Microsoft just teased its next big event, but gave few clues as to what the company is about to reveal.
The event is scheduled for October 12, 2022 at 10 a.m. ET. Beyond that, there are very few other details, and we’ve reached out to Microsoft for clarification on what the event should feature. We’ll update this story with news if and when we hear from the company.
In the meantime, we can ruthlessly speculate on what Microsoft has in store, and we even have some clues in the ad image itself.
The image is a stylized version of the Windows 11 desktop background, so it’s safe to say that it’s probably something Windows-related. And since the image has a decidedly impressionistic vibe to it, we’d say it’s going to be a new Microsoft Surface device, possibly an update to the Microsoft Surface Studio line, either a new desktop or a refresh of the Surface Laptop Studio.
This latest device is only about a year old though, so it’s probably too early to see a major refresh for the device, but something along those lines is certainly possible.
What else might we see at Microsoft’s October event?
Microsoft doesn’t usually do a lot of events (unlike Apple), but when they do they try to sneak in as much as they can, so if we’re going to see a new Surface device it’s unlikely to show up at all only.
One thing, in particular, we expect to see is another accessibility-focused product, like last year’s Surface Adaptive Kit and this year’s Adaptive Accessories. We anticipate we’ll see more of that at the October event, and we’re happy to see it. For all of Microsoft’s flaws, and all major tech companies have them, Microsoft is by far the best tech brand for accessibility.
Other than that, we might see other peripheral improvements to things like the Surface Pen, HoloLens, and more. Given the emerging ‘post-pandemic’ business environment, we also cannot rule out a complete refresh of the Surface range, given that many products are in varying degrees in need of a rework with new hardware and other miscellaneous improvements.
We also can’t sleep on Windows 11 on ARM. Microsoft has plugged in its own silicon, similar to what Apple has done with its M-series chips, and while we highly doubt Microsoft will introduce its own ARM processors, it’s something that’s been bubbling in the background on a slow boil for a while now.
That last bit has a very long chance at this point, but if Microsoft commits to Windows on ARM, something like this will eventually have to be announced. Whether it is that time remains to be seen, but it would be an interesting twist, to say the least.
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