Although Microsoft is said to be waiting for Intel before announcing its new Surface products, the new Kaby Lake will reportedly start production later this year, making an early 2017 announcement for the Surface Pro 5 possible.
Reportedly, Microsoft is targeting a late 2016 release for its new Surface products, particularly the Surface Pro 5 and the Surface Book 2. While the company has not yet announced any release plans, a reveal late in the year on its new lineups is certainly possible, given that rumors also point out that Microsoft's competitor, Apple, is gunning for a September announcement of its new iPad and MacBook products.
However, it is said that Microsoft has to delay the release since Intel has yet to have concrete plans on the production of its seventh-gen Kaby Lake processors, which Microsoft intends to use on the new Surface products. Meanwhile, since Intel is reportedly already on the final touches for mass production of Kaby Lake, it seems that Microsoft will just need to set back the release for a couple of months, and an early 2017 reveal is still possible.
According to Yibada, an early 2017 release for the Surface Pro 5 clearly dovetails with the known schedule roadmap of Microsoft. Apparently, a full-version update for the Windows 10 platform will be broken down into two releases, with the second one to release early next year. This means that fans will expect the Surface Pro 5 to release with the new updated version of the Windows 10 platform already brought onboard.
Aside from the new Kaby Lake chipset, it is said that Microsoft will reveal the Surface Pro 5 as a heavily upgraded hybrid. Purported improvements include longer battery life and more efficient power management, a slimmer and lighter profile, and RAM capacity that goes as high as 16GB.
