2016 was a pretty big year for Microsoft’s Surface division, and it has been great to see the company transform its early bet on 2-in-1 devices into a billion dollar business. The introduction of the Surface Studio all-in-one PC also helped the Surface brand keep its momentum over the last couple of weeks, despite the fact that Microsoft declined to release a successor to its more affordable Surface Pro 4 hybrid tablet.
However, the Redmond giant may well introduce a Surface Pro 5 during the first quarter of 2017. According to DigiTimes, citing a report from Chinese publication Economic Daily News, the Taiwanese newspaper explained today that Microsoft’s next Surface Pro model will “feature an Ultra HD display and magnetic charging stylus” and be manufactured by Pegatron Technology. “Microsoft also considered adding Quanta Computer as a manufacturer of the Surface Pro 5, but so far has not yet confirmed the plan,” adds DigiTimes.
Redmond is expected to release the Windows 10 Creators Update in Q1 2017, and it may make sense for the company to also introduce new hardware on this occasion. Moreover, several manufacturers have updated their PC portfolios with Intel’s 7th get Kaby Lake processors over the last few months, and we expect to see many more during CES 2017 next week. An update for the Surface Pro 4 is long overdue and we can’t wait to see what Microsoft has in the pipeline.
