Some specs and details about Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Phone and Surface Pro 5 tablet emerged online over the weekend, and among other things, it looks like consumers are in for a bit of a wait before they can get their hands on the tablet. The release of the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 might have to wait until Intel’s new Kaby Lake processor is available, according to reports.
That processor isn’t expected to be ready until later this month, after which Microsoft can start incorporating the Kaby Lake processors into its products. Microsoft wants to include the chip in the new Surface Pro to make it stand out from its predecessors.
The new Intel processor is said to improve battery performance, which could make it a key part of the new Surface Pro. Ongoing complaints regarding last year’s Surface Pro 4 (pictured above) centered around battery performance.
Microsoft might also be holding back the new Surface Pro tablet because it will use AMD’s Polaris graphics processor, which has also not yet been released, according to reports. If so, the Surface Pro 5 would be the first tablet in that line to have its own dedicated graphics chip.
Delay a Good Idea
Is Microsoft wise to hold back the Surface Pro 5 until it can be sure to include the exact hardware it wants in the machine? Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, said the answer is “yes.”
“Instinctively, it makes more sense to wait a year since the last model, rather than rush a summer launch,” Dawson told us. “Given that the Intel processors are just barely becoming available, it also makes sense that Microsoft would need some time to polish a product that includes the new chips. It’s certainly better for Microsoft to get the product right than to hit an arbitrary time frame.”
Other reports indicate that the Surface Pro 5 will boast a 4K resolution display with 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution support, a USB Type-C Port with a rechargeable Surface Pen and a micro SD card slot for storage expansion.
The new tablet is also expected to feature a 14-inch screen with a fingerprint scanner. Owners of the Surface Pro 4 might also have the option to buy fingerprint scanner sensors for their products. The Surface Pro 5 will probably be available in September, starting at $ 900, according to unofficial reports.
Surface Phone Details
Meanwhile, the Microsoft Surface Phone will boast a 5.7-inch touchscreen display that’s capable of reaching a resolution of 2K, according to some Chinese news Web sites. Other features include a camera featuring a Carl Zeis lens and a Snapdragon 830 processor.
Image and specs about the phone were made public over the weekend. Microsoft is likely hoping that the Surface Phone will repair some of the ill will directed at the company by users who were unhappy with various editions of the Windows Phone.
The Surface Phone will reportedly come in three versions. The low-end phone will feature 3 GB of memory with 32 GB of internal storage space, followed by a model with 6 GB of RAM with 128 GB of storage. The premium version of the Surface Phone will sport 8 GB of RAM and 500 GB of storage space.
