Color me surprised! Microsoft has been taking a cautious approach when selecting hardware for its Surface devices after the debacles in the Surface Pro 4 and the original Surface Book.
Both these premium devices suffered widespread issues due to packing the latest processors at the time of release. In a bid to ensure that this does not happen again, the Redmond giant has opted to play it safe.
And it appears that this strategy is still in place with the upcoming Surface Studio 3.
This next-generation AIO computer is slated for an unveiling at a special event slated for the middle of next month — October 12, to be exact. But we have been hearing nuggets of information regarding the device leak out ahead of launch.
The Surface Pro 3 even smiled for the camera most recently.
Well, speaking of recent news, there is talk that this high-end premium machine will again be housing old hardware. Or, you can even say, very old hardware when you take into account the chips that Microsoft has seemingly decided on.
It is being said that the Surface Studio 3 will be offered in a single SKU with an 11th-generation Intel processor and an older NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card.
Two generation old hardware is quite a disappointment for such an expensive device like this that is rumored to come with a price tag north of $3,000. It is doubly disappointing when you take into account all the performance and architecture improvements that Intel has made in its 12th and 13th gen chips.
Of course, the circuitry will be much more advanced than that of the second-gen Surface Studio 2, which packs a 7th-generation Intel processor and the NVIDIA GTX 1070 graphics card.
But still.
The device is sure to feature other improvements, like a high refresh-rate display, upgraded speakers, and better thermals. However, we will need to wait until that day in October to hear from Microsoft itself about what upgrades it has packed in.