Although the Microsoft Build Developer conference of the week was not as eventful as predicted, we do have a hunch that that’s not all that Microsoft has planned for May. New rumors about the Surface Pro 4 release date have come to light which make us believe that the Redmond giant truly has something up its sleeve. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is considered the best convertible Windows machine on the market, so there are a lot of expectations of the successor. Hopefully, the Surface Pro 4 will fix the few things that were wrong with the Surface Pro 3 and add a few neat features. Or at least that’s what the most recent rumors, as well as the more dated ones are suggesting.

The Surface Pro 4 release date is set for mid-May according to our sources, which is a bit weird seeing as a few weeks time after the Build conference don’t seem like a lot of time to get a product ready if it wasn’t for the Build conference. In any case, there has to be some truth to this rumor as everybody on the internets seems to agree with these predictions, and our sources are very confident that the company will be revealing the Surface Pro 4 before Windows 10 becomes a public release. The Windows 10 release date is not set yet, but Microsoft is thinking of August as the deadline. Since Windows 10 for Phones will also be launched at the same time, rumor has it that both desktop and mobile versions of the software will get their own hardware to go with. The Surface Pro 4 might be the laptop/convertible piece of tech and the Lumia 940 the mobile piece of tech, but something doesn’t add up.

Although it’s a bit odd to hear about a Surface Pro 4 release date set for May, we are pretty confident that it’s coming soon. Various reports from around the web are talking about Microsoft improving screen resolution, processing power, adding a neat camera and a new stylus after the purchase of N-Trig, the styli maker. We will definitely find out more about the Surface Pro 4 as we eek closer to Summer, but until then let’s see what we’ve heard about it so far. Although the Surface Pro 3 was a pretty comprehensive device, it still wasn’t as productive and versatile as people would have expected. As such, the Surface Pro 4 design is bound to be tweaked a little and there’s rumors about Microsoft going down the Lenovo path and adding a hinge-type keyboard that will come along with the device, not separately as the magnetic keyboards do when it comes to the Surface Pro 3.

There were many people annoyed by the fact that the Surface Pro 3 price was high from the get-go and yet they still had to come up with a few hundred bucks extra for accessories. Seeing as Microsoft is making Windows 10 free and heading up the alley of consumer preferences for compact gadgets for a unified price, the Surface Pro 4 will most likely be sold as a set: the convertible tablet (with a hinge mechanism or a magnetic keyboard) and the stylus all in one package for a more reasonable price of around $600 for the base model that will have a Core M processor. The more powerful Surface Pro 4 variants will get upgraded Intel i3, i5 and i7 processors, but there is also the possibility of the entire line-up being fanless. We’ll see whether performance or design will be the driving force behind the Surface Pro 4.

As the Surface Pro 3 came in with a QHD display and a fairly large screen, Microsoft will most likely keep up with that trend and improve it when releasing the Surface Pro 4. According to insider reports, the Surface Pro 4 will be available in different display configurations and with different prices for each, so that people who don’t have such a large budget can choose a Surface Pro 4 regardless of that. Customers will be able to choose the model that suits them and compromise on the things that they don’t find important. Some people don’t care that much about a high-res display, and for those there will be an FHD and a QHD resolution display available, which will lower the price. On the other hand, the more expensive Surface Pro 4 models will get high-res displays and there’s talk about 4K, of course.  That more expensive model with the upgraded specs will most likely have a price tag to fit, at around $1700 tops.

One of the areas where Microsoft is putting a lot of thought in is the Surface Pro 4 design. Reportedly, the company is working to make the Surface Pro 4 thinner and lighter, all the while keeping hardware top-notch. At the same time, the kickstand and the portability will be improved and we think Microsoft is taking a page from the Lenovo design book and adding either a 360 degree hinge on the side of the convertible, or using a kickstand that can be used in more modes than just tilt, stand and hold. We’re hoping for the hinge mechanism, as we really loved that about the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. Although the hinge thing might be a bit too much, I’m confident that there will be a big emphasis on portability with the Surface Pro 4.

Once released, the Surface Pro 4 will have to compete against newly released Chromebooks, convertible laptops, the iPad Air 2, the upcoming iPad Pro, the new MacBook and a ton of other machines from Acer, Asus and even an upcoming Nexus tablet. That means that Microsoft will have to make the Surface Pro 4 an all-in-one convertible that can satisfy any type of user. With the new features of running iOS and Android apps on Windows 10 that was demonstrated at the Build conference this week, Microsoft has a good shot at the competition. Moreover, the Surface Pro 4 will most likely take advantage of the new N-Trig acquisition and make good use of a new stylus. I’m also 100 % confident that there will be at least one USB Type C port on the convertible, if not two, alongside a slew of others, including HDMI, USB 3.0 and a microSD card reader.

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The Surface Pro 3 came out with a 5 MP main camera, but sources tell us that that will be upgraded to an 8 MP sensor on both the front and rear, which sounds pretty neat. The audio will also be improved and stereo speakers with some mysterious enhancements will be added. Otherwise, the design will largely focus on a lightweight, durable chassis like before and on thinner bezels around the display, which sounds pretty cool. So that’s all we could muster up about the Surface Pro 4, and remember to take the info with a grain of salt, as it’s not official information from Microsoft. When we do get our hands on some official beans, we’ll let you know!