Surface Pro 5: Rumors Point To Mini Surface Dial, 4K Display And eSIM Capability

The Surface Pro 5 is one of Microsoft’s most highly-anticipated devices for 2017. With the immense success of the Surface Pro 4, the upcoming release of the SP5 is all but confirmed. As the rumored April, 2017, release date approaches, however, the rumor mill has shifted to overdrive, providing possible details and specs of the upcoming 2-in-1 productivity machine. From what the rumors seem to indicate so far, it appears that the Surface Pro 5 might very well dominate the hybrid market once more.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro line has been very warmly received by the tech community, with the devices receiving acclaim for their raw power, sleek designs, and admirable productivity capabilities. The Surface Pro 5 is expected to continue in this tradition, with rumors painting a picture of a device that is both attractive and extremely powerful. Current speculation points to the SP5 being equipped with Intel’s Kaby Lake processors and up to 16GB of RAM. A rechargeable Surface Pen, a vastly improved battery, and a similar price point as its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4, have also been speculated for the upcoming hybrid.

These are not all, however, as a recent Alphr report stated that the Surface Pro 5 might debut a particular accessory that was first introduced with the Surface Studio: the Surface Dial. The Surface Dial is a special productivity tool that works very well with graphics creation and other similar tasks, making the innovative little tool perfect for the Surface Pro 5. After all, the SP5, in a lot of ways, is pretty much a miniature version of the Surface Studio, with both devices being geared towards productivity, especially in terms of creative applications.

If the Surface Pro 5 does include support for a Mini Surface Dial, it would most likely herald yet another success for Microsoft. After all, most of the Redmond-based giant’s competitors have largely focused on hybrid devices that are essentially laptops with detachable screens. With the Surface Dial, Microsoft could make the Surface Pro 5 stand head and shoulders above its competition, considering that it would give the powerhouse hybrid a completely new dimension in content creation.

Apart from rumors of a Mini Surface Dial for the Surface Pro 5, speculations are also high that Microsoft’s upcoming hybrid device would feature a 4K screen, according to a TechRadar report. A 4K screen has long been rumored for the SP5, especially since the Surface line has always been advertised by Microsoft as portable productivity powerhouses. While Surface Pro devices have always had great-looking, premium-quality screens, the idea of the upcoming hybrid being equipped with a 4K display has been received very warmly by the tech giant’s fans.

Yet another interesting rumor that has emerged recently is the idea that, for the first time since the Surface Pro line was launched, Microsoft would be introducing an LTE-capable version of the device. In a lot of ways, this makes perfect sense, since the main weakness of the SP5’s predecessor, the Surface Pro 4, was its absence of cellular support. In fact, one of the SP4’s main rivals, the iPad Pro, was significantly more limited than Microsoft’s device, but it still enjoyed an advantage in the market due to its capability to access the internet even without Wi-Fi.

If Microsoft does release an LTE-capable version of the Surface Pro 5, it would spell big trouble for its rivals such as Apple’s powerhouse, supersized tablet. While this might mean that Microsoft would need to release a variant of the SP5 with an ARM-based processor, a recent demonstration of Windows 10 running on the mobile chip seemed to suggest that the Redmond-based tech giant is seriously looking into the premise of a Surface device that can access the internet anytime, anywhere. If rumors are to be believed, however, Microsoft would be approaching cellular connectivity from another angle, utilizing eSIM technology instead.

The Surface Pro 5 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting hybrid devices that will enter the market in 2017. With Microsoft seemingly pulling out all stops to ensure that its next hybrid device is a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Surface Pro 5 would most likely be one of the most formidable 2-in-1 hybrid machines of the year.

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