Microsoft Surface Pro 4
Microsoft is reportedly working hard on the Surface Pro 5. It is going to be the most-powerful Surface Pro device yet. It will come with some heavy-duty hardware, a well-detailed screen and the latest Windows 10 feature. Facebook/Surface

Microsoft recently unveiled a new batch of Surface laptops though most were low-end and meant to target the education sector and give the Google Chromebook some competition. But with another event happening on May 23 in Shanghai, these may be nothing more than preliminary machines for a possible Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release.

Microsoft Surface Head Panos Panay sent out a cryptic tweet using a couple of hashtags. These were #MicrosoftEvent and #Surface. From that alone, it seems obvious that the Redmond company will be revealing another mobile device. With the low-key laptops out, the only logical one that most can expect may be the successor to the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has been around since 2015 and is due to get a successor. But even if a Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is coming out, it is not expected to come with big changes. Most of the iterations are expected to be done from within such as an Intel Kaby Lake processor, tweaks in RAM count and new ports or biometric security.

Aesthetically, the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 may not offer something different from before. That includes the same power connector and a similar mold according to journalist Paul Thurrott. Regardless, the meager changes are unlikely to disappoint most since they would be getting a device with ramped up power specs.

For now, it would be best to wait and see what the Microsoft Shanghai event on May 23 would be all about. The Redmond company does have a wide array of Surface series variants – meaning the tweet by Panay could be addressing a different kind of machine in the clan.

Microsoft has benefitted from the Microsoft Surface series and the attention right now is the new breed of Surface laptops running on Windows 10 S. These budget-friendly devices are Microsoft’s ticket to try and solve the Chrome OS dominance and in preparation for an expected surge in Chromebook demands this year.

According to PC World, Microsoft plans to follow the same Chrome OS formula. This would include seeing the Windows 10 S-powered devices accessing the Windows App Store and downloading only the necessary apps secured and verified by Microsoft.

While that makes sense, Microsoft could face new issues pertaining to the available apps at their store. Unlike the Google PlayStore, the Windows App Store leaves a lot to be desired in terms of needed apps. It seems like a long climb but the Redmond hopes to do better than their 2015 attempt – something that bombed with the Windows 8.1 with Bing OS.

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