If you are one of the many waiting for Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Pro 5, it might be time to start getting excited about just what Microsoft will be able to cram into the tablet. Recently we speculated on the kind of specs to expect from it, but now the information is a bit more concrete.
For starters, just as expected, Microsoft will be using Intel’s new seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, which should provide the device will both impressive processing power, but also greatly improved battery life thanks to the low power draw of the chips. Furthermore, the Surface Pro 5 will have high-resolution IPS screens, with lower models sporting an impressive 2736 × 1824 pixels, with 3840 × 2160 4k Ultra-HD offerings available on the more expensive devices. The size of the screen itself will also increase to 14-inches compared to the 12.3-inch screen of the Surface Pro 4. Whether this will lead to a larger device or a smaller bezel remains to be seen.
Most exciting, the Surface Pro 5 will be sporting a discrete GPU for the first time, leading some to believe that the device will also serve as a “Surface Book 2” of sorts. Whether the GPU will be provided by Nvidia or AMD is currently under wraps and I imagine that Microsoft is waiting to see what AMD’s Polaris and Nvidia’s Pascal are able to offer in the way of custom chips for the tablet as neither is confirmed yet. Additionally, the Pro 5 will also support a minimum of 16GB of RAM and 512GB of eMMC for storage and there was no doubt that it would feature Windows 10 as its operating system.
These specifications are still not exact, but it is easy to believe that after some of the reveals made at the recent Computex event in Taipei, Microsoft won’t want to lag behind their competitors in the rather exclusive market space that the Surface tablets occupy. Whether Microsoft will be able to dominate the tablet market with this upcoming powerhouse won’t be known until it launches, there is certainly a lot to be excited for when it finally launches.
