Microsoft is expected to face a tight battle with the upcoming iPad Pro 2, and it appears that the highly-anticipated Surface Pro 5 will win the competition.
Microsoft has reportedly removed the Surface Pro 3 from its official online store. This could mean that the Redmond-based company is getting ready to release the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 in the first quarter of 2017. It is speculated to be Microsoft's answer to the upcoming Apple iPad Pro 2.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 has been leaked by the Microsoft French website, confirming that the hybrid device will run on the Windows 10 operating system. 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 likely to come with a pre-installed Windows 10 Redmond 3 version.
The Kaby Lake processor is said to consist of a 14-nm manufacturing process that provides 40 percent improved performance and cooling technology than that of the earlier model. The Windows 10 Professional Redstone 2 OS is expected to come with innovative features such as a revamped action center. It is also speculated to come with 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 come in one model with 128 GB of internal storage. There are talks that the device would come in 21-inch, 24-inch, and 27-inch display variants with a 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 expected 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 USD for the base model.
The upcoming Surface Pro 5 could 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."
Meanwhile, the Apple iPad Pro 2 is expected to come in three variants in 2017. The current iPad Pro comes with 9.7 and 12.9-inch configurations, and are considered to be two of the best tablets in the market. However, the iPad Pro is now due for a refresh, and the upgraded models will certainly be more powerful. There are talks that the new generation iPad will include a new entry-level tablet which may be priced as low as $299 USD.
The 2017 iPad Pro 2 is said to come with a 10.5 or 10.9-inch model with a speculated revolutionary design. It reportedly features a bezel-free display with its home button embedded under the screen, similar to the rumored iPhone 8. The mid-sized iPad Pro 2 could boast with Apple's A10 processor, 4 GB of RAM and iOS 10.3 out of the box. It may also come with "Theater" mode, True Tone displays, 3D Touch, Force Touch and other remarkable specs and features that would rival the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.
The next gen iPads could have edge-to-edge or borderless designs with no physical Home button and come with microphones rather than a dual setup. Other rumored specs include 12 MP iSight main cameras with Tone flash, True Tone displays, quad speakers, and an Apple Pencil stylus.