface Pro will use an Intel modem?

I watched the Pixel 2 reveal and one of my favorite parts was when they said they don't put more features or better components in the XL version, the only difference between the two phones is the size and minor aesthetic differences. Fast forward to this week and apparently the XL has a crappy display made by LG made with a newer OLED technology, and the smaller phone has a display by Samsung with the more common and mature OLED technology. AND, the smaller phone is made by HTC while the larger phone is made by LG. What the hell???? Why would they make a point of saying this on stage when it's extremely untrue?

On Apple's website, they write about the iPhone X "The first OLED screen that rises to the standards of iPhone" , and I thought that was a strange and stupid thing to say because at my work, I get to play with almost every new phone that comes out and I haven't seen a bad OLED in years. But in the past week, 2 flagship android phones , the LG V30 and Pixel 2 XL (apparently they have the same display) have actually made Apple's statement true, instead of a silly and strange lie. Apple is very lucky! The iPhone X really can say it has a much higher quality OLED than some recent android flagships

onMSFT just ran a story (search "Will Microsoft’s Surface business be the next to bite the dust? Industry execs think so" ) about this, do you think this is true? I really hope not... I really wish Paul and Brad would talk to some people in the know about this and let us know where things stand, it would be an interesting article

With Android apps now running on Chrome OS, you should be able to dock the next Pixel phones into a laptop shell or desktop setup and have Chrome OS. Google could beat Microsoft to the punch here. Having a Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM is overkill for a smartphone, it's just wasted potential. Think about how special and disruptive that experience would be? All of your Android apps running seamlessly on a Chromebook shell or desktop. This would also justify the high price of Pixel phones, it would suddenly become a very easy purchase to justify, and it could cause some trouble for Windows

Now that rs3 is basically locked and it's just bug fixes until release, what do you think of Edge now? Does it still need more work or is it finally ready for prime time?

Apple's phone strategy is solid and sound, the iPhone will be a powerhouse for the foreseeable future. But when it comes to tablets and computers, their strategy, well, they don't even have a strategy at all!

For the iPad, initially they were adamant that the iPad was strictly a tablet and they won't attempt to turn it into a hybrid because toaster fridges are stupid, then the iPad Pro and now iOS 11 happened, so clearly they've changed their mind. I tried out the new 12" iPad Pro yesterday and as excellent as it is (I gave the software a pass because iOS 11 isn't out yet), it's a poor excuse for a laptop. No USB C port, no trackpad (this company is famous for having the best trackpads) and the keyboard is a joke compared to a Macbook keyboard. So I read about what people think of the keyboard for the iPad Pros and one point I saw brought up many times was "Apple won't put out a great macbook-like keyboard because they don't want you to use the iPad Pro as a laptop, they want you to buy a Macbook if you want a laptop".

But this just isn't true! Apple REALLY doesn't want you to buy a Macbook. They refuse to make touchscreen macs, and they know this is crippling. They are deliberately not putting out modern Macbook Airs, because they want you to buy an iPad Pro. The uselessly small mini Macbook (which is way over priced) still has a 480p FaceTime camera... I could go on and on.

It seems like Apple is having some kind of struggle, they don't want to make a firm decision. So we have this mess, both the iPad and Macbooks aren't 'complete'. This is a real shame because I think an iPad Pro with a USB-C port and detachable Macbook keyboard would sell like hot cakes, I'd certainly buy one. Instead, I'm getting one of the Surface Pro clones that has a USB C port, which are magical, amazing devices. If you're having a hard time choosing between a iPad Pro or Macbook, I suggest you do the same. The HP and Samsung look especially nice.

Hi Brad, on todays Sams Report, did you mean that you believe the Microsoft approach is the better way (downscaling an actual real computer into a tablet, and eventually a phone like a Surface Phone) or you believe Apples approach is the better way (taking a phone operating system and slowly turning it into a full and powerful operating system)

I was just talking with one of my TA's (who worked for a display company) about the new iPad and he said that 120Hz is only worth the trouble if the display is OLED or Plasma, LCD's do not have the response time to make the most of 120Hz refresh rate, the response time of LCD is its 'bottleneck' , not it's refresh rate. But for display technologies that have a very fast response time, such as Plasma or OLED, you will actually notice an improvement if it's at 120Hz. So if you can, wait until the OLED iPad and you will notice a real improvement in speed and smoothness (smooth scrolling)

As we know, the sole purpose of the internet is complaining, so I've come to Pauls own forum to complain about something he did: in Thinking About Microsoft's Mobile Fantasy, he discourages Microsoft from trying with phones again, and that's just terrible of him. Apple isn't going to meaningfully innovate the iPhone, and Android is very similar to iOS. There's no real competition anymore in phones and no new ideas or different approaches, and that's really bad for everybody. If Microsoft is going to try something new and different again, everyone should be encouraging them, not discouraging them. Obviously if this new mobile OS makes it to market it's not going to get 30% market share, but if it's better than the iPhone and Android, it could find some success and influence the industry. Windows Phone proved that Microsoft knows what they are doing (Windows Phone didn't deserve to fail) and it would be a real shame for everyone if Microsoft didn't give it one more try

Does anyone know if the new Surface Laptop has an "in-cell" display panel? Paul or Brad, if you can see this, do you know or could you ask one of your sources please :)

I'm not criticizing them (I pre ordered a Surface laptop today) , I'm just saying, you gotta love 'em, only Microsoft could have Surface events 3 weeks apart LOL! I would love to know how stuff like this happens. Maybe Brad or Paul could ask around. 

Can anyone "in the know" answer this? I hear people say to not even bother reporting problems/issues in the Feedback Hub because Microsoft only looks at the super common complaints that have lots of votes, but others say that Microsoft does in fact look at everything and fix bugs/issues even if they have no votes. WHAT IS THE TRUTH!?!? hahaha

I noticed Paul always speaks highly of Edge's text rendering and it made me give Edge a try on several occasions but I would not see this great text rendering he would always speak of, but I finally realized why: on a HiDPI ("Retina" in Apple speak) display, Edge does indeed have the best text rendering of all the browsers, but on a low/normal DPI display, text in Edge looks pretty bad, really ugly and rough, especially for smaller text, and as we know, the VAST majority of people have low/normal DPI displays. Edge really does require a very hi res display in order to make text look good: I was comparing Edge to Firefox on a 15" 1080p laptop and they were even but smaller text looked better in Firefox. On a Surface Book though, text looked better in Edge compared to Firefox but the difference wasn't dramatic

There is an issue with the way Chrome for Android renders text (Chrome for Android is the most popular browser on earth according to netmarketshare) and because the majority of Chrome for Android users do not have retina class displays, the font on thurrott.com should be changed so it doesn't look so blurry for so many people. Here's the chrome bug //bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=686059

I was hoping someone in-the-know or maybe someone from Microsoft can shine some light on this issue: take a Windows tablet like a Surface Pro, rotate it so it's tall/long (like you would if you had a really long PDF or something like that), for some reason, you aren't allowed to have 1 app take up the top half of the screen and another app take up the bottom half of the screen! Even Android tablets allow this, and tablets are almost an afterthought in the Android world. Is this feature coming to Windows 10 tablets eventually? What's the issue? I honestly for the life of me cannot think of a reason this functionality is not present in Windows tablets. (I read that is was present in very early builds of Windows 10 but removed? I don't know if that's true or not though)