Microsoft Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2, and Surface Phone Release Date, Specs, and Price; Improvements to the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book

Jul 26, 2016 06:30 AM EDT

Microsoft really has a hit on its hands with the Surface Pro 2-in-1 tablet and PC, and the Surface Pro 4 and its friend, the Surface Book, were a huge hit for the company.  In addition to the improvements being offered for the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, there is going to be an upgrade.  In fact, there is going to be a Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2, as well as a Surface Phone, and here is the release date, specs, and price. 

According to Trusted Reviews, Microsoft will be rolling out new drivers for the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.  These improvements include updates for Cortana, Microsoft's voice assistant, and there will be an all-new Windows Ink platform for drawing on Windows 10.  This update is used to improve for Windows Hello, for the release of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which is due on August 2.  You can download the updates by going to the Start menu, open the Settings, clicking on Update and Security, then Windows Update, and tap on "Check for Updates". 

According to Ecumenical News, there isn't just going to be a Surface Pro 5, the Surface Book 2, and the Surface All-in-One computer, but there is going to be a Surface Phone 2016.

There will be three Surface Phone 2016 in three variants.  One will have an Intel Atom X3 Processor, with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.  Then another will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, the newest Windows 10 platform for mobile devices, 3-4 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of internal storage.  Then the third variant will have 8 GB of RAM and 250-500 GB of storage.  Apparently, all will have a micro SD card slot, a 5.5 inch display, USB Type-C port, 20 Megapixel camera, and should be priced at about $699 to $1,100. 

As for the Surface Pro 5, Science World Report says that it is expected to have a rechargeable stylus and dock.  It is also expected to have an Intel Kaby Lake processor, which is still under development and not expected to show until 2017.  It is believed that the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will roll out in 2K as well as 4K displays.  It will have 16 GB of RAM, with a 16 Megapixel rear camera and 8 Megapixel front camera.  It will also have a USB 3.1 Type C port for double the speed of data transfer. 

As far as the price of the Surface Pro 5, the price is expected to be $899 for the Core i5 variant, $999 for the Intel Core i7 variant, and the $1,599 for the i7 Extreme variant.  As for Surface 2, it is stated that it will have more power as well as "more power", according to Tech Radar

The thing is the release date.  While one would expect that the Surface Pro 5 and all of its friends would be out in late fall 2016, like its predecessor was last year, but many sources are pointing to a possible release date in early 2017, but we will see.  Perhaps the Surface Phone will come out at the same time.