Dozing off or dazzled by Windows 11?

The days when we would be energised by a new Windows operating system launch are long gone, but Microsoft’s Surface hardware announcements today could create a frisson of excitement around the Windows 11 debut.

Surface itself has become a significant product category for Microsoft after starting out in 2012 as the kind of reference design produced by Intel to inspire a lacklustre PC industry, whose major laptop innovations over the past decade had been to mirror the look of Apple’s MacBook Air.

Microsoft wants the industry to pursue new form factors as well to extend the reach of Windows. The unveilings show it is still leading the charge, with an update to the dual-screen Duo and a crazily folding Surface Laptop Studio.

The hardware did showcase and tie together with the software in impressive ways, and both exploit the zeitgeist.

“Windows 11 is being touted as flexible for hybrid work, adaptive to the way individual users want to work, and deeply connected to collaboration software like Teams,” says Seb Jesson -Ward of Serviceteam IT.

The Surface Go 3 demo featured Xbox gaming on a laptop with a linked controller, Teams chat built into Windows 11, a Disney+ app and a Kids mode for the Edge browser.

The 5G Surface Duo 2 showed off dual-screen gaming and how the Microsoft 365 suite had been customised for two screens, with Outlook for example having a list view of emails on one side and the preview pane on the other screen.

Teams could feature a grid view of everyone on a video call, alongside a whiteboard presentation. Syncing with a laptop or PC, the Duo’s Android apps were accessible and there was copy and paste between the phone and PC.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the combination of Windows 11’s capabilities with the new Surfaces was a “game-changer”.

They go on sale together on October 5, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft’s third-party software developers and hardware partners will take up the challenge to design for Windows and compete with Apple’s formidable ecosystem.