Microsoft unveiled its new line of Surface products, and many experts have praised these offerings. The Surface Pro 4, the successor to last year’s popular Pro 3, and the new Surface Book have been marketed largely to students as portable, yet powerful devices.

These new hybrid computers will certainly be able to handle day-to-day tasks. However, Microsoft shocked the consumer market with their newest laptop—a direct competitor to Apple’s Retina MacBook Pro—called the Surface Book. While this innovation was aimed for professional use, this product has appeared at Townsend Harris High School for student convenience.

Senior Vigunthaan Tharamarajah believes that it will make a big splash in the market. He stated, “I think with the Surface Book out now, people are starting to gravitate toward it because it’s on par with the MacBook Pro and it runs a familiar operating system.”

On the other hand, Sophomore Anil Singh disagrees. He explained, “The Windows Surface Book is a productivity toy for people who can blow money on it. It’s not a necessity for work by any stretch of the imagination, but it is fun to mess around with.”

Clearly, there are advantages to the new line such as the size – being small and light makes portability a definite plus. In terms of power, it may not beat every other laptop but it is certainly powerful enough to serve students’ needs with ease.

Both of these devices come with Microsoft’s new Surface Pen. It has been redesigned and now supports a wide variety of tip sizes so graphic artists will feel right at home. Senior Benny Simkhaev commented, “I find Microsoft [products] easier to use… I feel like you can do so much more with a Microsoft computer.”

Opinions may be mixed, but one thing is for sure: Microsoft’s new Surface products have certainly made an impact on not only the world of technology, but also the student body at THHS.