List of Surface accessories

The Microsoft Surface touchscreen Windows personal computers and interactive whiteboards designed and developed by Microsoft. Since its release in 2012, there have been various Surface accessories over the years. Most prominently, are the Surface keyboard covers and the Surface Pen, which were both introduced at launch. While the keyboard covers have all been sold independently of the Surface devices, the initial release of the Surface and Surface Pro had bundle options, which bundled the black Touch Cover.^[1] The Surface Pen has been included with all Surface line and Surface Pro line devices up until the release of the fifth-generation Surface Pro, where Microsoft decided to unbundle the Surface Pen.^[2]

Keyboard covers

With the release of the first generation Surface, Microsoft showcased two covers: a Touch Cover and a Type Cover. These covers attach to the Surface device using a magnetic strip that positions itself against a magnetic strip at the bottom of the Surface called an "accessory spine". When closed, the cover functions to protect the Surface's screen and when opened, the cover features a keyboard, a multi-touch touchpad, and a gyroscope and accelerometer sensor to know when the cover has been flipped around which will, in turn, disable the keys and enable tablet mode.

Touch Cover

Touch Cover

Manufacturer	Microsoft
Type	pressure-sensitive keyboard

The original touch cover came with 80 touch sensors and was pressure sensitive.^[3][4] With the release of the Surface 2 a Touch Cover 2 was announced which increased the number of sensors to 1,092 and added backlit keys while being thinner than the original Touch Cover. In addition, the Touch Cover 2 also supported key gestures and was backwards compatible with the first generation Surface devices. Microsoft never made another Touch Cover after the release of the Surface Pro 3.

Type Cover

Type Cover

Manufacturer	Microsoft
Type	initially, flat scissor switch later, island Chiclet keyboard
Backward compatibility	Surface Pro 2 Surface Pro 3 Surface Pro 4 Surface Pro (5th generation)

With the release of the first generation Surface Pro, Microsoft launched the Type Cover which has tactile keys. It was upgraded along with the second generation Surfaces to the Type Cover 2 which substituted the plastic material for the felt-like material found on the Type Covers. The Type Cover 2 is thinner and features back-lit keys.^[5]

With the release of the Surface Pro 3, a newer cover called the Surface Pro 3 Type Cover was released to fit the bigger screen. The Surface Pro 3 Type Cover features a second magnetized strip that can be rested against the screen to prop the keyboard up at an angle. The Surface Pro 3 Type Cover has a trackpad with glass beads replacing the felt-like material used in previous generations. When the Surface 3 was announced, a smaller version, the Surface 3 Type Cover was released. Both Surface 3 and Pro 3 Type Covers have a loop to house the Surface Pen.

On October 6, 2015, Microsoft updated the Surface Pro Type Cover with a new teal color in addition to the existing black, red, blue, and bright blue colors. Also introduced was a function lock light, separated keys, and a 40% larger trackpad than previous models. A "Fingerprint ID" version was also announced but is only available in the color black. Both are backwards compatible with the Surface Pro 3, though both are designed for the Surface Pro 4.^[6] A Signature Type Cover designed out of grey Alcantara was announced on April 12, 2016.^[7]

With the launch of the fifth-generation Surface Pro, Microsoft expanded the Surface Pro Signature Type Cover line to include burgendy, cobalt blue, and platinum with a release date of 15 June 2017.^[8]

Power Cover and wireless adapter

A Power Cover, introduced alongside the Surface Pro 2, included a built-in battery to extend the Surface's battery life. It is compatible with the Surface Pro and later, due to the additional pins required on the Surface spine^[9]. A Wireless Adapter for the keyboards, called the Wireless Adapter for Typing Covers, was also manufactured so that the keyboards can be used at a distance. It was introduced on September 2013 and has been discontinued on 26 March 2014.^[10][11][12]

Surface Pen

Most Surface tablets have an active pen that allows users to write directly onto the screen of the tablet. The Surface Pen for the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 use Wacom technology, while the one for the Surface Pro 3 and newer devices uses that of N-trig, which has since been acquired by Microsoft. The Surface Pen was specifically designed to minimize latency (lag time), eliminate parallax issues, which occur when the point where the tip touches the screen doesn’t match up with the spot where the ink actually appears on the device, and provide a more natural-feeling 'pen-on-paper' user experience.^[13] The Surface also features palm rejection which allows the user to rest his or her palm on the screen while using the Surface Pen without triggering an unwanted input.

Docking Stations

There are various Docking Stations for different Surface devices, which are optional non-included accessories. They each extend the Surface with a number of USB ports, additional audio sockets, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a Mini DisplayPort to connect external displays.

Surface Pro 4

With the announcement of the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, Microsoft revealed a new Surface Dock accessory in the brick form factor, which is compatible with the aforementioned devices and the Surface Pro 3. This new docking accessory connects to the side port, which got the new name – Surface Connect.

The Microsoft Garage incubator team designed ergonomic VESA-mounted portrait docking station prototypes as part of the Company hackathon and released a YouTube demo video and open-source plans on GitHub.^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

Surface Dial

With the introduction of the Surface Studio on 26 October 2016, Microsoft announced a new type of computing device called the Surface Dial. The promoted Surface Dial's purpose is to be used to control functions that artists might find useful, such as pen color or thickness. The Surface Dial is set with standard commands that can be used without being program or app specific.^[18] These commands include toggling sound volume, scrolling, zooming, brightness, and undo/redo. However, an app developer can customize the wheel's abilities, when developing apps.^[19]

The Surface Dial only works on the screen of the Surface Studio, but it does still work off-screen with other Windows 10 devices (that support Bluetooth 4.0 LE^[20]) as well including the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.^[21][22] Microsoft's Terry Myerson told Engadget that a firmware update will be released in early-2017 for the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 that will allow the on-screen functions to work with those devices.^[23]

Surface Dial, like the Surface Pen, utilize non-rechargeable batteries, though the Dial requires the two included AAA Akaline batteries, and the Surface Pen requires a single AAAA battery.^[20] Surface Dial requires the Windows 10 "Anniversary Update" in order to function.

Other accessories

There are many other accessories for the Microsoft Surface.

Among these is the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter for Miracast display mirroring. Microsoft launched a Surface HD Digital A/V Adapter which works with micro-HDMI to HDMI for the Surface and Surface 2, and a Surface VGA adapter which also works with Surface and Surface 2 going from the built-in micro-HDMI to VGA.

For the Surface Pro series, a Display Port to HD A/V (HDMI) and a Display Port to VGA adapter was created. For the first generation Surface, a 32 watt power supply was included, which was upgraded with the Surface 2 to feature a larger indicator light to show the Surface was charging. The Surface Pro and Pro 2 feature a 48 watt power supply with a USB (power only) port on the charging brick. As with the Surface 2's power supply, the Pro 2's power supply features a larger indicator light. Microsoft redesigned the power supply for the Surface Pro 3 with a new "fin" connector and a 36 watt rating.

The Surface 3 launched with another redesigned power supply using a micro-USB connector and having a 13 watt rating.

Two Ethernet adapters have been released to work with the Surface Pro line including the Ethernet Adapter for USB 2.0 with a speed rating of 100 Mbit/s and a Surface Ethernet Adapter for USB 3.0 with a speed of 1 Gbit/s.

Two mice have also been released for the Surface including the Wedge Touch and Arc Touch mice.^[24][25]

References

External links

• Microsoft Surface Accessories
• Designed for Surface 3rd-party accessory catalog