Report suggests Microsoft is readying its second laptop

May 9, 2016 04:41 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft launched the Surface Book seven months ago with much fanfare, mostly because it is the first laptop in its history, and a new report claims that the company is now getting ready to unveil the second generation.

While it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Microsoft is already working on the Surface Book 2, it is very unlikely for the company to take the wraps off the new model so soon and less than one year after the debut of the original model. Previous reports indicated that a hardware refresh is planned by Microsoft in the spring of 2017 when the company completes development of the second Redstone update wave.

The 2017 Redstone update for Windows 10 will bring significant improvements to the operating system and Microsoft sees this as the perfect moment to introduce new hardware, including new versions of the Surface Book and the Surface Pro.

Hardware upgrades that make sense

But this new report (via PA) claims that Microsoft actually wants to align the release of its Surface Book 2 with the debut of the new-generation Intel i5 and i7 processors and Apple's upgraded MacBook lineup, which could make sense at some level, but once again, it’s way too early for the company to unveil a new laptop.

The same report also points to specs that are anyway expected to debut on the Surface Book sooner or later, including Type-C ports, 4K screen resolution, improved keyboard and hinge.

In the meantime, Microsoft is working to improve the first Surface Book with firmware updates, as buyers are still complaining of some problems that they have been experiencing since the launch of the device.

The infamous “sleep of death” bug on the Surface Book still exists these days, blocking the laptop from waking from sleep despite the several patches that Microsoft has released specifically to tackle this problem. A new firmware update is expected this month, again with fixes in this regard.

As for the Surface Book 2 report, take everything with a healthy pinch of salt because Microsoft is extremely unlikely to unveil the second-generation ultimate laptop so soon after the first model.