Surface Pro 7 hints in new Microsoft patent showing USB-C, thinner bezels, new keyboard design

Microsoft’s Surface Pro design is rightly one of the most popular tablet designs for Windows 10 users. It offers great portability and convenience with one of the best tablet typing experiences out there. That doesn’t of course mean that it can’t be improved. A new patent application from Microsoft uncovered by the folks at Windows United shows where the Surface Pro 7, expected later this year, is likely to be headed.

There are a few standout features in the design that can be discerned on close inspection of the patent sketch. The first thing we scanned for is the introduction of a USB-C port, which can indeed be seen alongside a standard USB-A port. Microsoft has been notoriously slow to bring this port to its flagship Surface Pro line although it did finally appear on the Surface Go. Like the Surface Go, which features a slightly more rounded design, the new Surface Pro 7 looks like it is headed the same way. Narrower display bezels also look likely for the design, which hasn’t been fundamentally altered since the Surface Pro 4.

Also apparent in the sketch is seeming absence of the Surface Connect port. This proprietary charging port could easily be made redundant by the inclusion of the USB-C port, so it wouldn’t surprise if Microsoft dropped it. However, it looks like Microsoft will persist with a Mini DisplayPort regardless. The revised TypeCover design looks like it will include magnets to help keep the cover in place unaided by the user who previously had to hold it in place when closed, which is also a useful change. While, overall, the design changes are relatively subtle, they should make for a more appealing device come launch day.