On May 2nd, tech giant Microsoft is holding a special hardware and software presentation over at New York. Usually, when they decide to throw an event in the city it has a high possibility of one thing: the announcement of a new version of their Surface series of mobile devices.
The buzz about this possible new Surface gadget is that it would be designed to be a direct challenge to the Chromebooks brought out by Google, especially with regards to being a device geared for school use.
But while the presentation isn’t up until 9 AM Eastern on Tuesday, some quarters have done what they’re good at and leaked some stuff.
Twitter leaker
Word came out courtesy of a Twitter user named WalkingCat, who posted a few pictures of what he assumes to be an alleged “Surface Laptop”, which does indeed jive with what has been hinted by Microsoft itself with regards to going head to head with the Chromebook, especially the latest Pixel model by Google.
Surface Laptop: 13.5-in PixelSense display, 4 colors (Platinum/Burgundy/Cobalt Blue/Graphite Gold), Alcantara-covered keyboard, Windows 10 S pic.twitter.com/AEAAhYPgQN
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) May 2, 2017
WalkingCat also included possible specs of the new device, namely a 13.5-inch PixelScreen display, four different colors, an Alcantara fabric-covered keyboard akin to the Premium Surface 4 and the new Windows 10 S as the operating system.
No further details have been included in the leak such as the type of processor used or specific hardware, other than the fact that it eschews USB-C ports for regular USB instead.
The leak also reports the Surface Laptop’s dimensions: 14.47 mm thickness at the back, 9.9 mm thickness at the front, and a weight of 2.76 pounds.
Microsoft is said to give the new device a 3.4 million pixel display, with a 1080p panel and 3:2 aspect ratio.
Microsoft Windows 10 S
Another thing WalkingCat has dug up in the leak is a new Windows OS to also compete with Chrome OS. It was teased early this year under the name “Windows 10 Cloud”, and is reported to support only Windows Store apps in its system.
Now it seems set to be officially unveiled as the “Windows 10 S”. The fact that the OS is restricted only to Windows app reflects one key feature that Microsoft is pushing for the new Surface: battery life.
It is this attention to an economy that Microsoft is hyping up to make the alleged new Surface “laptop” to be a cheaper yet formidable alternative to Google’s Chromebooks in the education sector. With the Windows 10 S being able to boot faster, plus its simplicity and easy management, the upcoming Surface looks ready to rock for both teachers and students in schools.
