It’s only natural that we will see a successor to Surface Pro 3 soon, but how soon will it be? Microsoft commented, but not what you would really expect.
Having announced the Surface 3, the company held a Reddit AMA to discuss its products. In the AMA, an user jokingly asked whether Microsoft had something to say about Surface Pro 4. Well, the company did, and here’s the response.
Yeah, nothing there as expected. The AMA was a good one, though, because there were some good questions and replies. Ever wondered why Microsoft charges separately for the Surface devices and their keyboard attachments? How about whether the Surfaces have GPS chips? Can we ever expect external GPUs for the Surface Pro line?
You’ll find all these and more in the AMA.
What really interests me is the position of the Surface Pro line at the moment. Windows 10 is going to be a big step forward for tablet and laptop convergence, which means very good news for the Surface Pro devices. However, releasing Surface Pro 4 now may put the company in an awkward position simple because of Windows 8.1
Of course, Microsoft would offer free upgrades and whatnot, but an upgrade takes time and energy whereas buying a new device with a preinstalled OS is nice and comfortable. On top of that, the company would also have to support both operating systems for the device for years to come, which may not be beneficial for them.
I suspect Microsoft will announce SP4 quite soon, and it may be a Windows 10 launch device. I would not be surprised if that happens.
