Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is upon us. In the spirit of the 'holiday(?),' we're reflecting on the Microsoft and Windows-related gear and services we're currently infatuated with ... and ... well ... the stuff left us feeling rather broken-hearted recently.
Windows Central Valentine's Day(Image credit: Windows Central)
It's that time of year once again when, in the name of Valentine's Day, various amorous gifts are exchanged, fancy dinners abound, and a whole lot of cash gets thrown around.
But Valentine's Day isn't exactly a joyous time for everybody. We wanted to create a Valentine's Day story that reflects the good and bad, and relate it to our shared love: Microsoft, Windows, and Xbox. To that end, we rounded up the products and services we adore right now, as well as the ones that we really don't.
The Cupid of the Windows world had just as many misses as direct hits in recent days, that's for sure. Below you'll find a collection of both, and you can click the images in the menu below to sort by the stuff we love, and the stuff we don't.
What we loved
What broke our hearts
What we loved
Microsoft and Windows-related gear we love on Valentine's Day
Infatuation: Microsoft's Surface Pro X
— Al Sacco, Future Mobile content director
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Surface Pro X delivers the most exciting design for the Surface Pro yet. For people who need a light, thin, LTE-enabled productivity laptop, the Surface Pro X offers a unique set of features not found anywhere else.
Pick up Microsoft's signature controller in a sleek and simple finish. Official entry-level controllers start cheap when opting for a pure black color.
Infatuation: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition manages to make the classic RTS feel new while not straying away from what made the game great in the first place.
Gone are the days of multi-core useless FX processors and here is a processor that offers 12 cores, 24 threads and bags of performance at an aggressive price.
If you spend long hours at a desk, the Microsoft Surface Precision Mouse feels great in the hand. Add in that it can be paired with up to three PCs at a time, and you've got a solid performer.
Save on Microsoft's now six-in-one Xbox and PC subscription
$1$14.99$13.99 off
Wrapping together Xbox Game Pass for Xbox, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold, this trio of services delivers the full experience in 2019. Microsoft's ongoing promotion cuts three months to $1, including Spotify Premium, Discord Nitro, and EA Access.
HoloLens 2 takes everything that made the original great and turns it up to 11. With a new carbon fiber body, extra padding, eye tracking, and a wider field of view, the headset should have no problem finding success among developers and firstline workers.
A third-gen six-core Ryzen processor that doesn't cost much more than the older Ryzen 5 2600X, but comes rocking many benefits. This beast is unlocked, comes with a good stock cooler, and even supports PCIe 4.0.
What broke our hearts
Microsoft and Windows-related tech that broke our hearts this Valentine's Day
With Kinect thoroughly dead and Cortana soon to follow, you should consider picking up an Amazon Echo instead to control your smarthome experience. The Dot is the cheapest of the Echo line, and it's great.
I really, really wanted to give the Surface Headphones a shot, but one thing has always stood in my way: a lack of color options. Specifically, I'd love to see Microsoft at least offer a black option. We know it's something the company has at least toyed around with.
While I'm generally OK with the grey on something like the Surface Precision Mouse, I want something a bit more stylish if it's going to be on my head. With the Surface Pro X and its siblings, Microsoft has shown it can pull off a pretty awesome matte black finish. Maybe it's something we'll see in a potential Surface Headphones 2 this year. Until then, I'll just quietly pine for some slicker color options.
For anyone who loves the Surface ecosystem, Microsoft's Surface Headphones are an excellent (if expensive) addition. They offer adjustable noise cancellation, a digital assistant at a tap, and plenty of gesture controls.
Broken heart: Warcraft III: Reforged
Warcraft III: Reforged is another classic RTS game remake I reviewed recently; unfortunately, it didn't turn out as well as Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, which I love. Delayed once to polish things to an assumed sheen, the remake released and was immediately met with stiff criticism from fans. Instead of a worthwhile upgrade to graphics, animations, and cinematics, Warcraft III: Reforged came out more like a half-baked attempt, with many of the promised features under-delivered and other popular features completely missing. So what? Just go back to classic Warcraft III, you say? Unfortunately, no. Blizzard melted the two games into one client, and classic Warcraft III is now gone. Players without a PC powerful enough to run the new game are out of luck without resorting to alternate methods, and people are understandably upset. It's still the same Warcraft III RTS greatness at its core, but it now has a rotten exterior that Blizzard — already under scrutiny — must deal with. Shame. And just sad.
Newcomers to Warcraft III have a far more accessible entry point to a game that's still good at its core, but veteran players are understandably turned off by some major changes.
Skype is a free app that allows you to message, call, and video call people around the world. It's on Windows, iOS, Android, and the web. Unfortunately, many have moved away from it over the years.