Microsoft October Event 2019: will we see a new Surface device?

Microsoft has officially issued invitations to the press for an October 2 event held in New York City. While the company has made no allusions as to what it plans to show off during the event, there have been plenty of leaks and rumors in the past few months that all but confirm the imminent debut of some major Surface products.

With the Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3 and an entirely new product – ‘Centaurus’ – showing up in all kinds of leaks and rumors from anonymous sources, we’re expecting a potentially star-studded showing.

Then, there are the incumbent product lines that we would like to see updated, such as the hopeful Surface Book 3 and Surface Studio 3. However, we haven’t heard much of anything about those devices in particular.

With that, here are the highlights on each of the Surface products that we hope to see during Microsoft’s October 2 event, in order of how likely they are to make an appearance.

What we’re likely to see: Surface Pro 7

Now with leaks and rumors detailing the possible exact configurations of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7, it’s almost certainly a shoo-in for the October 2 event. We now expect to see an even more affordable option for the tablet in the form of one containing an Intel Core i3 processor (CPU).

What we don’t know is whether Microsoft has finally adopted USB-C – particularly Thunderbolt 3 – in lieu of the proprietary Surface Connect port. We also hope to see Intel Ice Lake CPUs and an improved Type Cover. Both of which have been rumored.

What we’re likely to see: Surface Laptop 3

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is just about the only other incumbent Surface device to be discussed in rumors and leaks, with not one but two configurations becoming available. That’s right, it’s rumored that a 15-inch version will join the 13-inch model.

But, that’s not all: European retail listings have suggested that the Surface Laptop 3 will use AMD processors inside rather than Intel. However, we’re more concerned with whether Microsoft adopts Thunderbolt 3 ports here as well – plus, the design could be updated a bit. 

What we hope to see: Surface Book 3

The computing world has changed a lot since the release of Surface Book 2, making the release of a Microsoft Surface Book 3 that much more important in 2019. Both versions of the 2-in-1 laptop could benefit from Nvidia’s new RTX graphics, for a start.

While we haven’t heard much in the way of rumors or leaks regarding a Surface Book threequel, an update is well overdue amid massive gains by its ‘prosumer’ laptop competition. Of course, we’d like to see Thunderbolt 3 included, as well as stronger power management with those enhanced RTX graphics.

What we hope to see: Surface Studio 3

Again, we’ve heard next to nothing regarding a Microsoft Surface Studio 3 release, but it’s another long overdue update that we hope to see on October 2. That said, we’re quite fine with the all-in-one artist desktop’s design.

What we would like to see change is for the product to launch with up-to-date internals, particularly the latest Nvidia graphics and Intel processors. In years past, this has not been the case at launch. Finally, just give us Thunderbolt 3 already and up the resolution?

What we hope to see: Surface ‘Centaurus’

There has been quite a bit of patent application releases and other rumors surrounding a new Microsoft Surface product with either dual screens or a single folding display. The various patent images and rumors conjure up thoughts of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 foldable tablet.

Of course, there’s very little known about how this device will fit into Microsoft’s larger portfolio, and what specific or unique use cases it will serve. Will it be a folding phone-meets-tablet? We can’t wait to see whether we find out on October 2.

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