What to expect from Microsoft October 6th Event
A press event has been scheduled for next month, October 6th 2015, where Microsoft is expected to unveil upcoming devices running Windows 10. The event will take place at the Skylight at Moynihan Station, in New York CIty, 10:00am local time.
The product expected to be unveiled at the event will likely include two new flagship Lumia Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, respectively code named Cityman and Talkman, the rumored Surface Pro 4, as well as the Band 2 fitness wearable.
New Windows Phones
The Lumia 950 “Citiman” will feature a 5.2 inches WQHD OLED screen, with a 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution, and will be powered by a Snapdragon 808 6-Core 64-bit processor. This model is said to ship with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot. A 20MP PureView rear camera, and a 5MP wide-angle front-facing camera will provide high-resolution video recording support. An Iris scanner is also expected to support biometric login through Windows Hello. The phone will be powered by a 3000mAh removable battery, which will be charged through a Qi wireless flip cover, as well as a USB Type-C port. The body will come in Matte White or Black polycarbonate.
The Lumia 950 XL “Walkman” will come with slightly higher specs, and a bigger 5.7 inches screen, which will support the same resolution as the Lumia 950. The XL version will be powered by an 8-Core Snapdragon 810 64-bit processor, with identical RAM and storage specs as the Lumia 950.
While both phones will feature a 5MP front facing camera and a 20 MP rear camera, the PureView hardware will come with a triple LED flash.
The XL version will also come with a 3300 mAh removable battery, which will use the same charging method as the Lumia 950, as well as the USB Type-C connector. The Iris scanner will also be included in this version.
Surface Pro 4
According to recent reports, it seems that the Surface Pro 4 will not change drastically from the Surface Pro 3, in terms of size, however it will be thinner and lighter. The charging mechanism and form factor will remain the same, mostly to allow businesses to retain their investment in terms of compatibility with existing accessories.
The new tablet will most likely be powered by the upcoming Intel Skylake CPU, which promises a boost in performance under virtually every aspect, from central processing, to graphics, to battery life.
Windows Hello support is definitely in the cards, however it’s not clear yet on whether Microsoft will integrate an Intel RealSense 3D camera, or just a fingerprint scanner. The latter seems more likely as recent rumors point to a redesign of the Surface Keyboard.
Surface Pro 4 XL and... XXL?
It seems that the Surface Pro 4 will also be but a “base version” of a more extensive Pro line up, with word of two more screen sizes being tested, the smaller of which will be 14 inches, with a 15 inch size potentially in the works.
With so many devices converging on memory and storage specs, we can only assume that the entry-level version of the Surface Pro 4 will ship with a 128GB SSD, or 1TB HDD, as well as either 6GB or 8GB of RAM.
These bigger versions will likely feature options unavailable in the 12 inch iteration of the Surface Pro 4, such as an Intel RealSense 3D camera, and a more powerful GPU, to drive more demanding applications, such as CAD drafting software, image processing.