Microsoft will be hosting a fall hardware launch event sometime in late October, where reportedly the company will unveil a brand-new Surface device, which is apparently code-named “Cardinal.”
The upcoming Surface Cardinal is apparently going to be branded as a mobile computing device that can turn one’s desk into a “studio,” according to a report from ZDNet. Most likely, the Cardinal will be a Surface-branded all-in-one device that will run Windows 10. The Cardinal is reported to be available in one, two, and/or three different screen sizes (21-, 24-, or 27-inch models).
The Cardinal device could potentially be Microsoft’s consumer-focused version of its Surface Hub, utilizing the Perceptive Pixel screen technology that is at the core of the Surface Hub.
New Surface could potentially be a modular computing device
Microsoft applied for a patent for an all-in-one modular PC back in 2015, which was officially published in February 2016. The modular all-in-one design features a hinged touch screen display that attached to a computing base. The base itself is modular in its design, allowing users to stack components for addition functionality.
“These housings may be configured to be ‘swappable’ within the housing to change functionality as desired, such as to update the processing, memory, and/or network resources of the computing device,” wrote patent authors Young Soo Kim and Tim Escolin at the time. “In this way, the computing device may be altered and changed readily by a user in an intuitive manner without requiring detailed knowledge of the hardware.”
While we don’t know for sure if Microsoft plans to go down this route with the Surface Cardinal, it at least gives an idea of what the company’s top hardware engineers are dreaming up for future computing devices.
Microsoft keeping quiet regarding both Cardinal and event
Microsoft, predictably, is not sharing any specific details regarding the upcoming device, any information regarding what it plans on showcasing at the event, or even acknowledging the existence of such an event.
The fall hardware launch event reportedly has its own codename, “Project Rio,” and the actual date of the event is speculated to be during the last week of October, possibly on October 26th. The event is rumored to take place in New York City.
