Update 9/15/2015 1:40 PM: According to WinBeta, a look at the source code of the announcement site supports the theory that the Microsoft Band, Microsoft Surface, and Lumia will be the topic of the announcement. This can be found in the “keywords” section of the page’s HTML code.
In addition, Tom Warren of The Verge has been dropping hints about the Surface 4.
If you liked the Surface Pro 3 you’ll definitely like the Surface Pro 4. Don’t worry, it won’t be using Core M chips
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) August 5, 2015
The use of Skylake in the Surface 4 seems inevitable at this point, which probably means it won’t be a fanless device, but it may still be thinner and lighter.
Original text: If you look around your office today, chances are you’ll be able to see who’s a Microsoft fan. The software giant has set ears a-perkin’ with the announcement that it would be debuting new hardware on Oct. 6 at a New York event. We don’t exactly know what that hardware is, and Microsoft hasn’t offered any hints, but the rumor going around is that it could be a Surface Pro 4, as well as new Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones.
Although Microsoft doesn’t have quite the same pedigree as other manufacturers when it comes to its hardware, it has in recent years put out some very well received technology. The Surface line has been particularly praised, especially the Surface 3 and 3 Pro, so the announcement of the fourth-generation convertible tablet would be very welcome by fans.
We don’t know much about this rumored tech as of yet, but should it be announced, it seems likely that it would come packing the same sort of hardware we’ve seen from other laptop and tablet makers as of late. Intel’s new Skylake CPUs would no doubt feature, as well as DDR4 memory and likely support for new USB 3.1 and possibly type-C standards.
The Lumia smartphones that Microsoft is also thought likely to unveil at the October event are a little more well known. Currently codenamed Talkman and Cityman (Lumia 950 and 950 XL respectively), they’re expected to support Continuum, which would allow people to connect their device via a dock to a desktop, making it possible to run smartphone apps on their PC, as per Liliputing.
Hardware wise, the standard 950 is expected to come equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 processor, with a 5.2-inch display and a 3,000mAh battery. In comparison, the XL is speculated as using the slightly more beefy Snapdragon 810 processor, as well as coming equipped with a larger 5.7-inch display and featuring a 10 percent bump in battery capacity, giving it 3,300mAh.
Despite the difference in size, both displays are expected to offer a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution and will pack 3GB of RAM, while offering 32GB of storage space.
