Microsoft mailed out invitations to its annual Surface event earlier this month. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot we can learn from the invite itself.
The invitation is emblazoned with the date – October 2, 2019 – with the social hashtag #MicrosoftEvent and a variant of the Windows logo etched into what appears to be an aluminium shell. Even Sherlock Holmes himself would struggle to eke out any details about the forthcoming devices from that motif.
Thankfully, Microsoft has followed its initial cryptic invite with a tweet that hints that we could be in store for something big from the company at its event this week.
And that’s very exciting.
The official Microsoft Surface account posted on Twitter, “We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: New and innovative things are coming at the #MicrosoftEvent. Tune in Oct. 2 live on Twitter at 10am ET to see why we’re #pumped.”
The hashtag is a joking reference to Surface chief Panos Panay who often describes himself as feeling “pumped” at the start of the event because of his passion for the latest hardware. It’s a nice little wink to loyal followers of these Surface hardware event, but it’s not why we’re excited.
Specifically, it is Microsoft’s use of “new and innovative” to describe its new products. Would the company really tweet that if all it planned to do was throw-in a new chipset to the existing Surface Laptop and Surface Pro shell?
It’s possible the Marketing Department would. But this feels bigger than that.
Especially given the rumblings we’ve been hearing all year about Microsoft preparing a new dual-screen device, codenamed Centaurus, that would function as both a tablet – so you can watch Netflix shows on-the-move, as well as more serious productivity tasks – like signing off PDFs, editing Excel spreadsheets, and more.
That’s exactly the same niche that the original Surface tablet was designed to fill. According to reports, the Centaurus will be Microsoft’s next-generation vision for this same idea. And it’ll be powered by 5G, too.
As a result, the all-singing, all-dancing new portable device will probably cost more than the Microsoft Surface series.
There’s some dispute among tipsters about what size we can expect the Microsoft Centaurus to be. Some put it around the size of a 13-inch laptop or a tablet like the Surface, while others have pointed to a pocketable design that’s closer to the size of a smartphone when the two screens are folded away. If that’s true, we’d expect it to look like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which can be used as a smartphone or expanded, thanks to its pliable Infinity Flex touchscreen, to cater to more productive tasks, like running multiple apps side-by-side.
Unlike the Galaxy Fold, whatever Microsoft is working on is sure to work with a stylus. In fact, the US firm has patented a number of designs for a flexible Surface Pen, which could be shoved into a pocket without breaking.
Windows 10 is designed to work on tablets, traditional desktop PCs, and phones, so Microsoft wouldn’t need to be overhauled to work on its out-there new gadget. That said, there will be a truckload of new details on the next Windows 10 update unveiled on-stage during the annual Surface Event, tipsters have reported.
As well as the Centaurus, Microsoft is believed to be prepping some less revolutionary new hardware, including updates to the Surface Pro, Surface Studio and Surface Laptop lines. USB-C is likely to become more prevalent across the entire product line.
We’re also expecting to see the 9th or 10th generation Intel Core i-series silicon powering the new devices.
Although some tipsters had suggested the Surface Laptop would make the jump to ARM-based processors this year, other reports have quashed that idea.
As well as refreshes to the existing models, Microsoft could also introduce a Surface-branded portable speaker. According to ZDNet, the speaker will be business-focussed and designed around Microsoft Teams – its Slack rival.
If you’re intrigued about the forthcoming Surface hardware, Microsoft will hold its event at 10am in New York on Wednesday October 2, 2019. That’s 3pm BST.
We’ll be following all the action as it happens on-stage, so stay tuned for all the latest announcements.