Microsoft did not release a new Surface Pro 5 laptop this year, likely waiting for certain components to become available. For the same reason, the brand new Surface Book model Microsoft launched to fight against the 2016 MacBook Pro isn’t a true Surface Book 2 generation. But Surface fans have reasons to be excited about 2017, as the new year will bring them the Surface upgrade they deserve.
The new Surface Pro model should ship with more storage, more RAM, and the next-gen Intel Kaby Lake processors — you know, the CPU family that’s only launching next year.
According to The Bitbag, the Surface Pro 5 will ship with 512GB of storage space, better performance and better battery life than its predecessor.
Additionally, the Surface Pro 5 will get an upgraded Surface Pen stylus, which will receive wireless charging powers, via the magnetic dock.
Other rumored upgrades include USB Type-C ports and Thunderbolt 3 support. While nothing is confirmed just yet, the Surface Pro 5 family of 2-in-1 laptops may also receive a better display and a fingerprint sensor embedded in the screen.
Finally, the laptop should run Windows 10 Redstone 3 out of the box, The Bitbag says. It’s not clear where the site got its information from.
While Microsoft has compared the Surface Pro to the iPad and the MacBook Air in its anti-Apple ads, Surface Pro 5 tablet might be the MacBook Pro rival you were looking for. That said, a Surface Book 2 sharing some of the Surface Pro 5’s specs might be an even more exciting proposition to Windows 10 fans.
Pricing details for the rumored Surface Pro 5 have not been leaked. The Surface Pro 5 will be launched in spring, so there’s plenty of time to go until Microsoft actually announces anything.