Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (Photo : Facebook)
It is more likely that the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 release date is delayed until 2016 is not really part of the grand plan by the Windows 10 maker. This is so because to date there is not a word from Microsoft about the rumored Surface Pro 3 replacement.
The Surface Pro 3, in fact, is the biggest argument against the Surface Pro 4 and to think that the former was expanded recently that pointed to the likelihood that 2015 is not the launch year for the Pro 4, if indeed it is in the works.
Delayed or not coming at all, the need for the Surface Pro 4 is somehow negated by two things - the Surface Phone that remains an imaginary device for many Windows users and the upcoming Windows 10 feature, Continuum.
Surface Phone as flagship Windows device
PC World is taking note that Microsoft has indicated plans of issuing a flagship smartphone this 2015, likely as early as September or a few months after the Windows 10 release on July 29. If the company follows through with its promise then it could be inching into the same sphere of operational manual that brought immense success to Apple, the report added.
The Apple business model is mainly focused on producing a handful of flagship devices that are totally embraced by consumers not only because the gadgets are beautiful but also due to "a vibrant app ecosystem," the report added. Microsoft tuning in first on a viable iPhone rival then convincing mobile device users to make the switch makes sense, also rendering the Surface Pro 4 unnecessary for now.
Add to that is the recent blog from Paul Thurrott that says even if the Pro 4 will remain missing in action this 2015, the Surface Pro 3 will do just fine and more so once Windows 10 becomes operational. So if the Surface Phone becomes a reality in the coming months and the Surface Pro 3 will sufficiently fill in what the Surface Pro 4 would have delivered out of the box then the latter will likely not be missed.
Mobile desktop-class computing via Continuum
One of the banner Windows 10 features is Continuum and if it really works as advertised by Microsoft then it is potentially a Surface Pro 4 killer. Continuum, specifically on Windows 10 Mobile, will essentially allow PC-like computing from a high-specced Windows 10 phone just by connecting it to a monitor. In short, Continuum is designed to make a smartphone behave like a desktop machine.
Achieving that then the need for the Surface Pro 4 will be eliminated eventually, especially if Microsoft would come up with a phablet-size Surface Phone or even a supersized Lumia handset. Given the choice of taking a pick between the mobile but very capable Windows 10-powered phones and a bulky Surface Pro tab, the decision is easy for most users.
And that should give a solid justification for Microsoft to further push back the Surface Pro 4 release date to as far as second half of 2016. Or even kill the Surface product line altogether, which many believe is one consideration that is in the mind of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella lately.
