Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 has enjoyed a good run as one of the more premium Windows 10 slates, although it’s getting a little long in the tooth and fans continue to hope for its successor. In the meantime, Microsoft’s manufacturing partners continue to dazzle the market with their own cool versions — and the detachable slate market is becoming increasingly crowded.
One of the more interesting Surface Pro 4 competitors has been the Eve V, a crowdsourced Windows 10 tablet that has been teased for a while now. The long development and testing cycle is finally over: Eve Technology is finally planning to begin production, with shipments starting next month.
Eve Technology started on its odyssey of letting users help design Eve V in July 2015, after deciding that its first Windows 10 tablet suffered from a lack of input. The company decided that its next Windows 10 tablet would be created via crowdsourcing, and it started the Eve Community to solicit input on what features and functionality should be built into its next device.
The result is the Eve V, a tablet with impressive specifications that’s similar to the Surface Pro 4 in many ways but seeks to exceed it with the latest available technologies. The Eve V is what the Surface Pro 5 could look like (if Microsoft ever gets around to releasing it).
Here are the Eve V’s final specifications:
- CPU: Intel 7th Gen Core M3/i5/i7.
- RAM: 8GB/16GB LPDDR3.
- Storage: 128/256/512GB SSD.
- Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi with 2×2 MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, Wireless Display Wi-Fi.
- Ports: 1 × Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C, 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB-A, 1 × 3.5mm audio, 1 × MicroSDXC reader.
- Display: 12.3-inch IGZO LCD, 2,736×1,824 resolution, 1:1,400 contrast ratio, 450 nits brightness.
- Touch Panel: Gorilla Glass with anti-fingerprint and anti-reflection coating, Metal Mesh technology.
- Battery: 48Wh.
- Sensors: Fingerprint, Hall, Gravity, Light, Gyroscope, GPS.
- Audio: Quad speaker at 1w each, dedicated headphone jack audio amplifier by TI, two noise-canceling microphones.
- Cameras: 2MP front, 5MP rear.
- Stylus: N-trig, Surface compatible, 1,024 pressure levels, two buttons.
- Keyboard: Pogo-Pin and Wireless keyboard with backlight, latest glass ClickPad by Synaptics, Bluetooth 4.2 support for up to three devices, 15 hours of battery life.
- OS: Windows 10.
The use of seventh-generation Intel Core processors along with USB Type-C ports offers a significant advantage over the sixth-gen chips in Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4, including what Surface fans seem to hope might arrive with the next version.
According to Eve Community members, the Eve V offers similar performance compared to the Surface Pro 4 and Asus Transformer 3 Pro machines, even though it utilizes passive cooling. The Eve V performed well in a variety of tests, including Cinebench R15, PCMark 8, and CrystalDiskMark, which bodes well for the machine’s ability to keep up with the competition.
If you’ve been waiting for a viable Surface Pro 4 replacement, then the Eve V might be something to think about. If so, you can join the 4,000 or so members of the Eve Community by adding some strong social interaction to the mix.
