A new report indicates that Microsoft will delay the launch of its Surface Pro 5 tablet until spring of 2017. The report also indicates that the slate will sport options that include up to 16 GB of RAM and a 4K Ultra HD display along with a new, improved Surface Pen.
We recently told you about rumors that the launch of the new Surface Pro 5 would be delayed so that Microsoft could run the tablet on the brand new, powerful Kaby Lake processors. As Intel has announced that the processors won't be released until the end of 2016, the Surface Pro 5 was expected some time toward the end of the year as well. The tablet had previously been tipped for a potential June 2016 launch.
Now, a new rumor citing credible sources out of China where the Surface Pro 5 is produced, has the tablet landing not this year but next, sometime in spring. The rumor suggests that the tablet will indeed feature the new Intel Kaby Lake processors, which are expected to run even faster and more efficiently than the Intel Skylake processors which currently run the Surface Pro 4.
The report also claims that the Surface Pro 5 will pack a whopping 16 GB of RAM in its highest end variants; of course there will be options for lesser RAM on other variants at lower price points. The report also suggests that the 4K UHD display, which until now has been reported as standard in all the new Surface Pro will be an available option, along with a lower resolution display again at a lower price point. Also expected are an improved Surface Pen, USB Type-C port and improved cameras. The Surface Pro 5 will run Windows 10 Redstone 2 and sport either Nvidia Pascal or AMD Polaris GPUs.
Pricing of the tablets will vary from a low $899 for the i5 variant, presumably without the 4K UHD display option, up to $1,599 for the top-of-the-line Surface Pro 5, which should include both the 4K screen as well as 16 GB of RAM. While the report is from what is considered to be a reliable source, as with all rumors regarding unreleased devices, we advise that the details be taken with a grain of salt until officially confirmed.
