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Surface Pro 5 up next? Microsoft teases cover keyboards

Microsoft is expected to reveal its next hybrid tablet-laptop at an event in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Ian Sherr
Roger Cheng
2 min read
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Get ready for the next generation of the Surface Pro.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Microsoft changed the way we think about tablets . Can it do that again?

That question is at the heart of Microsoft's upcoming event Tuesday in Shanghai, during which it's been rumored to be announcing a new Surface tablet.

Panos Panay, Microsoft's vice president of devices, pretty much seemed to confirm a new tablet was coming when he tweeted an image late Sunday of four cover keyboards with the words: "Working session. 30 hours to go." It's a not-so-subtle tease that Microsoft is working on the next-generation Surface Pro 5 , presumably using new cover keyboards.

The Surface isn't just another computer, however. The tablet-computer hybrid represented a radical new approach in computer designs when it first hit store shelves in 2012. Since then, other companies have followed with competing products, including Apple's iPad Pro -- which even borrowed the keyboard-cover idea from the Surface -- and Google's Pixel C .

Microsoft has since offered new updates, fielding more capable "pro" laptops, as well as the Surface Book , which is more like a laptop than a tablet.

The real question is whether the Surface can become more than that. The Surface drawn attention from tech heavyweights, but it hasn't caught on more broadly with everyday consumers. It's had a string of disappointing sales announcements, though Microsoft continues to add devices to the product line -- most recently with the student-focused Surface Laptop.

Microsoft is widely expected to unveil a new Surface Pro at an event Tuesday in Shanghai. The hybrid tablet-laptop isn't expected to see major changes, as indicated by a leak last week, but you can expect more horsepower at the very least.

Microsoft wasn't immediately available for comment.