Many dreams were shattered when the highly anticipated Microsoft Surface Pro 5 was not unveiled at the company's May 2 event. What was announced was the Surface Laptop which is impressive on its own but is nowhere near what a Surface Pro 5 is expected to be. Speaking of expectations, here are all the possible features and other details about the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 that have been rumored so far.
The latest about the Surface Pro 5 is that it may finally come this month. The buzz supposedly came straight from a high-ranking official of the company via tweet. The said tweet by Microsoft VP of Devices Panos Panay indicated that something new from the Surface line will be unveiled on May 23 in Shanghai, China. His tweet came with a "#Surface" hashtag fueling the excitement for a new Surface Pro 5. However, there are also rumors that contradict this. Panay also said that there is "no such thing" as a Surface Pro 5 which is one way of saying the much-awaited 2-in-1 will not come this year.
As for the probable features of the Surface Pro 5, Microsoft "insider" Paul Thurrott once tweeted that the new device will be "nothing dramatic" though he did indicate that it will be powered by the latest Intel processor, a belief shared by Forbes and other tech pundits. As CNET pointed out, the Surface Pro 4 came with the 6th-generation Skylake CPU and with the newer 14nm Kaby Lake processor already out since 2016, the upcoming Surface Pro 5 will surely have that under its hood.
Thurrott also mentioned that the Surface Pro 5 will still have the Surface Connect power connector. Another rumored accessory is a new Surface Pen. The rechargeable stylus, powered by 4A batteries, was seen in a patent filed early last year.
T3 mentioned that the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will likely be worth around $899 for the Core i5 base model. The higher end Core i7 models will come at $999 and $1,599 according to News Everyday.
Most of the rumors on the Surface Pro 5 dwell on wishful thinking and common sense. The battery life of the Surface Pro 4, for example, was one of the weak points of the highly popular device. This means the next Surface Pro will and is expected to have a better battery. The Surface Pro5 is also expected to have the latest Widows 10 operating system which was made available after the Surface Pro 4 was released in 2015. Furthermore, Microsoft will likely go with the recent trend and use a 4K screen on the Surface Pro 5 and add a USB-Type C port as well.
As it stands, the next flagship hybrid laptop remains a rumor. With the Surface Pro 5 nowhere in sight, fans may be forced to look up alternatives. One such Surface Pro clone is the new HP Elite x2 which has been described to be what the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 would be like if or when it finally comes out.
