Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Doesn't Exist, Says Panos Panay Ahead of Shanghai Event

It seems like all the predictions for Microsoft's upcoming event in Shanghai, which is scheduled for May 23, have gone for a toss as Panos Panay, Corporate Vice-President of Devices at Microsoft and Surface creator, has reportedly confirmed that "There is no such thing as a [Surface] Pro 5," at least as of now. While earlier it was expected that the company might be unveiling its Surface Pro 5 tablet at the event, it seems like we might get to see some other Surface hardware at the event.

When the Redmond-based company announced last week that it will be holding an event in Shanghai and Panay confirmed his presence at the event with a tweet that contained '#Surface', the initial speculations were that the company will announce the Surface Pro 5 tablet. In an interview to CNET, Panay has now said that the company doesn't plan to launch the successor to Surface Pro 4 tablet till the time it has achieved "meaningful change" over its predecessor.

As per Panay, the change doesn't have to be associated with the hardware and should rather be an experiential change that makes "huge difference" in the product line, as per the report. Panay is said to have cited examples on improved battery life and weight reduction to qualify as meaningful change. This means that users can expect more than just an upgrade in processors over the last generation.

This can also mean that the company might update its Surface Pro 4 tablet with new Kaby Lake processors till the time it is ready to launch a new product in the series. However, it seems like we are still hung up on what to expect out of the company's upcoming event. As the company reportedly confirmed that there will be new hardware unveiled at the event and Panay himself mentioned Surface series, there are cues but we will have to wait till official announcement to figure out what Microsoft has in store for us.