New Surface hardware to be unveiled October 2

Microsoft has sent out an invitation to the press inviting them to save the date for its latest Surface event to be held in NYC on October 2. Now seemingly on an annual update cycle, we expect to see what chipset refreshes are at least, if not all-new designs. Highly likely to make an appearance will be a Surface Laptop 3, Surface Book 3, Surface Pro 7, a Surface Studio 3 and possibly a Surface Go 2. While wider adoption of USB-C ports is expected, we are also hoping to see Microsoft finally adopt Thunderbolt 3 on at least the Surface Book 3.

In terms of chipsets, the Surface Laptop 3 is likely to pick up silicon from Intel's 9th gen U-series. An Intel 9th gen chip is also likely for the Surface Book 3; but there are a couple of 10th gen 14nm parts that could be suitable as well. We are crossing our fingers, however, that Microsoft can tuck in one of Intel’s new 10th gen Sunny Cove based Ice Lake U-series chipsets into the Surface Pro 7 – it could really benefit from the jump to Intel’s new 10nm fab given the thermal constraints that continue to plague the current models.

The Surface Studio 3 could also do with at least one Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to a chipset upgrade to 9th gen parts while the Surface Go, which is the most recent of the Surface line could go a little longer between refreshes. A tech demo surprise is on the cards with a preview of the rumored dual-screen foldable tablet/laptop hybrid dubbed “Centaurus” possible. However, it is expected to run Windows Lite (Windows Core OS) when it launches, which is not expected to be ready to ship until 2020.