Microsoft updates: America first

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Microsoft has been the brand that we've been taken for granted for so long that we only realize its existence when its products break.

On Wednesday, the US company released their latest updates to the Surface product line.

While some of the updates seem interesting, they are currently limited to people in the US.

Since we are based in China, we would like to tell you what the Chinese are getting and not getting at the moment.

Hardware goes dark

Microsoft's black surface products. /Screenshot from Microsoft

The most obvious change to the Surface line is the new color option: Black.

Apart from that, the chips are updated to the latest version, and the company claims the screens will look better.

The Chinese Microsoft fans can enjoy the features on their devices with one exception.

The noise-canceling Surface Headphones are US-only for now. The headphone currently priced at 2,000 yuan (350 US dollars) rivals with Bose and Sony.

The most gripping feature offers adjustable noise cancellation, giving users precise control over how much outside noise is let in as they listen. These are wireless pairs that can be charged with USB Type-C cable.

Software gets integrated

Talking about phones, Microsoft is not so eager to sell a new phone. Instead, it wants to install new software on your current phone.

Microsoft has already got an Android desktop replacement app (aka. launcher) and a phone browser. And now it has announced to make your phones more connected to Windows.

As part of the "October update" to Windows 10, Microsoft added a new app called "Your Phone" to access the photos, messages and notifications on your Android or iOS devices.

Unfortunately, the feature is unavailable to Chinese users. When I tried to open the "Your Phone" app on my "just-updated" personal desktop, I was greeted with this message: Not available in your region.

Microsoft says smartphone integration features on Windows are not yet available in the Chinese mainland. /Screenshot from Windows

Also the mystery over the launch of Microsoft's long-rumored "Andromeda" smartphone continues.

Another US-only feature is the "All-Access" subscription based PC bundle. That means you can rent both Surface PCs and Office software at the same time from Dell, which Microsoft claims to be "world-class protection and support." A "Surface Pro Bundle" costs about 50 US dollars a month.

Finally, it's great to see Microsoft giving more options to its large user base. However, it's unclear how long its users in the Chinese mainland will have to wait for these new features.