14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is expected to refresh its Surface lineup next year, and now a new report claims that the company is planning on launching the new Pro 5 in the first quarter of 2017.
We’ve known for a while that Microsoft was pondering the first part of 2017 for the introduction of the Surface Pro 5 and possibly for the second-generation Surface Book, and now Digitimes writes that this is indeed the plan if sources from China are accurate.
Not much is known at this point, but the report claims that the Surface Pro 5 could be launched with an ultra HD display and magnetic charging Surface Pen. Production will be the sole responsibility of Pegatron, but Microsoft also discussed expanding operations to Quanta Computer, yet it’s not known if an agreement was reached or not.
Why this rumor makes sense
Without a confirmation from Microsoft, it’s hard to tell whether the report is accurate or not, but there’s a good chance that it is because of two different reasons.
First and foremost, this isn’t the first time we hear that Microsoft wants to launch the Surface Pro 5 in the spring of 2017. Originally, it was believed that the company planned on unveiling the upgraded Surface models in the fall of 2016, one year after their debut in October 2015, but the firm decided to hold back their debut for some extra hardware and software tweaks.
Additionally, launching new Surface models in the first quarter of next year would allow Microsoft to align the unveiling of new hardware with the debut of the Windows 10 Creators Update. This way, its own Surface models could be the pioneers of the Creators Update, also expected to see daylight in Q1, most likely in March.
In addition to the Surface Pro 5, Microsoft is also expected to introduce the Surface Book 2, an upgraded version of its first-ever laptop, as well as improvements for the Surface Pen.