You might have to deal with some conspicuous omissions. There may be an improved webcam, too, along with Dolby Vision HDR visuals and Dolby Atmos audio. Microsoft will instead focus on the internals, upgrading to an 11th-gen Core i7 CPU (sorry, no 12th-gen here) with Thunderbolt 4 ports. The new PC will supposedly use the familiar (but still clever) chassis from the first two Studios, including its signature tilting, stylus-friendly 28-inch display.

Windows Central recently offered some hope, though, as it hears a Surface Studio 3 is finally on the way. The most recent version of the all-in-one desktop was released in 2018, and its specifications are woefully behind the times. To say Microsoft has neglected the Surface Studio would be an understatement. WinFuture claims Europeans may pay the equivalent of $1,300 for a Core i5 version with 256GB of storage, but that might not reflect American pricing. It’s just a question of whether or not the pricing is reasonable. This may be an iterative design, but we liked the Pro 8 last year. Sources say the Surface Pro 9 will largely resemble its predecessor, complete with a 13-inch 120Hz display, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a front 5-megapixel camera, a rear 10MP cam and support for the Slim Pen 2. Just don’t expect much to change on the outside.

Microsoft may stick with the maximum 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage from before, although cellular models will apparently support 5G. Those same sources believe Intel-based Surface Pro 9 models will use 12th-generation Core i5 and i7 U-series processors (considerably faster than the Pro 8’s 11th-gen parts), while ARM versions will reportedly come with the SQ3, a custom variant of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. You might get a significant speed boost, whichever chip sits inside.

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