Microsoft says that the LTE Surface Pro is still coming this year

When Microsoft first announced the new Surface Pro at an event in Shanghai, it said that there would be an LTE model coming in the fall of this year. The company was showing one off at its Ignite 2017 conference, and confirmed to Neowin that the device is coming on December 1.

But over the weekend, something odd happened. The product listing on the Microsoft Store said that LTE won't be coming until the spring of 2018. Obviously, this doesn't line up with what Microsoft had said earlier, what we had heard, or what retailers had published.

Luckily for those waiting on cellular connectivity in the device, it would seem that this was all a big mistake, with a Microsoft spokesperson issuing the following statement:

"Surface Pro with LTE will be available later this year. We will have more to share regarding specific timing and market availability in the coming months."

We had also asked about whether the delay also meant that the broader range of always-connected devices, such as those with ARM chipsets, were also pushed back to 2018. Naturally, the question doesn't really apply anymore, but the company says that those are still on track as well, issuing the following statement:

"We are on track to see Windows 10 on Snapdragon devices become available this year as previously shared. Microsoft and Qualcomm continue to work closely with our OEM partners ASUS, HP and Lenovo in bringing Always Connected devices featuring always-on LTE connectivity and great battery life to market. We have no additional announcements to share at this time."

Microsoft still hasn't formally announced availability of the LTE Surface Pro, but the feature will be available on the Core i5 models, with the Snapdragon X16 modem placed where the fan is on the Core i7 variants. It will include 40 LTE bands, and the cellular connectivity will have minimal impact on the battery life.

We're likely to hear more about it at the company's Future Decoded event in London, where Surface chief Panos Panay is scheduled to be holding a keynote.