Microsoft could show off the much-anticipated and long-rumored Surface Pro 5 during its forthcoming event on May 23.
The company just teased the said event, taking place in Shanghai, during which it promises to "show the world what's next."
The official announcement is succinct — it appears Microsoft is unwilling to drop anything more beyond a vague but intriguing "what's next." That said, it seems Microsoft is likely to unveil a new Surface-branded product, and perhaps this could be the much-awaited Surface Pro 5.
New Surface Pro 5 To Be Unveiled Soon?
While Microsoft remains tight-lipped about the event, Windows Central has at least confirmed a few things: that the company will indeed unveil new hardware; that Panos Panay, Microsoft's corporate VP of devices, will be in attendance; and that the event will include "global and regional" news.
Panay's presence is specifically telling, since it signals that a new Surface device will indeed be unveiled. Panay, for the uninitiated, takes care of all things related to Windows 10 hardware. There's your confirmation.
Surface Pro 5: A Look At The Leaks And Rumors
The devil is in the details. If you look at Surface Pro 5-related rumors closely, it seems a shoo-in. There's Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's VP, telling Bloomberg on Wednesday, May 3, that we "might expect to see an update to Surface Pro 4 coming soon."
There's also Paul Thurrott, longtime Windows leaker, revealing that the Surface Pro 5 will come packing Intel's seventh-generation Kaby Lake chips, while noting that the new machine will feature "nothing dramatic."
In terms of accessories, the Surface Pen could get an upgrade, with it becoming a rechargeable one, finally. However, the keyboard cover might still be sold separately, which is a bummer, since a huge part of the Surface Pro line of devices' identity is its detachable keyboard.
Those aside, the location of the event — Shanghai — is a step out of Microsoft's pattern, which usually holds its events in New York — it showed off the Surface Pro 4 there back in 2015.
Microsoft Surface Line Revenue
The Surface range of products is at a decline. When Microsoft released its most recent performance results, it showed notable success with its cloud services. On the other hand, the Surface product line suffered a decrease of 26 percent, a staggering number.
Of course, a new Surface Pro 5 can't singlehandedly salvage dipping revenues, but it stands to help Microsoft make the Surface Pro line relevant, and the machine can rival Apple's new MacBook Pro line directly.
However, if Microsoft ends up not revealing the Surface Pro 5, then it might unveil the Surface Book 2 instead. At any rate, we can all expect a new Windows device or two.
Those of you who'd like to speculate details regarding the Surface Pro 5, its internals, its new features — the whole nine yards, you have until May 23.
Pumped for the forthcoming Microsoft event? Feel free to share your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below!
