The Verge reports that Microsoft devices vice president Panos Panay has poured cold water on the idea that Microsoft will be announcing Surface Pro 5 at its forthcoming event in Shanghai on May 23.
Talking to CNET at the Surface Laptop announcement event, Panay said “there’s no such thing as a Pro 5,” and that Microsoft will not be launching Surface Pro 5 until it has enough “meaningful change” to distinguish it from Surface Pro 4. “Meaningful change isn’t necessarily a hardware change,” said Panay, “which is what a lot of people look for. They’re like, ‘Where is the latest processor?’ That’s not what I mean. I’m looking for an experiential change that makes a huge difference in product line. You’ll see that same meaningful impact when Pro 5, or Pro Next hits the market.”
Bearing in mind that Panay’s comments come just a few weeks before the event in Shanghai, which he has already confirmed that he will be attending, it’s looking more likely that the event will see a Surface Pro 4 refresh with the newest Intel processors, rather than an entirely new Surface. “If people don’t want to buy our Pro 4 at this time, that’s OK,” Panay told CNET. “What I’m super, super sure of is that the people using a Pro 4 have a product that’s going to be competitive for five years.”
Sources: Microsoft's Surface chief says 'there's no such thing as a Surface Pro 5'
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