If you follow Microsoft at all, then you know that the company is holding an event in New York City on Wednesday, where it"s going to announce some exciting stuff. Last year"s event had everything that was hardware-related, including the Surface Book, Pro 4, Lumia 550, 950, 950 XL, and Band 2.
So what should you expect from this week"s event?
Bet on it
Redstone 2
You might have noticed that Windows 10 Insider Preview builds haven"t exactly been feature-packed since the Anniversary Update was released in August. The same thing happened after version 1511 was released as well, as Microsoft doesn"t usually release major new features to Insiders until it can show them off at a major event.
The firm showed off some of it at its Ignite 2016 conference, but Insiders still haven"t been offered the new features. Don"t be surprised if you hear a whole lot about what"s coming in Windows 10"s next feature update, and if those features show up in a Preview build within the next few days.
Probability: 9.5/10
Surface all-in-one
The Surface all-in-one has been rumored for months now, and it"s likely to finally surface (pun intended) at Wednesday"s event. There have been conflicting rumors, but it seems that they"ve settled on the idea that the device will feature a 27-inch 4K display.
Pricing and specifications are an unknown at this time, but we"re pretty sure that we"ll find out more this week.
Probability: 9/10
Might happen, but don"t bet on it
Refreshed Surface Book/Pro 4
Rumors have circulated that while the Surface Book 2 and Pro 5 won"t be arriving on Wednesday, there will be a refreshed Book and Pro 4, possibly with Kaby Lake chips. Microsoft said during its earnings call last week that Surface revenue would decline in the upcoming quarter due to its existing devices turning a year old, indicating that there would be no refreshed devices coming.
Note that while those devices were announced on October 6, they were made available on the 26th, making this week"s event the one-year anniversary of their launch.
Probability: 5/10
Surface 4
Some people still seem to think that Surface 4 is going to happen at some point or another, but the non-Pro line of Surface devices is all but dead. We know that Microsoft will be ending production of the Surface 3 by the end of the year, so if Surface 4 is going to happen, it seems like now would be the time.
Probability: 2.5/10
A snowball"s chance in hell
Surface Phone/Lumia 960
First of all, there are no new Lumias coming on Wednesday, or ever, for that matter. The Lumia 650 was the last one.
It sounds like the next piece of phone hardware that we"ll see from Microsoft is the Surface Phone, but we won"t see it this week. In fact, the latest rumors say that we won"t see it until late next year, probably to coincide with Redstone 3.
Surface Book 2/Pro 5
While we"re on the subject of Surface, Book 2 and Pro 5 are slated to arrive alongside Redstone 2 in the spring.
In the meantime, here"s something to think about. If Microsoft does offer a refreshed Book and Pro 4 on Wednesday with Kaby Lake chips, what might it be planning on offering through its next generation? The last time that two Surface Pro models in a row had the same generation processors, it was a massive overhaul.
Band 3
Sorry folks, but the Band brand has been Lumia-ed. The firm has stopped selling the Band 2, and it"s confirmed that there"s no Band 3 coming this year, or probably ever.
We"ll be covering Wednesday"s event live, so stay tuned for news and hands-on with whatever gets announced!