Surface Pro 4 set the standard for convertible tablets in late 2015 and there has yet to be much talk of its successor at all. While rumors circulated that a Surface Pro 5 would debut during Microsoft’s education event this month, the shining star of that gathering was the Surface Laptop. In light of the new device, company VP Panos Panay, spoke to CNET about how the product line will evolve in the months to come.
When asked about the prospect of a Surface Pro 5, Panay said “when it's meaningful and the change is right, we'll put it on market.” He added that “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.”
Instead, Panay’s team is in search of what he calls “an experimental change.” This might relate to major battery life enhancements or weight reduction. In other words, he wants the fifth iteration to offer a “huge difference in product line.”
To be overtly clear, he confirmed “there is no such thing as a Pro 5.”
Instead, much of Microsoft’s recent marketing has focused on selling the existing Surface Pro 4 or Surface Laptop to college students. Panay was empathetic to those who would rather wait for the Surface Pro 5 to arrive but also reminded consumers that they would be putting their money behind a product designed to be a competitive PC for at least five years.
Read: Surface Pro 4 May Not Debut At Microsoft Event In May
While Panay’s Surface Pro 5 statements sound somewhat final, however, Windows expert Paul Thurrott was quick to dismiss them in a recent blog post. “It would be dangerous for the man in charge of Surface to pre-announce a new product, destroying the sales of the current product,” the analyst said. In April, Thurrott publicly tweeted about a product he referred to as the Surface Pro 5. Back then, his source told him the update offered “just Kaby Lake, nothing dramatic.”
Should that be the case, Microsoft may choose to shy away from the Surface Pro 5 name in favor of something more modest like the New Surface Pro 4. In fact, the impact of Kaby Lake is so minor in most cases that the new model could start shipping with little warning at all. It might make more sense from a manufacturing perspective to keep all products on a single CPU generation.
With seemingly no meaningful Surface Pro 4 successor on the immediate horizon, the focus is shifted squarely on Microsoft's $999 Surface Laptop. The premium product is designed to not only compete with Apple’s popular MacBook Pro, but it’s also a trojan horse for Windows 10 S, the company’s restricted but speedy new operating system.
Surface Pro 4 is available now.
Are you surprised Microsoft isn’t talking about a hypothetical Surface Pro 5? Do you think it will release this year? Tell us in the comments section!
