UPDATED 02:44 EDT / AUGUST 18 2015

NEWS

Rumor: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 release date and update on specs

It’s not the first time we’ve reported rumors concerning Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 hybrid laptop, the apparently faster, thinner, fan-less device that will top Microsoft’s now very popular Surface range. Rumors abound over the new device but this time around the source of the information is pretty reliable. Tom Warren of The Verge is that source, and he says that in October Microsoft will release the Surface Pro 4. He also states that it will likely have a bigger display, and also be lighter and thinner.

Warren seems confident on the release date, and why not, he’s the founder of WinRumors and so he’s probably got quite a few contacts working on the inside. Other media has suggested that the release date will be October 4th (10/4) as this relates to Windows 10 and Surface Pro 4. Microsoft might have cooked that up, but it’s probably jumping the shark a little bit in terms of numbers marketing.

As far as specs go, Warren says it will be different from the Surface Pro 3 but remains vague about how different. Microsoft doesn’t need to change it up too much, the Surface range has been doing brilliantly with the SP3 alone taking in $1.1 billion in revenue in the first fiscal quarter of this year. Warren does state however that the changes are only “incremental” from the third to the fourth Surface Pro.

More deets

Other rumors from various sources say we can expect the Surface Pro 4 to come in 12 and 14 inch 2k and 4k resolution models; feature Intel’s new Skylake CPUs; 256GB SSDs from Samsung; sport an 8 megapixel primary rear camera, 3.5 megapixel front camera, and be made of magnesium-aluminum alloy. Reports suggest that the higher end version will go for about $1,300 and the lower end at around $500. The more expensive version will have 16GB of RAM while the cheaper tablet 4GB. Storage will vary, from 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, to 500GB.

The Surface Pro 4 will of course run Windows 10 and almost certainly come with Windows Hello biometric sign-in. There are rumors that a stylus pen will be available, which again is pretty much nailed-on. But as with the Surface 3, expect that the Surface Pro 4 will come with a bunch of heavy-hitting (in terms of cost) extras – including a $50+ stylus pen.

Photo credit: Scott Akerman via Flickr

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