Microsoft reveals Surface Pro 4 tablet to rival Apple iPad Pro

Countering the upcoming Apple iPad Pro, Microsoft has revealed the Surface Pro 4, a 12.3in tablet running Windows 10 and designed to replace your laptop. The new Surface Pro is thinner and lighter than its predecessor and is claimed to be 50% faster than a MacBook Air.

An attractive metal tablet, the Surface Pro 4's display has more than 5 million pixels and is covered in a new pane of Gorilla Glass that is just 0.4mm thick. Powered by an Intel i7 processor, the new tablet is 30% faster than the Surface Pro 3 and Microsoft claims it is 50% faster than the MacBook Air. You can configure it up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

A docking station (sold separately and also compatible with the Surface Pro 3) lets you send a video stream from the tablet to two 4K screens at once.

The Surface Pro 4 will be sold alongside a redesigned Type Cover with keys spaced further apart to prevent typos and a glass trackpad that is 40% larger than before; this also works with the Surface Pro 3. A big update for the Type Cover is a fingerprint reader, located to the right of the trackpad.

Microsoft also announced an updated stylus, called the Pen, with 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity and an eraser on its back; the new Surface Pen comes, for the first time, in five different colours and offers interchangeable tips, each with a different texture depending on what you want to write with. Tips include ballpoint pen and pencil.

Prices start at $899 (£590, €798), with pre-orders opening on 7 October. The Surface Pro 4 goes on sale on 26 October in the US. Prices and availability for the UK and Europe have not yet been announced by Microsoft.