Microsoft Surface Pro 5 News: Wait For Intel Kaby Lake Could Push Release To 2017
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is not expected to land on shelves until early 2017 but it could come with all things good that could overwhelm Apple's 2016 MacBook offering.
Apple is expected to update its MacBook line by this fall though it could happen as early as June at the WWDC. Rumored specs of the MacBook Pro, which rests at the top of Apple food chain, includes Intel Skylake in a form factor comparable to last year's MacBook. Though the likelihood of MacBook Pro featuring a 4K screen is high, Apple is likely to include native retina display given the battery restrictions that slimming would pose.
Microsoft took the lead last year when it launched Surface Pro 4 with latest Intel processors. The hybrid tabled is said to have posted robust sales quarter on quarter. If rumors are any indication, Microsoft is likely to skip upgrading the hybrid this year and wait until 2017 to offer what its competition won't until at least six months. The sixth generation processor gave Surface Pro 4 the edge with Intel HD 520 that offers higher performance over fifth generation Intel processors at higher resolutions.
Speculation is rife that Microsoft would power Surface Pro 5 with Kaby Lake processor, the 7th generation Intel processors that is expected to bring major improvements in all departments, most noticeably in battery performance where Surface Pro 4 did not do as expected before a patch. That apart, reports also suggest Surface Pro 5 could feature a 4K screen and a Microsoft could drop in a fingerprint sensor.
Mary Jo Foley, who writes on all things Microsoft, reported that Kaby Lake processors are unlikely to arrive before the end of 2016. Microsoft would not want to rush with its device releases if only to prevent a repeat of what early users of Surface Pro 4 experienced. A new Surface Pro hybrid then is most likely to be released next year with the Redstone 2 update for Windows 10.
Foley notes that Microsoft may however not rule out releasing devices powered by Skylake.
