Don't Expect Surface Pro 5 Anytime Soon
With the Surface Pro 4 launching way back in October 2015, there are some who are ready to see a follow up wait a Surface Pro 5. Ahead of Microsoft's education event last week, there were plenty of rumors about such a device, but the event came and went without any official announcements. Instead, Microsoft introduced us to the new Surface Laptop, a premium notebook aimed at college students who usually opt for the more expensive MacBook.
So, does that mean that we'll see the Surface Pro 5 at Microsoft's upcoming event in Shanghai? While anything is possible, it may not be the best idea to get your hopes up. In an interview with CNET, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Surface computing Panos Panay suggested that the next Surface Pro might be further off than some users would like.
Though Panay doesn't get too specific, he does indicate that Microsoft will wait until it can bake something game-changing into the Surface Pro 5. In other words, don't expect Microsoft to launch a Surface Pro follow-up just for the sake of getting a hardware refresh out there. Panay said that he still considers the Surface Pro 4 to be a competitive device, and that it'll stay competitive for at least a few years to come.
"When it's meaningful and the change is right, we'll put it on market," Panay said. "Meaningful change isn't necessarily a hardware change, which is what a lot of people look for. They're like, 'Where's the latest processor?' That's not what I mean. I'm looking for an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line."
Panay clarifies that "there is no Surface Pro 5," which could suggest that Microsoft hasn't begun exploring a new Pro device yet. It could also mean that a Surface Pro 5 does exist and Microsoft just wants to keep it under wraps for now, but ultimately there's no way of knowing for sure.
That Microsoft wants the next Surface Pro to be more meaningful than just a hardware upgrade makes a lot of sense given its approach with the Surface Laptop. When Panay took the stage at Microsoft's education event, he said that product will be "the laptop that starts to reset the category." Microsoft clearly wants its products to feel more innovative than iterative, so even though it may take a while, hopefully we'll see that mentality applied to the Surface Pro 5 eventually.
SOURCE: CNET