I was right: Your next PC will look like a Microsoft Surface

It’s fun being a thought leader. You get to watch as others supposedly "discover" an idea or truth that you originated weeks or even months before. In this case it’s the notion that Microsoft’s Surface tablet has become a form factor trend setter for PC designs.

The above linked SuperSite for Windows article is a great read, but far from original. I postulated much the same thing when I declared that your next PC will look like a Microsoft Surface. The difference is that I published my take on the matter over three weeks ago, long before any of us knew what the Google Pixel C tablet would look like. But now that the search giant has jumped on the "kickstand-and-keyboard" bandwagon, my prescient musings have been set in stone.

Not that this is particularly surprising. As I stated in my previous article, there are only so many ways you can configure a convertible, 2-in-1 device. And after a few years of OEM designs that click, twist or slide into place, the only vendor to gain any significant traction has been Microsoft.

So now everyone is jumping on the PC-with-a-kickstand bandwagon. Dell has one, as does HP. Even Apple has joined the parade by introducing its own "Smart Keyboard" for the iPad Pro (cue Steve Jobs rolling in his grave). Clearly, Microsoft’s Surface line is now shaping the underlying design language for new PCs.

Still, this is a strange position for the company to occupy. When Microsoft first announced the Surface, its stated goal was to inspire OEMs to be more creative with their PC designs. In Microsoft’s eyes, Surface was more thought experiment than real product.

But that didn’t stop Windows OEMs from grumbling about the unwanted competition. In fact, many of the more esoteric early OEM designs came in direct response to Microsoft’s blatant audacity. After all, who the hell did those "Microsofties" think they were telling hardware vendors how to design a PC?

The ensuing years of botched product launches and lukewarm responses to their efforts tempered OEM sentiments a bit. Meanwhile, Microsoft stepped-in to fill the leadership gap and, in the process, turned Surface into yet another billion-dollar business.

Needless to say, the OEM channel is no longer scoffing at Microsoft’s design cues. If anything, some vendors seem to be hewing a little too close to the Surface form factor. Lenovo’s new device, in particular, looks like a Xerox copy of the Surface Pro 3, so much so that it would be easy to mistake it for the real deal (which was likely Lenovo’s intent all along).

Bottom Line: They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And as my "thought leader minions" over at SuperSite so deftly pointed out, the man behind the Surface design, Microsoft’s Panos Panay, must be thoroughly enjoying his "Jony Ive" moment in the sun.

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