Although largely considered a software company, when Microsoft turns its hand to hardware the results can be impressive. Nothing demonstrates this as well as the excellent Surface Pro 3, which is a convertible Windows 8.1 tablet that we’d actually want. Given that it’s running an operating system that people are largely not interested in, what could Microsoft do with a new tablet running Windows 10? That is a question that should be answered with the launch of the Surface Pro 4, one of the most hotly anticipated laptop/tablet due to be released this year. Here we’re rounding up everything we know about it and ploughing through the latest rumours to bring you everything we know about this product.
Release date
Microsoft doesn’t have a clear product cycle for its Surface range, so it’s not easy to pinpoint the Surface Pro 4’s launch based on previous products. However, working out when we’re likely to see the product isn’t impossible, once you trawl through the available information.
For starters, we know that the product won’t be announced at the BUILD conference. Aimed at developers, this was a chance for Microsoft to update people on Windows 10 new features and how apps can be developed for it (as well talking about other Microsoft applications and services). It wasn’t and isn’t a forum for launching a new consumer laptop.
Next, SlashGear is suggesting that Microsoft will have a special event mid-May to announce the new laptop, according to an anonymous source. Our question is, why would Microsoft do this? As far as we’re concerned, the Surface Pro 4 is a product that Microsoft can use alongside Windows 10 to show how the new operating system can work with flexible hardware. With Windows 10 due for launch at the end of July, our guess is that the Surface Pro 4 will be launched then.
Specs
If the leak at 36kr is to be trusted, then we already know everything that we could possibly want to about the Surface Pro 4’s specs. Apparently, the specs, which are for the engineering prototype, include an Intel Broadwell mobile process, rather than a Core M CPU. This will mean better performance, as we’d expect from a high-end computer. Normal mobile processors have to be fan cooled, but apparently Microsoft has apparently engineered a fanless design, with small vents to allow hot air out of the chassis.
Apparently, it will have a 12in display with the same resolution as the Surface Pro 3 (2,160x1,440). Size and weight are said to be similar, too, although the Surface 4 is apparently thinner, although there’s no current information as to how thin it will be. There’s a chance, according to Design & Trend that the Surface Pro 4 will also be available with a 14in screen, which will have a resolution of 2,160x1,440.
Design
We love the design of the Surface Pro 3, with its kick-stand that flicks out to let the tablet stand up. The tablet also feels incredibly well made. We don’t expect Microsoft to deviate too far from this design, therefore, with the Surface Pro 4. While we haven’t seen any leaked devices, Microsoft seems to have confirmed that the new model will be superficially similar to the older models. Writing on the Microsoft blog, Brian Hall wrote that the Surface Pro 3 accessories “will be compatible with the next generation of the ‘Pro’ line of Surface”. He then explained that this includes the Type Covers, which have the built-in keyboard, ‘infrastructure’ accessories, including the power adaptor, Ethernet adaptor and more, and the docking station.
Price
We fully expect the Surface Pro 4 to cost the same as the current model. That should mean that it comes in at around £800 for the standard model, with some configuration options pushing the price up. This is an estimated price for the 12in version; a 14in version is likely to cost somewhere between £50 and £100 more, at a guess.