14 DAY TRIAL // With the Surface Book 3 and the Surface Laptop 3 both a real thing now, the next to get a refresh is the Surface Pro, a model that’s still considered by many the most successful device in the entire Surface lineup.
And it’s all because the Surface Pro has more or less spearheaded the Surface push, as it was part of the Surface series almost from the very beginning (the original Surface only launched as an RT, with a Pro model released a year later).
Needless to say, very little is known about the Surface Pro 8 right now, pretty much because Microsoft has remained completely tight-lipped on this upcoming release.
A concept that was published this week by LetsGoDigital and Concept Creator provides us with a closer look at this new model, and based on the existing tidbits, here’s everything you need to know about the Surface Pro 8.
Just like the concept envisions in terms of design, expect the Surface Pro to introduce a more modern approach, with smaller bezels all around the screen. In fact, the Surface Pro is likely to pioneer this change in the Surface lineup, with all models, including the Laptop and the Book to also come with updated designs when their next generations launch.
This will undoubtedly be the biggest change as far as the design goes, albeit there’s a chance the Surface Pro 8 will also be thinner than the current model. And of course, an improved keyboard is also likely to be offered along with an upgraded Surface Pen – I actually expect the stylus to feature 9ms latency, similar to what Samsung currently offers on the S Pen.
What is the most interesting tidbit is the processor that Microsoft plans to use on the new Surface Pro.
While Microsoft has become more and more interested in AMD chips, there’s a good chance the Surface Pro will stick with an Intel processor for now, albeit we really shouldn’t rule out an AMD-powered version either. This is an approach that Microsoft has already used on other Surface models, like the Surface Laptop, and it should be embraced for the Pro 8 too.
Most likely, the choice of two processors will come alongside massive upgrades in terms of storage and RAM, so expect the Surface Pro 8 to be offered with up to 1TB SSD storage and a maximum of 32GB RAM.
And now, the most important part: when should we expect the Surface Pro 8 to launch? Not very soon, that’s for sure.
Microsoft typically unveils new Surface products in the fall or in the spring, but given the world is still struggling with the health crisis that we all want to end, there’s a good chance we won’t see the Surface Pro 8 getting the green light this year. And again, this makes perfect sense. Microsoft needs the right timing for the Surface Pro 8 to launch, as this is the model that served as the foundation of what the Surface brand is today. So this device must be a successful model, and a market whose sales are impacted by this health crisis isn’t by any means a place where the new Surface should be.
For now, I’m guessing Microsoft would just hold back the Surface Pro 8 launch until next year, so I expect the device to see daylight in the spring of 2021. If the world is still in lockdown at that point, then Microsoft probably intends to hold a digital event for its announcement – the Surface Pro 8 really isn’t the kind of device that just can be revealed with a press release.