Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Release Date, News: Launch May Be Earlier; 12 and 14-Inch Screen Variants Seen

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is shaping up to be one of the most-anticipated, potentially ground-breaking devices from Microsoft.

Until recently, it was widely thought that the new Surface Pro 4 would be released in July 2015. However, there are expectations the device might be released earlier than July as prices for the Surface Pro 3 have been slashed by $100.

The Surface Pro 4 will reportedly be released in two variants: one with a 12-inch screen and another with a 14-inch screen. Both will have 2160 x 1440 screen resolution. Both will have an Intel Core M Broadwell chip. Both will run on the latest Windows 10 OS. The Surface Pro 4 will have 16 GB of RAM and a storage capacity of 1 TB.

Devices that are touted to compete closely with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 are also being released in the market soon. One is the Apple MacBook Air 2015, which would feature a 12.9 inch Retina tablet with a sleeker and more streamlined design. Another would be the Dell XPS 13 laptop which reportedly houses a 13.3-inch full HD display and Intel Core i5 processor clocking at 1.6GHz, and with 4 GB of RAM. The screen looks very bright and crisp but only has 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution. Normally, high-end machines have a quad HD 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution screen.

Microsoft is reportedly working on other devices to add to its Surface Pro line. It could either be a Surface Pro Mini tablet or a Surface-branded flagship smartphone. The mini edition will reportedly be powered with Intel Atom processor.

Currently, the Surface Pro is the ultimate laptop/hybrid tablet. Microsoft has enjoyed a very successful Q4 of 2014 because of the Surface Pro 3. Even with very stiff competition from Apple's MacBook Air 2015 and Dell's XPS 13, Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 is still expected to reign supreme.