The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 release date will likely be delayed by another year as reports from Asia indicate that Samsung is entering the flagship Windows tablet supply chain. The new development also hints that the SP4 launch could be moved in the second half of 2016.
The delay, according to Business Korea, could be caused by the new agreement between Microsoft and Samsung that will see the latter delivering around 20 million units of solid state drives or SSD. The shipments are not expected until the start of June next year so if the reports are true that these components are intended for the Surface Pro 4 then the supposed push back is highly likely.
The SSDs reportedly ordered by Microsoft from Samsung use the Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) technology that the report said "is capable of processing data in greater quantities and at higher speeds at the same time." This somehow explains why the Surface tablet makes is willing to wait for the 256GB SSDs.
In a related report, WinBeta said that NVMe SSDs have data transfer rate of up to 2GB per second while the current SSD technology employed in the Surface Pro 3 clocks only at top speed of 600MB per second. "This would be a dramatic increase that would differentiate between the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4," the same report noted.
Apart from the suggestion that Microsoft is making sure that the Surface Pro 4 will have the best component technologies available on roll out time, the company is justified in opting to delay the SP3 sequel. For one, the tech giant intends to further cash in on the relative success that the Surface Pro 3 has been reaping.
"Cutting it (the Surface Pro 3) off now while it's still making money could hurt the line and create fear that products will become obsolete quickly," WinBeta said.
But letting out the Surface Pro 4 this 2015 also makes sense for Microsoft as the device promises to be the best platform to showcase the power and fresh features that the software giant is planning to unleash with the Windows 10. This has been the idea that Microsoft watchers are adhering to in assuming that the SP4 could unbox simultaneously with Windows 10, and the WinBeta report is in complete agreement.
So despite the possibility of a long wait facing Surface Pro 4 fans, the chance is still there, as rumored previously, for a simultaneous release date with Windows 10, which Microsoft has set to start rolling out on July 29.