The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 could be released soon and it may even be launched at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain.
The upcoming Surface Pro 5 is also speculated to be unveiled with the Xbox Project Scorpio and the HoloLens. Microsoft product designer Tony Fitch posted on his LinkedIn profile that he worked for the company's hardware department since June 2016, stating that "the team is focused on R&D and creating new speech models with multidisciplinary design approach for devices of the future including but not limited to: HoloLens, Surface Pro 5, Xbox."
The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 has been leaked from the Microsoft French website, confirming that the hybrid device will run on Windows 10. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is said to be powered by either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 or the seventh-gen Intel Kaby Lake chipset and it is expected to come pre-installed with Windows 10 Redmond 3. The Kaby Lake processor is said to consist of a 14-nm manufacturing process that provides 40 percent improved performance and cooling technology. The Windows 10 Professional Redstone 2 OS is expected to come with innovative features such as a revamped action center. It is also likely to come with support for the Microsoft Surface all-in-one desktop.
The Surface Pro 5 is expected to feature a 4k wide screen with 3,840 pixels and could have 128 GB. It is rumored to come in 21-inch, 24-inch and 27-inch display variants with PixelSense panel and 16 GB of RAM with Surface AIO graphics unit. It could feature the USB Type-C version 3.1 with Thunderbolt. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is also rumored to sport a 16 MP rear camera and 8 MP front snapper. It may support 512 GB to 1 TB of storage SSD. WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity will most likely be enhanced as well. It could come at a price of $899 for the base model.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has emphasized that the Xbox One Scorpio will feature a 4K Blu-ray drive. The company has positioned the Xbox One Scorpio as a high-end console for hardcore players and it will be priced at a premium before 2017 ends. It is said to include 6 teraflops of GPU which is more powerful that the PS4 Pro.
Project Scorpio will not shorten console generations, according to Microsoft. Instead, both consoles will support 4K resolutions and VR and will come with games designed to account for each system's hardware. However, reports indicate that while Microsoft confirmed all games and accessories will support all Xbox One versions, including the long awaited Microsoft Project Scorpio, it may not be true. Only Project Scorpio will reportedly have VR support and there will certainly be VR-only games which will work only with the console. It was later clarified that what Microsoft meant was everything that works on the Xbox One will work on Project Scorpio. The company stressed the importance of taking advantage of various hardware competencies when making a game.