Microsoft just teased its next big event, but gave little hint as to what the company will be revealing.
The event is scheduled for October 12, 2022 at 10 a.m. ET. Beyond that, there are very few other details and we reached out to Microsoft to clarify what the event has to offer. We’ll update this story with any news when we get feedback from the company.
In the meantime, we can speculate recklessly about what Microsoft has in store, and we even have some clues in the announcement image itself.
The image is a stylized version of the Windows 11 desktop background, so it’s safe to say it probably has something to do with Windows. And since the image has a decidedly impressionistic vibe, we’d say it’ll be a new Microsoft Surface device, possibly an update to the Microsoft Surface Studio lineup, either a new desktop or an update to the Surface Laptop Studio.
While the latter device is only about a year old, so it’s probably too early to see a major update to the device, but something along those lines is definitely possible.
What else could we see at Microsoft’s October event?
Microsoft doesn’t typically do a lot of events (unlike Apple), but when they do, they try to squeeze in as much as possible. So when we see a new Surface device, it’s unlikely to show up by itself.
We’re expecting another accessibility-focused product in particular, like last year’s Surface Adaptive Kit and this year’s Adaptive Accessories. We expect to see more in that direction at the October event and we’re excited to see it. For all Microsoft’s flaws, and all major tech companies have them, Microsoft is by far the best accessibility tech brand out there.
That being said, we could see some other peripheral improvements on things like the Surface Pen, HoloLens, and more. Also, given the emerging “post-pandemic” professional environment, we cannot rule out a full refresh of the Surface range, as many products will need a touch-up to varying degrees with new hardware and other miscellaneous improvements.
We also can’t sleep on Windows 11 on ARM. Microsoft has been honing its own silicon, much like Apple has done with its M-series chips, and while we highly doubt Microsoft will introduce its own ARM processors, this is something simmering in the background for a slow cook While.
The last bit has a very long chance at this point, but if Microsoft is going to be committed to Windows on ARM, something like that will have to be announced at some point. Whether this is the time remains to be seen, but it would be an interesting twist, to say the least.
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