The corporate VP of Devices at Microsoft- Panos Panay announced, on twitter, a Microsoft Surface event which will be taking place at Shanghai on the 23rd of May, 2017. While not many details regarding the event’s time and exact site has been disclosed, the speculations were that we will finally be able to see the new Surface Pro 5 this time, along with the launch of another potential Microsoft Surface device. They said that they “will show the world what’s next.”
But Panos Panay, in an interview conducted recently, declined any such release of Pro5 saying that “there is no such thing as a Pro 5”. He also stated said:
“When it’s meaningful and the change is right, we’ll put it on market. Meaningful change isn’t necessarily a hardware change, which is what a lot of people look for. They’re like, ‘Where’s the latest processor?’ That’s not what I mean. I’m looking for an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line.”
So now that the word is out, it is confirmed that the May 23rd event will most certainly not have the debuting of any new Surface device, rather it would be an upgrade of Surface Pro 4 hardware.
However, since the release of the new generation cannot not been ruled out and may happen sometime in the future, if not on the 23rd, here are some of the rumors that have been circulating around the world about the expectations regarding Microsoft Surface Pro 5:
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Cost
It is expected that, as per norm of Microsoft devices, the price will not deviate much. The 5th Surface Pro Tablet will likely be available for as much as the current model, i.e. it is expected to come out with a starting price of almost $899 (£749, AU$1,349) but this price may escalate, depending upon the configuration of its hardware and other accessories.
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Specifications
Although, there may not be any prominent differences to be seen in this new version, in comparison to its predecessor, Surface Pro 5 will probably have the accessories compatible with its previous generation devices well-suited with it as well, as per Microsoft’s commitment. The company is seen claiming that the peripherals; the wearable accessories, Surface Dial, the headsets etc. play a vital role in making the device to be perceived as ‘a modern PC’.
According to the announcement made by Paul Thurrot last month, the new Surface Pro Tablet will be featuring Surface Connect Power Connector and will be powered by a Seventh- Generation Kaby Lake processors. The Surface Pro 5 may be using the USB-C to charge the battery as majority of the 2-in-1 tables do so, now-a-days. The data transfer and other peripherals specs of possessing a USB-C port or not have also not been disclosed. The tablet is also said to have “hero features” including Windows Hello and Cortana.
The upgrade of the Surface Pro 5 stylus- known as Surface Pen is yet one piece of puzzle that needs to be sorted out; of whether it will also be upgraded and if so, how? This eventually will be uncovered with the final launch of the device.
Another patent that interests us is the transformed and improved Surface Pen loop. Microsoft has designed this so that you can latch the Surface Pen onto the Surface device via USB connection. This would assist in holding your Surface Pen in its position, and would keep it charged so that you can use it for long hours, when required.
The puck-like Surface Dial is one of the amazing accessories. It was mentioned briefly in the presentation held in the month of December.
Long Battery Sustainability: With the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 giving out almost 5.15 hours of video playback timing, we expect the Pro5 to give, ideally and realistically, a battery life of at least 7 hours. This battery boost will surely be of great help if an eSIM card feature is introduced in the Surface Pro 5. Given the introduction of the recent update of Windows 10 with the Game Mode, the new tablet would require max play hours and a fast charging USB can most definitely be a great addition in the long run.
Rechargeable Surface Pen
Upgradable RAM: It has been reviewed in reports that Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Tablet will come with a RAM of 16GB, presumably for cheaper models, which may be upgradable.
Sharper resolution with a bigger screen: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 outranked many of its rivals due to 12.3-inch screen and 2736 X 1824 pixels resolution achieving 267 PPI. We may expect a slight enhancement in the size and resolution but even if there is not much of a bump up in the resolution alongside the size, there could be substantial boost in battery life with the extra space. The reports circulating the media suggest that the new Surface Pro 5 will probably come out with a 3840 x 2160 pixels (16:9)/ 3840×2560 pixels (3:2) screen, along with an upgraded 4K Ultra HD screen model for the people willing to pay more.
New processor: Although it been heard that Surface pro5 will come with a 7th Generation Kaby Lake processor but there is also a possibility that it may instead be running an AMD Ryzen 7 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 chip. This hypothesis emerged because of the trailer of Alien: Covenant, that shows a Surface device with a description stating: “Intelligence powered by AMD, Ryzen and Radeon”.
Inclusion of USB-C: Since we already have the latest USB interfaces introduced in the new versions of HP Spectre and the MacBook Pro, it is time that Microsoft new version has the USB-C feature. After Surface Pro 4, the range can now present the USB-C port with its new Surface Pro 5. With the addition of the standard USB 3.0 port, it is necessary the new system meets the native requirement of being compatible to the VR headsets with Windows 10.
Surface as a Service
This program basically refers to the offer for the distribution of subscription model Surface devices by authorized distributors which will enable the customers to get latest devices, without spending a large amount for upgrading. ALSO- a leading Cloud Solution Provider has already started providing its services in Europe.
Microsoft told in one of their blog posts:
“The digital revolution is changing the traditional workplace environment, making us more reliant on our peers to share knowledge and work together; while more people are working remotely and need to be productive from anywhere. And, the workforce demographic is shifting towards millennial, who are more collaborative, multi-task more, and use multiple devices.”