New Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Xbox One plans laid bare in new novel

One bomb of a Microsoft hardware leak has just dropped from an unlikely source: the final chapter of a non-fiction novel penned by a technology journalist. “Beneath a Surface,” the debut novel by Brad Sams of Thurrott.com fame available now in ebook format, has lots of information on future of Surface, Xbox and even the long-rumored Andromeda device.

Speaking to anonymous sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans, Sams learned of an entire hardware product roadmap in place for 2019 and 2020.

Specifically, Sams reports that the next Surface Pro tablet will finally bring USB-C connectivity as well as adopt smaller screen bezels, rounded corners and several new color options by the end of 2019.

As for the next Surface Laptop, expect to see one running on an AMD processor with Radeon Vega graphics around the same time as the new Surface Pro, according to Sams.

Meanwhile, the future Surface Book product won’t make it out until 2020, Sams’s sources say, with little more information than that. However, expect a revamped Surface Studio all-in-one PC to launch in the same year that might have more in common with the Surface Hub whiteboards than previous Studio designs.

2019: the year of Xbox and Andromeda?

Surface news aside, Sams’s book also teases out information from sources regarding the Xbox One’s future roadmap as well as a bit more about the long-fabled Andromeda device.

First off, if Sams is right, then you can count on seeing a duo of new Xbox One S consoles for 2019, particularly one model that might be 100% digital – without a disc drive. This at least corroborates similar reports published earlier this month.

Finally, Sams claims to have learned that Andromeda – the long-rumored, dual-screen, phone-like productivity device – could be in our hands by the end of 2019. Furthermore, we can expect the device to be larger than previous reports have suggested and be closer in function to a PC or laptop than a smartphone.

Naturally, when asked for comment by Geekwire, a Microsoft spokesperson simply said, “Nothing to share.”

Sams’s report-within-a-novel delivers a dump truck worth of grist for the rumor mill, as by his indication, Microsoft is going to have an explosive 2019 and 2020 in the hardware world.

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November 30, 2018 at 03:39AM
Joe Osborne