14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has put a lot of effort into the Surface Pen, and the device is actually quite an advanced piece of hardware, but that doesn’t seem to be enough for the Redmond-based tech giant. Not with several other companies, including Apple, building similar products.
The company has started work on a rechargeable Surface Pen that would basically eliminate the need for batteries and allow the device to charge when attached to the Surface. But the plan might go beyond this.
As PatentlyApple has noticed, Microsoft’s patent points to a Surface Pen that uses some sort of dock for recharging. However, this dock doesn’t appear to come as a stand-alone device, but it rather seems to be attached to another device.
As a result, the upcoming Surface Pen might actually get recharging features once it’s attached to the Surface tablet/laptop, and the aforementioned source speculates that Microsoft could go as far as to place the dock in the hinge of the Surface Book. Since the hinge leaves a lot of room between the screen and the keyboard when the lid of the Surface Book is closed, Microsoft could use the space for mounting a recharger for the Surface Pen.
Technically, that’s not impossible, but that area certainly needs to be redesigned, especially if Microsoft doesn’t make the Surface Pen thinner.
More improvements coming
Microsoft’s Panos Panay, who’s now in charge of devices at the company, says the Surface Pen is part of Redmond’s vision, suggesting that this little accessory will continue to be improved with every new version of Surface.
“We are 100 percent committed to removing the paradigm that feels like you are writing on glass. We have a lot of technology right now, not only in our labs but also in future generations of development in products, that start bringing that pen to life more and more. Getting the pen perfect on the Surface has got a little bit of a ways to go. And we will get there,” he said.
The Surface lineup is projected to be refreshed later this year, so expect an improved Pen to see daylight at about the same time too.