Microsoft flagship

But that's all ancient history -- call it the Ballmerzoic Era. The 2014 Surface Pro 3 became what Microsoft always hoped it would be: the flagship device for touch computing on Windows, the go-to alternative for those who wanted both a tablet and a laptop without feeling shortchanged on either front. The Surface Pro 4 refines the hardware formula even further, and with Windows 10 on board rather than Windows 8, the platform's final big compromise evaporates too. Now, the Surface line is the design leader: Apple's upcoming iPad Pro and Google's Pixel C tablets are the ones aping Microsoft's design, adding snap-on keyboards and ramping up the multitasking chops of their touch-first operating systems.