Hi dudes!
In around 15 minutes surface laptop targeted at education market will likely be announced!
What are your thoughts? What you expect it to be? Would you buy it? Is it a competitor to V?
We discuss all of this stuff here.
P. S. You can watch livestream here:
Where and when to watch the #MicrosoftEDU event on Tuesday, May 2 | Windows Central
What are your thoughts?
IMO, unless Panos can surprise us by pulling that thing apart again, like what he did in the Surface Book announcement, it will be a disappointment to me. Surface is all about pushing the envelope, bringing new concepts to the table, not sticking Alcantara on a regular laptop.
What you expect it to be?
Well, as I said above, sticking Alcantara on a regular laptop. I think this will be Microsoft’s version of the Chromebook Pixel.
Is it a competitor to V?
I would say no. The only similarity that I know so far, is the Alcantara.
If it’s targeted at educational market (as in public schools not students at university) it will be cheap (or at least not too expensive). This means not much RAM/memory which would mean no possible device for me (if I am right).
edit: And presumably a Windows cloud version that will get auto updates and makes it possible to service a lot of devices very easily.
It won’t compete with the V. And that starts not only with the low-end specs (to cut down costs and compete with ChromeBooks) but also a Windows 10 Cloud, which only allows for store apps. 
so if there’s only a Surface laptop I wouldn’t worry much.
It should be possible to upgrade Windows 10 Cloud to a real Windows .
Watching it live atm.
And still no thunderbolt 3 on the surface laptop. 
Betting on the V was worth it.
Damn you were quick.
Ah, I see you’ve created the thread before the details were out. Smart thinking @Konstantinos.
Wow it costs about as much as my i5 V with $50 shipping…
Just watched the presentation. Not really a low performance (like Chromebook) laptop as it seems to come equipped with i5 and i7 U-series processors (i.e. 15 watt TDP processors).
Really impressive claimed battery life - 14,5 hours of video watching. Hopefully it is that good, but may not be quite that impressive in real life as not all details were revealed how the video was watched (for example screen brightness). And no idea on the battery capacity, or has there been details somewhere?
Really nice design and attention to detail (appearance, cooling system, speakers, alcantara), like it 
.
Honestly I am kind of regretting buying the V now… Mostly because of the extra screen estate on the Surface Laptop. But the V is fanless and I will be saving quite a lot of money so I think I probably made the right decision. Can’t imagine spending the equivalent of $999 for only 4GB RAM!
Hmm… whilst not a direct competitor, this might sway some who were 50-50 on the tablet form factor.
But I can’t yet see all it’s other specs (ports etc.) but boy that 14.5hr battery life claim is something. We’ll see if real life tests get anywhere close. $999 for a standard, albeit very well built laptop, that’s still pretty steep. (keep in mind the latest HP Spectre x360 was initially advertised as Stylus ready, but that is no longer the case as most customers can’t get it to work - massive fail!).
If this is true, having the i5-U series precessor but only 4GB RAM is NOT “balanced” ! Big flaw and hinders performance potential of the device.
14.5 hour battery life? Like the Surface Pro 3 claimed 9 hours and delivered 4 hours?
While it aesthetically pleases me I don’t trust them anymore.
Here’s a basic comparison of the Surface laptop (name is the most boring thing I’ve heard all day, and I’m a uni student) with the Eve V, based on the spec sheet.
Really like this. I don’t think it’s a direct competitor to the V, but I do think it pretty much covers the Eve laptop future design thread we’d been discussing here
Awful, awful idea.
At the price point they’re trying to sell this at, it’s DOA.
Microsoft has fallen into it’s old (pre-Balmer) ways, where they think everyone will want it just because it runs Windows.
Windows 10 S is Windows RT all over again, mostly. And this time, they don’t even have affordable hardware.
Microsoft has reached a new low, in my opinion.
Not even a competitor in 2years in Switzerland. 
Discounted on day zero ROFL
The Following Simply Reflects My Thoughts, and only answers the questions raised by @Konstantinos
Thoughts
To me, this is a product that should not be marketed for education from a price perspective and performance perspective, this should be for the general public. As a student myself, I don’t myself using the pen and the dial in a classroom, that’s just weird. The dial has so much more potential, and for $99 I just expect it to do more than volume adjustment and playing back muscle movement (as per the demo from 3D4Medical). As for the Surface Pen, I imagine it would be extremely fatiguing and hard to use it on the Surface Laptop because of Screen Wobble and Hand Fatigue. Take my word for it since I do use a Surface Book on a daily basis and use the pen very frequently. And the $999 price tag doesn’t really justify putting a shrunk down version of Windows 10 in it. Seriously? I have to pay for Windows 10 Pro so I can download apps from the Internet? You know that the Windows Store is still not that great yet. Right? Get A V. And the omission of USB-C is simply frustration. Just because you’re targeting at the Education Market doesn’t mean you have to ignore future-proofing. Just Disappointing.
What Do I Expect It To Be?
A laptop with great battery life, great display, great keyboard, great trackpad and runs a crappy version of Windows.
Summary: A Windows Chromebook Pixel.
Would you buy it?
Hell naw, V all the way.
Is it a Competitor To The V?
No, and this is for two reasons:
Their form factor is different, therefore comparing it to the V is extremely difficult.
Price. The Surface Laptop starts at $999 for a i5-U Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB Storage Configuration. The V at $949 (not including shipping) comes with an i5-Y Processor, 8GB RAM and 256GB of Storage. Of course, specs aren’t everything but in a pure spec -to-spec comparison, the V wins. Build Quality is similar so I won’t touch on that. Oh, and the V has more points.
TL;DR
This is a good laptop , should be great for students and the general consumer alike, but lacking in terms of software. And not a Competitor to the V.
It is possible to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 10 S but of course at a price XD. Panos said it in the presentation
Edit: Win10 Pro Upgrade is free until end of year as pointed out by @izuan
Edit 2: The Verge further explained that: Students, teachers, and school administrators can upgrade the Surface Laptop for free, but only until the end of 2017. (Original Link: Window 10 S devices can be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro for $49 - The Verge )