Microsoft has tasted great success with its Surface Pro series of tablets, which is why the company stops at nothing to keep updating the lineup with new devices every year. This year, the company will not be releasing a new laplet as things have got delayed, and it’s going to be the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 that will steal the show along with the Surface Book 2 in 2017. So let’s see what we know about the upcoming tablets.
Microsoft Surface Pro 5
The new Microsoft Surface Pro 5 was reportedly going to be launched by the end of this year. However, newer reports suggest that the launch date has been pushed to spring of 2017. Rumors suggest that the tablet will be powered by Intel’s Kabylake processor along with Windows 10 Redstone 2. The Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 were a great success, which is why Microsoft is under constant pressure of taking the specs and features to the next level with the next-gen Surface Pro.
Also, the new device will be seen sporting a better battery life, probably up to 7 hours. The Surface Pro 5 might also get a rechargeable Surface Pen with on/off button, charging terminals, and an indicator light. The Surface Pro 5 will get 4K display so that users can watch 4K video content on the devices. There will be a 13.3-inches display on the Surface Pro 5.
Apart from all the other features, we expect the new Surface Pro 5 to get Type-C USB port. Considering the fact that even budget smartphones (like LeEco Le 1s) nowadays come with Type-C USB and that the MacBook and Google Pixel C already have that feature, it is highly impossible that Microsoft won’t include USB Type-C in the new Surface Pro tablet.
According to a report by Laptopmag, the base version of the Surface Pro 5 will get an Intel i5 and will be priced at $899. The i7-powered variant will cost $999, while the one with an i7 Extreme will retail for $1,599. The price increases with more storage and more features.
Update (7th June 2016): New Microsoft Surface Pro 5 leak suggests that the device will get 16GB of RAM in the top variant and will carry a 4K resolution display in an optional variant instead of being a standard feature across all versions. Also, the leak confirms Kaby Lake processors and Windows 10 Redstone 2 in the device along with latest Nvidia Pascal and AMD Polaris graphics cards for ultimate performance.
Microsoft Surface Book 2
Talking about the Surface Book 2, not much has been leaked about this upcoming tablet. So unlike the Surface Pro 5, we don’t have a lot to talk about. However, a report from YIBADA says that the Surface Book 2 will also be powered by Intel Skylake processors. The tablet will boast of a 4K display like the Surface Pro 5 and will get a new rechargeable stylus that will be charged when put into its housing. The Surface Book 2 will expectedly run on the Redstone 2 update of Windows 10.
Microsoft is still to announce any details officially for the new devices, so let’s wait for some new leaks and rumors to come out in the limelight.