We don’t know exactly who copied took inspiration from whom, but in an unusual turn of events, both Apple and Microsoft left their flagship tablets unupgraded last year. That’s obviously unlikely to happen again this year, so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that speculation is ramping up in regards to both the next iPad Pro generation and a largely mysterious (at least until today) Surface Pro 10.
Believe it or not, the latter Windows-based powerhouse is expected to see daylight as early as March 21 by not one but two different and equally trustworthy tech publications, at least in a “commercial” variant featuring “minor spec bumps” compared to 2022’s Surface Pro 9.
In this case, commercial doesn’t actually mean what you may think it does, referring to a business-friendly model that will largely be unavailable to “regular” users. Those everyday consumers will need to wait a bit longer for a more radically upgraded Surface Pro 10 edition with a new high-quality OLED display in tow, as well as an ultra-wide-angle front-facing camera and a built-in NFC reader.
Perhaps more importantly, the consumer-oriented Surface Pro 10 is likely to pack unspecified ARM-based processors, thus achieving “true all-day battery life” while purportedly improving the performance of the Intel-powered Pro 9.
That sounds like an absolutely dreamy possible value proposition, but if The Verge’s inside sources are correct, we might have to wait until June to see this version become a commercial reality. Unless, of course, Windows Central proves more accurate in its predictions of a March 21 announcement for both Intel and ARM-powered Surface Pro 10 variants headed to the business and consumer retail channels respectively.
All in all, there’s clearly still a lot of confusion hovering over Microsoft’s tablet release plans this year, so instead of going further down the gossip rabbit hole, the wise thing is probably just to give the company two more weeks to announce… something.
That something will almost certainly include a Surface Laptop 6 with ARM and Intel versions of its own as well, which sounds equally intriguing even if you’re not much of a traditional laptop person.
The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are also virtually guaranteed to leverage the state-of-the-art AI capabilities Microsoft is expected to add to Windows 11 later this year, so that’s definitely another thing to get excited about while you take a look at our list of the best tablets available today… and quickly understand this is not the ideal time to buy anything on said list.
