Tuesday 1 October 2019

Microsoft October Event 2019: will we see a new Surface device?

Microsoft officially sent out invitations to the press for its October Event 2019 to be held in New York City.

The company still has given no hints as to what it plans to showcase during this much talked about event, even now that we’re only days away. However, there have been many leaks and rumors in the past few months that all but confirm the forthcoming debut of a few major Surface products.

With the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3 and a completely new product dubbed ‘Centaurus’ showing up in different leaks and rumors from anonymous sources, we’re expecting a possibly star-studded showing.

That’s not to mention the incumbent product lines that are just about due for an upgrade like the Surface Book 3 and Surface Studio 3. Though we haven’t heard much of anything regarding those devices in particular.

With that, here are the highlights on each of the Surface products that we hope to see during the Microsoft October Event, in order of how likely they are to make an appearance.

Surface Pro 6

The Surface Pro 6 of 2018

What we’re likely to see: Surface Pro 7

Now with leaks and rumors detailing the possible exact configurations of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7, it’s almost definitely a shoo-in for the Microsoft October Event. We’re now anticipating to get an even more affordable configuration for the tablet in the form of one packing an Intel Core i3 processor (CPU).

What we don’t know is whether Microsoft is finally adopting USB-C – particularly Thunderbolt 3 – instead of the proprietary Surface Connect port. We also would like to see Intel Ice Lake CPUs and an improved Type Cover. Both have been rumored, so we’ve got high hopes.


Surface Laptop 2

The Surface Laptop 2 of 2018

What we’re likely to see: Surface Laptop 3

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is just about the only other incumbent Surface device to be discussed in rumors and leaks, with not just one but two configurations becoming available. That’s right; it’s rumored that a 15-inch version will be joining the 13-inch model this year.

And, that’s not all: European retail listings are hinting that the Surface Laptop 3 will use AMD processors inside, as opposed to Intel. However, we’re more concerned with whether Microsoft adopts Thunderbolt 3 ports here as well. In addition, the design could also use a bit of updating.

Surface Book 2

The Surface Book 2 of 2017

What we hope to see: Surface Book 3

The computing world has changed considerably since the Surface Book 2 hit the streets, making the release of a Microsoft Surface Book 3 all the more important in 2019. Both versions of the 2-in-1 laptop could benefit from Nvidia’s new RTX graphics, for a start.

While we haven’t heard much in the way of rumors or leaks concerning a Surface Book follow up, an update is well overdue amid massive gains by its ‘prosumer’ laptop competition. Of course, again, we’d like to see Thunderbolt 3 included, as well as stronger power management with those more powerful RTX graphics.

Surface Studio 2

The Surface Studio 2 of 2018

What we hope to see: Surface Studio 3

Like the Surface Book 3, we’ve heard next to nothing about a Microsoft Surface Studio 3 release. But it’s also another long overdue update that we would love to see at the Microsoft October Event. That said, we’re quite fine with the all-in-one artist desktop’s design.

What we would like to see updated here are the internals. That is, we’d like to see the follow up released rocking the latest Nvidia graphics and Intel processors. In years past, this has not been the case at launch. Finally, just give us Thunderbolt 3 already, and maybe up the resolution?

Surface Centaurus

A patent image of the would-be 'Centaurus' device

What we hope to see: Surface ‘Centaurus’

There has been a number of patent application releases and other rumors surrounding a new Microsoft Surface device, one that touts either dual screens or a single folding display. The various patent images and rumors conjure up thoughts of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 foldable tablet.

Of course, there’s very little known about how this device will fit into Microsoft’s larger portfolio, and what specific or unique use cases it will serve. Will it be a folding phone-meets-tablet? We can’t wait to see whether we find out at the Microsoft October Event.

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