There’s always a first time for everything! While some diehards may have expected Microsoft to finally launch a true desktop PC under its Surface line, the company has pulled a surprise in the form of a devkit of all things!
Unlike the past BUILDs, the 2022 edition of the developer conference is deeply focused on developers.
It then comes as no surprise that the company also announced new hardware at the event. In this case, hardware is designed to help developers build apps. Throw in support Windows 11 on ARM and a neural processing unit onboard to take advantage of new AI capabilities, and you’re cooking with gas!
Microsoft is not overly specific with the details of the actual hardware, and we don’t even know which process will be handling duties, but the company did share a teaser for the upcoming device.
The video shows a few different things.
First, the device appears to be stackable for desktops as well as rack deployment.
Secondly, a view of the insides reveals a single fan that cools the internal system on a chip. On the back, a power jack, ethernet port, mini display port, and USB-A ports can be made out. Two USB-C ports and three additional buttons can also be seen on the side.
Apparently, the Surface team was involved with the design, and it clearly shows in how it looks. The device is similar in shape and size to a Mac Mini, or the base of a Surface Studio, for that matter.
Built in a partnership with Qualcomm, the machine is expected to house a flagship SoC from the chip giant, which may very well be its latest Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. Under its sleek, black hood, the device also houses a built-in NPU, most likely the Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine, or SNPE.
Redmond announced that this developer kit will be coming later this year.
We should have more details on the circuitry later in the summer once the company is more certain about the actual availability of the various components.
