Microsoft allegedly planning a Surface All-in-One

The Surface brand is becoming a cornerstone for Microsoft in the consumer hardware market where it competes directly against the likes of Apple. The Redmond company makes frequent comparisons between its Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book and the MacBook Pro 13 or MacBook Air 13.

Expanding the Surface brand into All-in-One (AIO) models might make sense as Apple has dominated the sector with its iMac for years. PC maker Lenovo also has a tight grip on the market with its Ideacentre series. Sources close to DigiTimes claim that Microsoft may be launching an AIO series before the end of 2016 to make up for the Surface Book 2 delay that was purportedly supposed to launch this year. Interestingly, it was DigiTimes who first reported on the Surface Book 2 delay citing shipment issues relating to Intel's new Kaby Lake platform.

The AIO market is expected to shrink this year from 14 million to 12.6 million, so a hypothetical Surface AIO could potentially give the market the boost it needs. The rumor should be taken with a grain of salt as DigiTimes has not always been a reliable source of news in the past.

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