As the topic says, Microsoft says that it will anounce new Surface devices during its developer’s conference on October 12-14. WOA Surface Go4? What changes do we expect in the Pro this year? Anything new?
The laptop 4 is the most overdue for a refresh, so I feel that will be likely.
Pro 8+ or Pro 9 could be on the table.
Laptop Studio 2, or maybe a Laptop Studio + , with a 17 inch screen and a beefier graphics card like a RTX 3090 would be nice
A Surface Go X maybe
And Surface Neo only in my dreams
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The Go design needs updating.
+1
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+1 to both…
Imagine a 10" i5/16gb/512gb/5g in the design language of the Surface Pro X…THAT would even turn my head…
Not as much as a Surface Neo but still a tempting design…notice no WOA?
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Funny you should mention that. Being that RT was the device that created this whole device category anyway, it would make total sense to launch the WOA Surface Go 4 as a combined return-to-our-roots narrative and anniversary mega celebratory device of sorts. They might slip in a Surface Pro 9 as well, but Alder Lake isn’t looking too hot (well, it’s hot alright, but not the right kind of hot that’s good for tablets, anyway) and Raptor Lake is not looking to hit volume production until late 2022 at the earliest.
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Based on what we hear from within our supply chain…
Surface Laptop almost certainly (with 12th gen core I). Beyond that, much more murky…
Surface Go 4/Surface Go X, possibly either or even both. The revised Qualcomm 8Cx gen 2 should be ready, but there is also new Pentium and Core M chips imminent however chips shortages are still a major issue.
No revision to the studio laptop yet, but it seems to be an obvious candidate for Core I Gen 13 with ARC graphics.
Not likely for Pro 8+ as cooling once again would be an issue similar to what made them laggards before. OTOH, the Pro 8 is allegedly the fastest selling Pro yet, and 12/13th gens improvements to thunderbolt and optional ARC graphics would seem to be a natural for upper end Pros.
One thing that we are almost certain is coming is a revised surface dock with full TB support, though it may be EOY before it actually appears.
PS: If a Go X comes it will likely have an 11 inch display but in an overall form factor the same size as the current Go 3, and possibly even compatible with existing type covers
PPS" If a “Go X” does appear, the existing Pro X will likely get a refresh as well with the Gen 2 chips and an updated display (same as in the Pro 8) as the current display in the Pro X has a smaller gamut and isn’t HDR capable.
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Yes. I would be happy to stay with Intel if we had some real power at the core of the device. I am really starting to feel the age of my Go, particularly during demanding video conferencing. 5G is a must. I live and work in a veritable superhighway of 5G signals and can’t take advantage of it. The new Go has to have any pen enhancements that are designed into the Pro series and the keyboard needs a pen caddy. It would be nice to do away with the need for a case.
If the Go moves in the other direction and goes WOA, I think I can live with that as well, depending on the performance.
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@Bronsky - after two weeks back with the SP8, if MS doesn’t do you a solid on the SG4, I’d wait and see if the SP8+/SP9 sprouts wings with 12th gen and 5g and suffer the extra half pound. This keyboard is a great typing experience, pen is already integrated, and the screen is as good, if not better, than my iPad Pro 11, which is one of the best non-OLED/minLED panesl out there. It has been a real pleasure to use while on vacation at a whopping 2.7 lb travel weight.
One thing MS really should do with the Type Cover, however, is to enlarge that trackpad by going from top to bottom edge and an inch wider. Also, I am SOOOOOOO TIRED of reviewers blasting MS about this being an optional accessory - the 12.9" Magic Keyboard is $349 and the Pencil is $129 - a full $200 MORE than the Type Cover with integrated Slim Pen.
PS - one thing I have to admit, however, is the overall integration of the Apple ecosystem. For example, my photos are everywhere so if I need to reply to family/friends I use the iPad Pro 11 and iPhone 13 Pro as a great combination - that’s when I miss aving the MBP14.
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Phone Link (previously Your Phone) is considerably better now. In fact, for the thread I just started, I just dragged and dropped the photos I need from my phone straight into my browser for it.
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So, bring on the leaks. Inquiring minds want to know.
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With an iPhone to PC?
Well no, Android.
What’s that sound? I… I think… it’s a Fold 4 calling you with its name on it!
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MS should definitely do a Go 4 with a real CPU upgrade this time (whether Arm or Intel or Amd), Go 3 i3 made zero sense. Also Laptop Studio needs that (multicore) performance bump. And imo Surface Laptop needs better port selection, pretty bad port selection especially for 15" model.
Indeed, besides that there is a solid 2nd hand market for type covers and there are cheaper clones for people with a tight budget (or that do not want to be have a grey type cover that slowly tints orange, rip my Go 2 type cover 
).
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That will no doubt get the most attention from the Commercial market. But I hope to dear god they changed the manufacturing process. I can access Lead times for most of the Surface line for commercial distribution and the Lead Times for the Dock 2 have been a complete train wreck. Dock 2 has had lead times in excess of 20 weeks since I started my job, and even months later its now up to 30 weeks, its harder to get then the Surface Hubs. I’ve even seen the back order list for the Dock 2, and its insane how long the damn thing is, and the whole holdup is due to a single component allegedy. If Microsoft does put out a Dock 3, I hope for their sakes they retain compatibility with non-thunderbolt Surfaces and have enough Stock to go around cause the commercial market will devour that product up.
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Part of me would hope they would drop the compatibility because retaining it would rule out the Slim Pen 2 charging cradle. But a GO X in that size would be tempting. I just hope it would have at least 2 USB-C ports.
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I think both could be possible. In other words they could possibly maintain compatibility with the older type covers, but introduce a new one that has a slim pen cradle sort of like they did with the Pro X keyboard, but then released the newer version with the Pro 8, but that was also backwards compatible with the Pro X
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That’s always been a limitation of the surface dock and I think it’s down to the simple fact that there are a lot of custom chips especially for video and USB support.
A TB dock would significantly reduce that IMHO. Plus rumor is that the new surface dock might actually be a MS branded version of the same OEM TB dock behind the newest HP TB dock (which is excellent BTW)
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Don’t know whether to get excited at the thought of a Surface Go X or not. Pretty satisfied with my SP8 i5/16/LTE. It’s got an anemic battery, though.
Trying to be more @Bronsky-like these days, so I’m not looking to upgrade my GZF3 or SP8 anytime soon. But who knows, I’m swimming in enablers-infested waters.
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Also +1 !
And a comment about the Surface Pro. I think it’s pretty obvious that the Surface Pro has matured to a stable form factor in much the same way that the laptop has. For that reason, I don’t think we will see anything more than incremental upgrades to this platform for the foreseeable future. I personally find that disappointing, but I also understand that Microsoft would be crazy to mess with this cash cow now. That’s why I eternally hope that the Neo gets dusted off and updated into a viable product; it’s the only path I see for Microsoft to advance a “non-Pro” Surface tablet design.
Realistically, I know it won’t happen, but one can still have hopes.
And a PS: In a couple of months, my HP ZBook X2 will be four years old. Amazing (for me)! Although I enjoy using my SP8, I’m always impressed by the inking and all-around UX of this ZBook. Microsoft could do worse than taking a lesson from the ZBook and produce a “Super” Surface Pro with a larger screen, next gen pen and discrete graphics. Applications like solid modeling (Shapr3D, MOI, TurboCAD, etc.), 3D scanning and protein folding demand nothing less…
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A Surface Studio 3 with the new slim pen would set the cat among the pigeons over at Wacom and hopefully at Apple’s iMac department.
The Surface Studio 2 is a favourite among a lot of art studios for that gorgeous screen but if Microsoft were to add in the latest and most accurate (with no wobbly lines) Slim Pen - it would be a serious option.
Apple’s new M1 iMac is a pretty little thing but still has no stylus support and my friends in my old Media Dept all wish for an iMac that would finally kill off their old trashcans in the studios.
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