Surface 2 rumors: specs, accessories, and more

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Microsoft is preparing to launch its next-generation tablets at an event in New York City on September 23rd. The software maker has emailed press invites to the media today, asking them to save the date for a Surface event. After a number of recent leaks, it appears the company is ready to announce and unveil its Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets. Both will act as refreshed versions of the existing Surface RT and Surface Pro models. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Surface plans have confirmed to The Verge that the company will not be launching a rumored Surface mini on September 23rd.

AdDuplex has spotted what it believes could be a pair of new Surface tablets accessing its Windows ad network. The advertising network says it “regularly” sees devices named “Microsoft Corporation Surface 2” and “Microsoft Corporation Surface with Windows 8.1 Pro” viewing its ads. The former device is thought to be running Windows RT, just like the current-generation Surface for Windows RT, but it looks like Microsoft might be ready to drop the “RT” name from the device. While the second tablet, “Surface with Windows 8.1 Pro,” could be the company testing a final build of Windows 8.1 on the existing Surface Pro, it could also be the long-rumored hardware refresh that will finally bring Intel’s latest Haswell processors to the hybrid tablet.

In the same post, AdDuplex also notes it’s found what could be a pair of Nokia tablets accessing its network. It’s seen devices named RX-107, -108, -113, -114, -115, and -116, and believes that the model numbers could either be “one device progressing through development stages,” or two separate device lines. Sources have already confirmed to The Verge that Nokia is planning to launch a Windows RT tablet, codenamed Sirius, soon.

Microsoft’s prototype smartwatch testing has moved over to its Surface team. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Surface plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is now prototyping devices directly under the Surface team as the firm moves its wrist-worn device closer to reality. Previously, Microsoft had been testing variations of a smartwatch designed and prototyped by the Xbox accessories team, with the original plan of a “Joule” heart rate monitor.

The news follows prototype testing of devices with a Surface connector, and reports that Microsoft is requesting 1.5-inch displays from component manufacturers. AmongTech recently reported that smartwatch prototypes include a variety of removable wrist bands in blue, red, yellow, black, white, and grey colors. We’re told that this is accurate, and that Microsoft’s smartwatch plans center around the idea of removable bands. AmongTech also claims that prototypes are housed in Oxynitride Aluminum, an expensive “translucent aluminum” that is said to be three times harder than glass.

Microsoft started its new financial year recently, and the company has been showing off its plans for the rest of 2013 and beyond at its Worldwide Partner Conference this week. Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer, showed off one particular slide that details updates to most of Microsoft’s consumer facing businesses.

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Leading up to Microsoft’s Build developer conference there were a number of rumors related to a possible Surface announcement. Now that both keynotes are over it’s clear there’s no new 7- or 8-inch Surface tablet or a refreshed Haswell Surface Pro. However, Microsoft appears to be dropping some accidental hints at the future of Surface and other 7- and 8-inch tablets.

In a session today at Build, on building apps across multiple screen sizes, Microsoft showed off some of the anticipated screen sizes for small Windows 8.1-powered tablets. Although the list, used in the company’s developer tools for testing, wasn’t exhaustive, one particular resolution and screen size caught our eye: a 10.6-inch display running at 2560 x 1440. Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet includes a 10.6-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a screen size also listed in Microsoft’s tools. The inclusion of a higher resolution is surprising as the 10.6-inch screen isn’t a size that’s used widely by other PC makers. Most have standardized around 13.3-inch and 11.6-inch panels for laptops and tablets, with a variety of other non-standard sizes outside of that. Microsoft didn’t detail which manufacturers would create 10.6-inch devices, but given the limited use of that display it’s possible the company has accidentally revealed a high-resolution Surface.

Microsoft is planning to refresh its Surface RT with a Qualcomm processor. Existing Surface RT devices use Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chipset, but Bloomberg reports that a refreshed version will ship using Qualcomm processors, while Nvidia continues to be a supplier for “some versions.” The switch to Qualcomm, which appears to be for unannounced Surface RT devices, will likely come into effect later this year.

Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Surface plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is testing Windows RT 8.1 Surface devices with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor. The chip includes integrated LTE connectivity, allowing Microsoft to potentially ship its first Surface device with mobile broadband. Microsoft’s ecosystem and planning chief, Mike Angiulo, hinted at this possibility while defending the Windows RT operating system earlier this year. “And on the ARM side, there is a propensity for a much higher percentage of PCs that are going to ship with mobile broadband [3G / 4G],” said Angiulo at the time.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a new lineup of Surface tablets is in the works from Microsoft, including a 7-inch version. It’s not yet clear what form the new Surface might take, but the Journal claims the 7-inch model will go into mass production later this year. The news follows Microsoft’s recent adjustment of the Windows 8 specification to allow for smaller tablets with a 1024 x 768 resolution. The Verge also understands that Redmond has begun work on a 7-inch tablet under the Xbox brand, although the Journal’s report doesn’t mention gaming.

According to one of the Journal’s sources, Microsoft only recently decided to move forward with a smaller tablet in response to products such as the iPad mini and Nexus 7 — it reportedly wasn’t part of the company’s strategy last year. The rumor comes amid more gloomy news for the traditional PC industry, with IDC finding sales down 13.9 percent across the globe. Despite modest sales so far, it could be that Microsoft has decided Surface is the future of the company.

The Surface Pro launched last week to divided opinion. Unlike the Surface RT introduced in October of last year, the Pro swaps Windows RT for a full version of Windows 8 and packs a lot more power in the form of an Intel i5 chip that allows you to run desktop applications and existing games. It adds some weight and thickness to the device, but it’s largely the same form factor as the Surface RT with an optional removable keyboard and a kickstand. The added ability to run legacy apps has many people wondering whether this is a tablet, a laptop, or both. So what exactly is the Surface?

Microsoft has referred to Windows 8 as a “no compromises” approach to an operating system, built for desktops, tablets, and laptops. With an improved touch UI and support for legacy apps, it’s designed to straddle both worlds and provide desktop and tablet computing scenarios. Whereas the Surface RT is a tablet first with good battery life, a lightweight design, and the option to use a Touch or Type Cover to do additional tasks, Surface Pro is a different beast. “We designed it as a PC first, it really was a laptop, notebook, full speed super powered computer,” said Microsoft’s Panos Panay at the Surface Pro launch event recently. Microsoft has engineered the product into a tablet form factor, but at a cost.